Rain

The first and most obvious observation I made about Portland, Oregon is the amount of rain that occurs. I grew up in Ventura, California where the annual rainfall average is about sixteen inches. It was not long after moving to Portland that I realized Portland’s average annual rainfall is more than double of what I was used to. I come from a place where rain jackets are deemed unfashionable, umbrellas are preferred over hoods, and going to the carwash is a biweekly routine. The people of Portland are so accustomed to wet weather that I had to adopt new norms about rain; rain jackets are a necessity, umbrellas are a hassle, and paying to get your car washed is a joke. Most importantly, don’t bother checking the weather - more than likely it will rain. 


-An excerpt from my Observing Portland essay