Typhoon

We had a typhoon here a couple of days ago. Now when we Americans hear 'typhoon', we think of a massive storm with a possible tidal wave. Unfortunately, it's not quite that exciting here in China. The Chinese words for typhoon are "tai feng" which means 'big wind'. They rate these typhoons, or strong winds, from 1 to 8 in severity, 8 being the biggest. This means typhoons can range anywhere from regular rain with some gusts of wind all the way up to a hurricane.

This past 'typhoon' was a 3 which means it had strong wind. Maybe Californians would've been impressed, but being a Texan, it was nothing! (does this mean things are truly bigger and better in TX like the saying goes -- even storms?)

If we were in the mid-West, you would've said to your friend about this 'typhoon', "Hey, did you notice that strong wind last night with the (regular) rain?" They may or may not have noticed it or thought it noteworthy to even mention! I used to get excited and run outside to play in Texas during a 'typhoon' like this #3.

I (unfortuately) took Zach to Disneyland on Tuesday and they'd closed the outside rides because this typhoon was "coming in the next 24 hours". There was no rain and no wind, but it was 'coming'! They are very conservative here...maybe because so many people have housing that is more susceptible to the elements than our US houses? or maybe so everyone can rush home and get their laundry off the lines that hang out their windows and not lose their clothes? I really don't know.....

We are fine for those of you who may have heard about our 'big typhoon' and enjoyed a nice mid-western-style rain. It came down pretty hard -- you could hear it from indoors, you'd get soaked if you didn't use an umbrella. But it wasn't anything like the storms in Texas where I remember having the windshield wipers on as fast as they would go, rain coming down in sheets, and BARELY being able to see the car in front of you.