the storm

Pushed up against the Qinling Mountains, the storm clouds unleash their fury on the plains downhill. Trees wisely swap with the streaming of their outbursts

Few things excite me as much as a furious thunderstorm. The best thunderstorms awe the senses with a frenzied assault of wind, rain, lightning, and thunder. The best thunderstorms can wake you from the deepest sleep.

Last night, a storm of this caliber attacked HuaiYa. The intensity of my encounter with the storm was magnified, however, by the near-rickety conditions of my apartment windows. Previous storms had alerted me to the vulnerabilities of my windows. Water and wind invade easily even during the tamest storms. But last night, it was blitzkrieg!

Jostled from sleep, I didn't know what I was hearing... an orchestra of demons whistling, howling, and screeching by my bedside? ... no, it was just my windows... two of which I had left open. I rushed to close them, but the darkness of the night, the turmoil of the moment, and the senselessness of the contraption that is my windows compounded to thoroughly confuse me. Who knows how long I stood there fidgeting with those windows... frequently opening them even wider... inviting the storm into my kitchen with each trial. Come on in!

Eventually I closed the windows. Before returning to bed, I paused to appreciate the storm... the might of nature is usually hidden in the subtleties of the universe; only too rarely is it on widescreen display.

By morning, the storm had retreated, but remnants of its presence remained. Rain still fell from the lingering clouds that loomed in the sky. A steady stream of wind still pushed hard against the forest of umbrellas that rushed to breakfast. And nothing worked! The electricity was out. The internet was out. The water was out. How long would these casualties last?

As it turns out, we only had to eat breakfast by candlelight; the utilities returned this morning. The electricity and internet were back by about 9:00am, I estimate. The water staggered back a few hours later. Either the storm wasn't so bad, or service in China is a-okay!

The storm left a blanket of leaves and a smattering of sheeting from this shelter all across campus. You can see its missing some of its roof.