These rainy, rainy days

It's raining. Cats and dogs. Oh, I just met an extraordinary cat today before it started to pour. Find it in the picture! And, just for the record, the photo was only taken to register the graffiti on the wall (la furia - rage, anger, fury).

Anyway, to come back to the rain, it's a special thing down here. It's a special treat for the people who have hard time with summer heat. It's an event for the weather-beaten countrymen to have the thirsty soil watered. And it's definitely a very special delivery for the seed. All in all, a blessing. Sevillians don't ever try to shelter themselves from it, but rather accept the rain as they accept life. Some are well-prepared, sure. They have their 80 euro rubber boots and an umbrella and everything. Others just run in the rain. Neither get wet. Although all prefer not to go out (which is really something, I'm telling you) on these rainy days. They stay at home instead. They keep themselves nice and warm and listen to the rain. Loving the sound of it. They find it comforting.

Having lived here for a while now, I have learned not to whine about the wet. I'm just feeling the craziest relief if I have happened to choose to put random boots on rather than favourite leopard print stilettos before going out on the days that turn rainy. And later on, hanging my knee-deep wet jeans to dry, I have no hard feelings. All let to grow.

To sum up with, here's a song that makes the point more strongly. ToteKing, a 34-year-old Sevillian rap artist (rapero), nails it, plain and clear, saying: “Nothing grows without food”.

For those who might be interested: the link to the lyrics (in Spanish)