Picture a day August 13

Walking to school on the banks of the River Parkland. We had a massive storm last night that sounded right on top of my apartment. I secretly hoped it would knock out all the power. It did not. But it did flood the street in front of the school, which let's be honest, happens regularly this time of year. But at least it's a flood and not a Flood. If the water had been much deeper I would have had to get my wellies to cross one section, but as it was I could time it with the waves and make it past in regular shoes- this time... 

Rumbles of Rain

It's monsoon season again, and really, most of the time I love it.  I love watching the sky be slowly overcome by the dark gray and green masses that blow ominously in.  I love the distant rumbles of thunder that grow every closer. I love the sound of the rain pelting my living room windows when the drops fall particularly sideways.  I love the cool breezes that occasionally follow the storm and fill my living room. 

Luckily, the overall amount of rain is lower this year, and widespread flooding is not a major concern (yet).  Localized flooding is definitely occurring, however, and I hear reports from time to time on twitter about certain areas being underwater.  After last year's debacle our school is taking extra precautions regarding potential floods, which is a good thing, though I'm guessing my predictions from last year that we won't get a solitary flood day this year will come to pass.  Around here, we don't pray for massive flooding across Thailand of course, but we certainly don't really pray against some localized stuff directly in front of our school :) 

I'm slowly adapting to this different cycle and rhythm of seasons and nature and am enjoying the warmth very much. Every morning on my 3 minute walk to school I rejoice in the soft warm air against my skin, and marvel at how day after day and month after month I don't need so much as a sweater or jacket or closed-toed shoe.  I need them on occasion as protection from over aggressive air conditioners, but that's a much different situation than the frozen north from which I come. 

A lot of people around here really miss fall.  I suppose I miss that crispness a bit, and some of the scents and flavors that come with it, but it's a fleeting sort of missing.  When it comes to fall I guess I really only miss three things: the afternoon Michigan game from time to time, apple crisp (which I actually had a few weeks ago so I can check that off the list) and the Long Lake weekend.  Instead, I guess I'll have to take the cool breezes when they come and enjoy my cups of tea while the AC is on. 

The flood: it's still there

So, it's been awhile since I've given a flood update, but that unfortunately does not mean that the flood has gone away.  It does mean, however, that a) my area is still dry and b) the waiting has become the new normal and we (or at least I) only half pay attention any more.  We are one of the few dry districts remaining, although the city center also remains thankfully dry.  In the past week, several more staff member's houses have flooded and the on-campus apartment building is now full.  ICS got special permission from the MOE to open this week and we started back with students yesterday. It's nice to be back in the classroom and into routine again.  The water, however, continues to move towards the sea. If all barriers hold, my district of Bang Na "should" be okay.  Maybe.  Or, in about another 10-12 days it could flood here. And ICS would have to close. Again.  The most northern parts of the flood area, in the central part of the country, are seeing much lower water levels and soon, the clean up work will begin.  We'll probably have flood water with us for several more weeks and the clean up will go on for months. 

So that's about it right now for flood news.  Here's a link to some information about what YWAM (a Christian mission organization) is doing for flood relief.  One of my friends goes out everyday with them, wading through nasty unsafe flood water, out in the hot sun, to bring much needed supplies to people in their homes.  He looked exhausted when I saw him over a week ago. I can't imagine how he's feeling now!  The pictures and videos he posts daily on facebook are truly amazing. 

Hilarious video

Okay, I thought the last flood video was great, but Episode 4 is even better.  It gives you a little glimpse into Thai culture as well.  My favorite parts are the constant references to not 'defecating in the water' and the crocodiles.  There are, seriously, about 600 crocodiles on the loose in the flood waters (a croc farm flooded) and they are offering rewards for their capture.  Our area is still dry.  Am going to venture downtown tomorrow to try to get a visa out of here, so we'll see what I see then.  Juan and Claudia left this morning after a lovely day together yesterday.  And, if I can't leave this week, I might have a volunteer opportunity at a shelter they are setting up at a nearby school for evacuees.  So that would be really cool.  We shall see.  I'm learning so much about how little of life I really control and how much everything is in God's hands.  We like to think and imagine that we do in fact exercise some measure of control over our lives and circumstances, but truth is, we don't.  Nothing like 50,000 whales stuck on dry land to teach you that! 

