Snake Snake Fish Fish is an ongoing series based around Thai idioms/phrases/colloquialisms, written about and illustrated by Kiera Hurley and guest contributors.
Kiera Hurley, 135 YinD
“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…It’s about learning to dance in the rain.” Vivian Greene
It’s rainy season in Thailand and it’s about the closest thing we’ll get to “seasons” here. The skies shift in slow motion—clouds gathering in dark folds, thunder murmuring somewhere far away, and lightning sketching jagged lines across the horizon. Sometimes the heavens only whisper with a soft drizzle, other times they open wide, spilling a torrential downpour that soaks the earth. The rhythm is almost predictable: the afternoons dim into rain, evenings hum with it, and often the nights are carried away in its song.
For those who rely on motorcycles or bicycles to move through daily life, fon ja dtok ฝนจะตก—“the rain is going to fall”—is less a poetic phrase and more an inconvenience, a reason to hurry home or cancel plans before the storm sets in. Yet, for me, there is something peaceful about it. As raindrops fall into puddles and ripple outward, I listen to the rhythm on rooftops, smell the freshness in the air, and see dew shining on the leaves. Rain reminds me to slow down, to notice, and to appreciate the cleansing gift of water.
“Wisdom is like the rain. Its source is limitless, but comes down according to the season”. Rumi
Here in Thailand, I’ve learned that when it rains, it pours. Not only in the literal sense, but in the way life’s challenges gather like storm clouds. A bad week at site often isn’t the work of a single raindrop; it’s the steady accumulation until the weight finally falls. But the rain, relentless as it feels, is never permanent. The storms pass, the air clears, and a rainbow always waits somewhere on the other side.
And so I remind myself: the sun always returns, even if I have to walk through the rain to greet it.
Sticky Rice 