It’s raining like a pissing cow - one of the best French expressions there is in my opinion. Apparently the saying was born out of a much older one; ‘pleurer comme une vache’, or ‘to cry like a cow’. Neither makes much sense if you try and take them too literally but then I suppose ‘raining cats and dogs’ is pretty off the wall too. At least there’s a liquid involved in the French version of the expression – even if it is wee.
So the big Sky Cow was pissing when I woke up this morning. I decided to go for a jog anyway and, despite Dead Cat Alley being a bit slippery, I found that jogging was on the whole much easier in the rain than in the sun.
An hour or so later the rain subsided and there was bright sunshine again so I went to the beach. However, no sooner had I spread out my towel and settled down with my book than the Sky Cow got another urgent call of nature. And it came down like I have never seen rain before in my life! It was quite literally bucketing down and I was soaked to the skin within about 4 seconds.
It didn’t look like it was going to stop so I started squelching my way back to the apartment, desperately wiping the rain out of my eyes so I could see to cross the road and clutching at my bag to stop my book and my mobile phone from drowning. But halfway up the incredibly steep hill the rain stopped again and the sun burst through the clouds shining as brightly ever.
So I turned round again and went back towards the beach. But as I neared the bottom of the hill I noticed that the bright blue sky which had seemed to stretch out for miles, only extended to the road by beach, and that over the sea hung a filthy grey expanse of cloud that looked like it had decided where it would hang out for the rest of the day - right over my sunbathing spot.
So I turned around again...
Back at the apartment Lisette told me it was going to be like this all day. But determined to make the most of the sun’s moments of victory against the rain, I wrapped my phone and book in a plastic bag and set off into town to buy an umbrella. I bought two; a massive blue plastic one and a tiny foldaway one. I also bought a drink made from the juice of prunes de cythère. The tree in my garden that I thought was a lime tree in fact yields this type of fruit, which is amusingly called ambarella in English – I could have done with one of those BEFORE it started raining! At the moment the fruit on the tree is bright green but Lisette told me when it turns yellow you can eat it. The drink is made from the green ones however so it looks like some kind of freshly squeezed alien juice, and has a slightly tart but not unpleasant taste, a bit reminiscent of under ripe apples. Here’s a picture of the fruit if you’re interested.
On my way back to the apartment the weather got suddenly worse again. This time there were enormous cracks of thunder and the sky turned very dark so I decided to forget the beach and go home for a cup of tea and a pâté banane instead.
I’m starting my training tomorrow in Sainte Luce in the south. As yet I have no idea how I’m supposed to be getting there, or when I’m expected. It’s very frustrating being a control freak among such laid back people! I’m working out how to deal with it though.
Ok, the Sky Cow is grumbling very loudly now and my lights are flickering a lot so I’m going to post this before I lose my connection...
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