So we wait

Well, if this isn't just the most annoying situation ever.  We are still just waiting. The water is, in fact, entering more and more areas of the city.  But, there is still much more panic in the city than actual water.  Bummer for me is that I have friends here, until tonight, and the places we wanted to go are closed- Grand Palace (water coming in, it's by the river), huge weekend market (threatened by water and they're evacuating it), Thai Craft Fair (dunno, closed for panic?  roads to the north, where the goods come from, closed?).  At any rate, we have found sufficient, though not as exciting, things to do here in Bang Na where things are dry and functioning.  I feel so bad that they weren't able to see all the things they wanted to- they're not complaining or anything, but I would just have liked to be able to show them Bangkok at its best, and visit some of these places myself. 

I'm telling you though, the anxiety is really getting to me.  I am a planner.  And by planner, I mean a planner (Myers-Briggs folks, my 'J' is like a 28 out of 30).  And in Bangkok right now every single bloody thing is tentative, other than the fact that we don't have school until November 7th.  Or maybe later.  Maybe.  It's really a pretty tense place to be right now, so I am working on plans to escape for a few days  (Wed-Sun) next week.  But there are a lot of 'maybes' to that plan- contingent on quick visa applications and non-flooded embassies and airplanes with seats on them... so we'll see.  My back-up plan?  Call my Thai teacher, who maybe hasn't fled the city with the masses, and do some intensive Thai.  And hopefully not get stuck in my building if this area floods.  I've got food and water so I would for sure be okay, but they might need to put me in a mental hospital after.  

There aren't even any volunteer opportunities in the city right now, at least not with official projects.  There is basically nothing to do but wait.  I'm not very good at waiting.  I knew that before.  But now I know it.  So yeah, good news is that I am fine, that my area is fine, that the main airport is still dry and operational (good for Juan and Claudia who have flights out in the morning), that things are more or less business as usual in our neighborhood.  Continue to pray for the nation, for the government, for those who are affected (several of my friends are trapped at home because of water outside their houses), that the water (or the whales:) would somehow drain into the sea faster than is predicted, that Christ would be made know in the crisis, that I would trust in God and in his promises even in the midst of such uncertainty and anxiety. 

Best flood video ever

This awesome video explains a little bit of why I have quit paying attention to the news, have bought loads of pasta, and am just gonna hang out and see what happens.  It's about 5min long with English subtitles and hilarious graphics. 

Back to "school"

Well, after a wonderful four days on Koh Mak island (post to come later) I am back in Bangkok.  The Ministry of Education has ordered all schools to close until November 7th (at least) and ICS is closed in compliance with that.  We don't, however, want to make up all these days so we are 'conducting classes electronically', which is a bit of a pain, but manageable.  There is a blog-type website that is for classes and education purposes called edmodo that many of us are using to post assignments and instructional videos and activities.  It's a bit confusing right now as they kids login and have questions but I am confident that by the time this whole crisis is passed, they will have the hang of it :) 

Now, in terms of the flood situation, there isn't a whole lot of new news other than that the water continues to move southward towards the sea, more areas continue to flood, and central Bangkok and my area are dry (and actually VERY hot and sunny).  The main problem in this area right now is waiting and wondering and panic. I went to the grocery store today and it was half empty- though I was able to get what I needed.  Just very weird.  I would have taken pictures, but I dropped my camera face down in the sand this weekend so it's in need of being fixed or cleaned.  Course the thing is so old I might just decided to replace it.  ANYHOW...  Central Bangkok is operating, but touristy stuff is either closed or up in the air and travel is a bit tough so my visitors (Juan and Claudia) are actually still on the island. No reason for them to leave paradise to come sweat it out in stressful Bangkok.  They'll come back to the city on Friday, we'll spend some time together on Saturday, and then they leave on Sunday. 

I guess the main two things to communicate to you at this time.
#1 The situation in Thailand is still quite dire, quite bad, and probably going to get worse before it improves. There is still little to no reliable information.  Plenty of articles on cnn or bbc if you want to see their take on it.  I've mostly quit reading the news.  It's the no-news news, as my friend likes to call it.
#2 I am safe.  I now have a kitchen full of food and water.  In addition, I live on campus and the school has stock-piled water here.  One thing that continues to impress me about ICS and our administration is the way they take care of their people. We have several on campus apartments that are not being lived in right now and some of our Thai staff members and their families who have been evacuated are now living on campus with us.  For some of them, the water around their house is waist deep. 

