Gabi or the taro plant is known for its edible root that grows almost everywhere in Philippines.

 

I grew up in a street in Polanco, Philippines where everyone are knows each other. Our neighbors were family literally and figuratively. So some random rainy day would often turn into a party as my cousins and I would go outside and shower in the rain.  We would walk around our street drenched and play on the streets. Back then there were only few cars in our town, so it was safe for us to be on the streets.

 

When the rain settles down, we would find taro plants with their leaves full of water droplets. We would separate the droplets and have water droplet races on hydrophobic leaves of the taro plant. The first droplet to fall wins.

 

Then, we would sneakily cut one of the leaves and use it as umbrella even though we were already soaked and would prance around our neighborhood with our gabi umbrella.