I rode my bicycle to school when I grew up. Whenever it rained, I put on my raincoat — not exactly a coat, more like a big tarp with a hole where my head can get out — and still biked to school. Many people wore this kind, too. It protected me very well under “tarp”, I never really got wet wearing it.

When I was preparing packing for my student life in the U.S., I naturally went to a store, got a brand new and bright red raincoat and packed in my suitcase.

However, I rarely saw people wear this kind of raincoat on their bikes, when it rains. They wear normal sportswear, probably water-resistant or water-proof ones, and just bike away like that! I talked to myself a few times — don’t they get wet that way? Why no one wear my tarp kind raincoat? Do they even know there’s such a thing? Is it just a San Francisco thingy? What about people else where?

If no one wears it, I feel weird if I do. I probably shouldn’t care that much, and it just got me thinking whether this meant I was seek some kind of social proof — I wanted to look similar to other people, I didn’t want to stand out, I don’t want to be perceived as “a person wearing weird bright red tarp”.

Hmmm. The “tarp” raincoat has been sleeping in my closet all these years probably just for that reason.

P.S. Later I found that you can find plenty of these kinds of “tarp” raincoat on Amazon, by searching “raincoat poncho”.