So please continue to pray for this nation, for the people who are affected, and for God to be revealed to them in the midst of this crisis.  Some people think that as soon as this passes we'll have a coup because of the way the government has handled it (has any government ever handled a disaster well? I mean, seriously, isn't that why they call it a disaster/crisis?) so pray that that doesn't happen.  My friends and I may be looking to volunteer somewhere next week, since once I get the hang of this online lesson thing (and my kids get into the groove with it) I'll have some time on my hands.  Pray that we can be the hands and feet of Jesus to people who, yes, need food and water, but just as much need Jesus. 

On its way

There is not a lot else to say about the impending flood at this point, only that it's drawing closer, yet we still have no idea if/how much it's going to hit, either the city at large or my particular area. While there is a severe lack of information, even in the news, reports are that "it's coming".   I am safe and dry.  My dear friends, Juan and Claudia, arrive tomorrow night and we leave (hopefully) Saturday morning for a 4 day weekend at the beach on a small island in the Gulf of Thailand.  Actually, I have a 5 day weekend now- school has been cancelled on Friday (tomorrow) due to flooding around Bangkok and traffic problems as people start to panic, and to park their cars along the side of the expressway to keep them dry.  While I am looking forward to our time away oh-so-much my heart is heavy as well- for those whose homes are filling with water.  For those in the path, waiting.  For those who have already lost so much.  It seems silly to go relax at the beach with all this going on.  It seems silly to worry about a whole lot of things with all this going on.  We pray, because it's all we can do and it's the best thing to do. 

Dry, but not out of the woods yet...

The threat is not over yet

The good news:  The rain water from the weekend and earlier this week (when they had to close school for a day) has disipated and the streets around here are dry.  The sky is blue and the sun is shining.

The bad news:  The barriers that have been built to hold the water out of Bangkok are just barely holding.  We still have high tide.  The water is still moving south towards the sea from the northern and central parts of the country.  Just the past few days, 2 meters of water filled the house of my friend's brother.  In a matter of hours it was waist high.  If the barrier breaks at any point, water will not only fill Bangkok, it will rush in.  It will take a matter of weeks for the water levels to go down, and it's quite possible that they will go up before they go down.

So, while it is easy to look out the window and take down your defenses, we are not yet through this "war".  The next week will still be critical.  Your prayers are still needed.  Because if this water really does break through, than what I saw last weekend will be nothing...

No flood waters yet, but plenty of rain water.

Luckily, the much dreaded flood waters from the north are not pouring into Bangkok.  It does, however, continue to rain so many of the Sois (side streets) are flooding, including the one I live on.  The water level has been going up and down the past few days, but was definitely higher last night when we came home in a taxi and were driving through a river.  The driver was kind enough to take me all the way to the front gate so I gave him a big tip.

I knew though, that if the level didn't go down I'd have to walk through ankle deep water (at best) to get to a taxi to go to church this morning.  I'd searched for some wellies on Friday night, but had been unable to find any.  This morning though, I ran into my downstairs neighbor in the hallway as we were surveying the flooded street from above and lo and behold, she had an extra pair that she could just give me!  So, armed with my new boots, I loaded my backpack with sandals, umbrella, and Bible and headed out for church.  Which, by the way, was SO SO good.  God amazes me.  Every Sunday I have been going to a different church as I get a feel for the options I have here, and every Sunday the sermon and/or service feels directly aimed at my heart.

I even brought my camera with me today, a miracle in and of itself, but was only able to get 4 pictures taken before the batteries fell out and one fell into the black hole that is the floor of my friend's car.  We searched and searched to no avail.  But, here are the shots I was able to get.  

Looking down onto the street in front of the school Sunday morning.

Heading out to church in my new flood gear.

Climbing over the sandbags to get out the gate. 

Our street.  I cut through a parking lot to avoid walking down it.

They have already canceled school tomorrow.  I have another good (non flood related) blog post in me I'll get written soon.  I've just been too much of a social butterfly lately to sit down for very long to blog.