Chubascos over Bogotá, in two days

I was warned that Bogota is well... often rainy. It is neither hot (never above 77°F/25°C), nor really cold, but rather ¨mild¨ and ¨wet¨.

Coming from a place like Chicago where one is subjected to intense heatwaves and snowstorms from time to time, this is actually a relief. In fact, I can´t wait to get away from this clinging humidity, which is currently enveloping my whole being.

Out of a sudden feeling of curiosity, I felt moved to check the weather forecast for the day when I am supposed to land in Bogota. For authenticity´s sake I decided to scope out a website in Spanish, for after all, it would probably give a more descriptive picture of what to expect.

Friday, June 4th:

Chubascos. Min 10°, Max 20°.

???, or rather ¿¿??

So I´m sitting there wondering, what exactly is a chubasco, and how am I going to re-gauge my mind to Celsius?

Which brings me to a segment of this blog, to be prosaically named ¨Word of the Day.¨ This will be a meditation on whatever new word, phrase, or linguistic curiosity I happen to come across that day in Colombia. In all likeliness, each entry will be from the incredibly awesome Spanish language (though there is a chance that non-Spanish entries will make appearances).

Word of the Day:

Chubascos - heavy rain showers, squalls.

Uhhhh, squalls? Aren´t those the things that hardy fishermen encounter at sea? Violent rainstorms, replete with, you guessed it, thunder and lightning? The kind that threaten to flip the boat and wipe out everything in sight?

Well then, chubascos it is. For such an amusing word, the meaning is a bit on the stark side. Apparently, it comes from the Portuguese word chuva, similar to the Spanich lluvia, which means rain. Also, a more literary meaning of chubascos suggests adverse events that make the going difficult, hindering one´s progress.

Hmmmm. I am very excited to begin my summer journey to Colombia, but I think I need to temper my expectations, and be ready to brave any chubascos on the horizons. I actually like rain, because it can create a kind of gray-ish, gloomy charm. And, the sun is bound to come out eventually.