Batten down the hatches!

So I've been warned that Ha Tinh is one of the rainiest provinces in Vietnam. I've even grudgingly accepted the torrential downpours that we've been experiencing over the past couple days.

However, to wake up from a nap to fellow Fulbrighter, Taylor, texting me that "you've got some rain coming, it looks like! Be careful!" is somewhat disheartening, and even a little frightening.

Taylor lives about 8 hours away from me in Hai Duong Province (near Hanoi), and there is no way that he would know about the goings-on of weather patterns in Ha Tinh unless they were really drastic, drastic enough to show up on CNN, which is where he said that he heard the news that Ha Tinh and Vinh were getting hit hard by rain.

I'm sure for people who have lived in Ha Tinh all their lives, the rain that we're experiencing may be reminiscent of last year's flooding (46 deaths - check out CNN's article about last year's floods!).

What this means: until the rain stops, I am virtually stuck inside my apartment. It sounds like this is not the kind of rain that you flippantly run around in, driving really fast to splash through big puddles. I am going to figure out how to make a quick dash to the supermarket to stock up on food rations, because if I am stuck inside, I don't want to be subsisting on Wasa Crisps and peanut butter (all that my fridge currently contains) for who-knows-how-long.

Until that happens, I guess I will be napping in my apartment, attempting to get through my Chuck Klosterman book that I only half-like, and trying to ignore the sound of the hard rain hitting the metal roof that is not so different from that of a jet engine taking off.

Guess my plans for the beach this weekend will have to be put on hold...