Rainy season

For the past two days, the sky has been overcast, then it's been raining. The weather forecast says that a tropical depression far out at sea has strengthened into a storm and is moving into our waters. Along the central coast, this is the rainy season. Our ancestors' experience shows that the rainy season lasts until the 23rd of October in the lunar calendar. A proverb about natural phenomena says: "The husband may forgive, but the wife will not; there's still fear of the flood on the 23rd of October."

In the old days, every time the rainy season arrived, in my hometown, many families would excitedly prepare to welcome the first flood of the season to cast nets and lines to catch fish, and set traps to catch eels... During the first flood, various types of freshwater seafood would swim in schools to celebrate the rising water, marking the breeding season. Therefore, the first flood of the season usually brought a lot of fish. The rainy season was also the time when we children had the opportunity to wade through the rain and water with the adults to catch fish.

Back then, in poor rural areas, raincoats were mostly made from repurposed plastic sheeting. Very few families bought raincoats, partly to save money during difficult economic times, and partly because repurposed plastic materials were sufficient to keep people dry. Many people bought cheap tarpaulins from general stores, cut by the meter, depending on their needs. This raincoat only needed to be draped over the shoulders and tied around the neck to protect against the rain when going outside. In more traditional farming families, they often reused the plastic lining inside urea fertilizer bags. This lining prevented water from seeping in and dissolving the fertilizer. At that time, families bought urea fertilizer to fertilize their fields; after fertilizing, farmers carefully removed the seams from the bottom of the outer bag and the inner plastic lining. This plastic bag was neatly folded and stored to be used as a raincoat whenever it rained. It's very easy to use; just cut three holes in the bottom of the bag: two at shoulder level for putting your arms through and one in the middle of the bottom for your head. This innovative pullover raincoat, used by farmers , is very durable because it's made of highly flexible nylon.

I understand that in many provinces of the North Central region, raincoats back then were mostly made from layers of leaves sewn together, often called "áo tơi" (raincoats). In my hometown, some families with betel nut gardens also made raincoats from betel nut leaves, or they might use palm leaves from the forests in Ninh Tay or Hon Du to make raincoats for the rainy season; they were durable and kept warm very well.

During the rainy season in my hometown, at the time of lighting the fire, thick white smoke would seep through the kitchen windows and squeeze through the gaps in the roof tiles. Keeping the firewood dry and ensuring a steady fire was a challenge. After more than a week of incessant rain, finding dry firewood was difficult, so most of the firewood around the hearth had to be piled up to dry. Sometimes the wood wouldn't dry in time, making lighting the fire very difficult. From the moment the fire was lit until it caught, we had to constantly inhale the smoke swirling around the hearth, our eyes and noses stinging. Therefore, the advice from the elders was to use ash to cover the embers after each cooking session to keep the fire burning.

Nowadays, modern life is much more comfortable and offers many more choices. Using raincoats like in the old days, or lighting a campfire during the humid rainy season, is perhaps only a memory for many people!

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