Rain in the Willage

I woke up this morning to the sound of rain and was instantly dreading my walk to school for Saturday class. Our willage lacks any sort of drainage system. There are drains, but they don't actually drain. Once it fills up the water has no where to go so it stays on the streets. The water is disgusting and usually when there is a lot the motorbikes don't run so we pray a car will pick us up or we trudge through the water.

Today, I had to trudge. It was still raining while I walked the 18 blocks to school and the streets were by far the most flooded I have seen them. I only saw two motorbikes, both already had passengers. At first the walk wasn't bad, but as I got closer to school it was impossible to avoid walking through more than ankle deep water. I tried to get a little creative and walk on the curb, but the water was even higher than curb. By the time I got to school my legs were soaked and had grass caked on the them.

I only teach Saturday class once every seven weeks, but it is very enjoyable. All I have to do is show up and read a few stories. It is nice because there are only a few students there and for the most part they are the ones that are good at English and want to learn. Luckily after school I was able to catch a motorbike home and the driver was fully equipped with rain boots. I might need to invest in some.

A picture of the flooded streets of Pak Soi one and half days after the rain.

Pak Soi (literally meaning mouth of road) is the street leading into the village.