it's raining cats and dogs

Or acid from all the air pollution, same difference.

The weather here has been completely crazy. The first day it was super sunny with blue skies (which I had heard were the Chinese equivalent of seeing a unicorn) and then the last few days have been very gray.

Not gray because it's going to rain or anything, just gray because the air is so filled with smog and other pollutants. Minus today, because today it actually IS raining. I'm sort of afraid to go outside in it. The photograph above is from my balcony.

The water here is very dirty, and I'm sure rain water is no different. All tap water has a sort of yellowish tint to it, and it smells very metallic. A mixture of iron or nickel or something, I'm not exactly sure. It's very strange though, because you can smell it in the tea in restaurants and stuff.

Keep in mind, I'm in Shanghai. The largest port city in the world. As far as the environment, sewage, and sanitation, it is important to remember that despite it's ever-growing position of power on a global scale, China is still a developing country. We experienced our industrial revolution 150 years ago, they're experiencing it now. So I'm not exactly shocked by the overall dirtiness here, just, well, unprepared? I'm not sure how else to describe it.