Rain

Rain at the M1 station on 79th and Broadway 

After 2 days of serious heat the inevitable rainstorm that will, hopefully, freshen things up once again, struck just as we were coming back from a "welcome back" celebration for the beginning of the academic year (the french word "rentrée" is so much more convenient to describe this!).

It is interesting to see the different approaches to the sudden onslaught of water. Some run, others, resignedly, walk and will get soaked, others yet wait at the bottom of the stairs exiting the subway station. Friendly conversations start on the relative benefits of waiting vs. running. Smiles, frowns, self-deprecatory comments from those who didn't remember to bring an umbrella (I was the designated person tonight and utterly failed on that account). You spend 5 minutes sheltering under a doorway and will be a spectator, alongside your temporary neighbours, of the decision process of people who have to deliberate whether to go bear through the deluge, take cover somewhere, or find a compassionate pedestrian with a large enough umbrella.

Dynamics you can see during any summer storm in Lausanne, but here the sheer amount of people passing by on any given street makes the observation all the more intriguing.

Oh, and the drainage of water on the sidewalks here is almost as bad as in Paris…