雨 (yǔ) - Rain

"You guys...we're like the Wild Thornberrys!" 

The Beijing sky at 4 p.m, nbd.

Today, we had our first public health class at the Capital Medical University. After lecture, the thirteen of us (plus Professor Gu) piled into a cozy little bus and were on our way back to Peking University when Professor Gu received a phone call telling him that campus was being slammed with a huge thunderstorm. Sure, the sky was turning black all around us in the middle of the afternoon and yeah, and the thunder and lightning seemed a little too close for comfort...but, come on! We go to school in Evanston - we know freaky weather.

And that's when traffic stopped.
Then, the bus driver cut the engine.
And there we sat, just chilling in the middle of the highway as the downpour continued.
...of course, it wasn't until a fellow student casually stepped off the bus and into the torrential rain armed with just an umbrella that we finally began asking questions.

"Professor Gu....? Where's he going?"
To the bathroom, of course, answered Professor Gu.
"But...how long are we going to be here?
Professor Gu explained that the tunnel further up the highway was flooded, and that the emergency crews were also stuck in traffic. "We...may be here overnight."

Talk about a bonding experience.

Fortunately, we were only stuck for two hours. When the rain finally let up around 6:30 p.m., Professor Gu suggested that we leave the bus and walk to the nearest subway station (a 30-minute walk). We were totally on board, despite only having four umbrellas to share between fourteen people. But, within minutes after we agreed to Professor Gu's plan, traffic started moving again - the police were allowing cars to make a u-turn into the other side of the highway, which was clear. Our adventure wasn't over yet, though...this time, instead of taking the highway, our bus driver decided to take some side streets. This is the result:

...why, yes. We did get stuck. But only for a brief moment!

The good news is, our (apparently amphibious...?) bus finally got us back to Beida safe and sound after three intense hours. Needless to say, we were all in need of some American comfort food upon our return (which we found at a little cafe near our dorm - score!).