Flood!

Praise be that we had such a beautiful morning of storm on

Tuesday. Chelsey and I just barely beat the rain walking to The Well for the morning group counseling session. Once we settled in the rain came down in force. Here in Thailand there is a rainy season and... another season. We're in the other season. So, there hasn't been a drop of rain in two months. I loved hearing the rain on the tin roofs and soaked in the knowledge of the city being cleansed, the pollution washing away with the waters.

The rains let up just minutes before we broke for lunch. We saw

the flooding immediately as we stepped out of the safe haven of the building. The street was ankle deep in water. The drains were backed up from two months of unfettered debris drifting and plugging them. I was wearing sandals, so trudged through. Chelsey wore closed toed

shoes so got a ride on my back to the nearest dry spot a block away. I broke from the group. Wading ankle deep most of the way home. I could feel the film of street mess clinging to my skin and seeping slowly into the pores of my

feet. The layers of dog f

eces and piles of food offerings giving weight to the "cleansing waters."

I reached my home unassuming. As I lifted my head from the door handle I realized my afternoon would see no rest as the stairs gave way to a sweet trickle of a

waterfall coming from one of the higher floors. After a full house sweep, I realized the only two rooms that were affected were my own and the bottom floor... the communal living area. I was so excited to learn my room had a small porch overlooking the alleyway that led to our home. Tuesday, the porch was the source of my afternoon efforts. It has one small drain designed like that of a shower and a foot tall toe board that raises from the porch floor - a fine feature if one is using the porch for a game of jacks or marbles. However, the height of the foot board was not considerably compared to the height of the step up from the porch into my room which incidentally is about half the size. So, after two months of collecting debris the drain clogged as quickly as the rains came. Then the porch became a pool. When the level of the water reached

the level of my room, the pool began finding refuge from the outside storm on my well tended bed. The waterfilled the lowest spots of my room and then started on the journey down the steps to the living room.

Because the rains had stopped, I was able to chase away the two centimeters of water from my room within the afternoon. My mattress however is still drying two days later. My roommate has invited me to rest on her full bed in the evenings which has offered and excellent alternative to my quiet floor-haven.