Just when I thought I had had it with Westwood weather for being strangely chilly all week, it gives us what we’ve all been waiting for… a thunderstorm.  Maybe not all of us, but personally I have always had a strange fascination and obsession over thunderstorms.  Growing up, I was often the only girl in the classroom that didn’t scream when the crackle of thunder ripped across the skies on a gloomy day, and over time I came to embrace the fact that I loved thunder, lightning, and rain.

When I joined the Bruin family and came to UCLA, I hadn’t thought much about the fact that Los Angeles averages 360 days of sunshine per year.  I was prepared for the culture shock that would ensue after my move across the world, but somehow it had slipped my mind that I would no longer be immersed in tropical torrential downpour every afternoon when the rainy season rolled by each year.

I accustomed to the perpetual sunshine quite easily, needless to say.  It’s just so much easier to stay happy and positive about the whole university experience and adjusting to college-level courses when the skies are smiling at you.  But on days like today, the rain and thunder suddenly bring back memories of my life in Asia, and it makes me smile.  It’s also a coincidence (or not?) that across the world, it is the annual Songkran water festival celebrating the Thai new year.  Happy Songkran!