The Water.

With a 5 week holiday, I feel as though I’m reliving my Peace Corps days. Yes, 5 weeks. Perhaps I’ll go back a few weeks to clue everyone in on the situation.

First off... a few updates. I work for a very cool school called JPA, the Jay Pritzker Academy. I am the librarian in a room full of 20,000 books. We have a Pre-K to 12 school with about 400 students (give or take). It is hard work, but extremely rewarding. I spent the first quarter teaching computers, research, and other library-associated skills, as well as reading aloud to most of the classes and running the after school tutoring program. These are all things that I enjoy immensely. In fact, I think I’ve found my calling. I love to read and encourage others to do the same. I love computers and the versatility that they allow me. And I love these students. They are eager to learn and are, I’m certain, the best behaved students in the history of education. I’ve worked there for about a year and a half now, and am loving it.

In other news, I’m still in the same house I was in when I posted my last blog. It has been painted since my last post... about 4 times. I’ve painted my kitchen yellow, my living room red, and my entry way and bathroom turquoise. I’ve also added both a Playstation (complete with guitar and dance dance revolution dance pad) and a Wii to my living space. I have a cat, called Jasper, who wandered up the stairs and into my bedroom when he was a kitten and never left. I also got internet in my house with the help of a tiny USB stick that says ‘metfone’ on it. In other words, I think I’ve got it made. Or, I would... if the water would stay on and the termites would leave the house. Nasty creatures, termites. They made a nest in my spare bedroom and when I tried to destroy it, my lights went out.

But that’s neither here nor there... I was getting to why I was off for 5 weeks. Well, in a word... water. Since September, Siem Reap (including my house) has been flooded about 5 times. The river in the middle of the town overflowed into the streets and created some massive headaches for everyone. It was never too bad. Even at its worst, the water was only up to my knees. And living on the second floor, the water made my travels difficult but it only affected my entryway and made it extremely dirty. It also made Jasper stir crazy... being in the house all that time without going out to cavort with his pals, but he survived and I did too.

But the school... School is worse. We watched as the water flowed higher and higher, going over part of the road. The school is outside of town about 20 kilometers, and the water nearby is not the Siem Reap river, but in fact a much larger lake. Luckily, most of the students live on the side of the school that was less affected, but the problems continue to circulate through the village. The majority of rice fields surrounding the school have been destroyed. Which means that the livelihoods of the people who work in the fields... well, you can imagine.

Either way, the flooding issue is all around Southeast Asia. And after seeing the water rise something like 5 cm in one afternoon, our principal cancelled school for a few weeks. And in that time, the water rose high enough to not only surround the school, but to enter it. There are some photos of the water in the corridors, in the classrooms. And really, this is all quite incredible given JPA is the absolute highest point around, built to withstand all sorts of nature.

So this brings me back to the beginning... I have 2 weeks left to do with what I will. I spent a week in Bangkok, watching the bottled water disappear in the hands of frightened Thais and trying to get my fix of America inside the giant sprawling malls of Siam Square. I spent a week cleaning and cuddling my cat. I spent a week working on things for school. And now? Perhaps I’ll spend a week around Cambodia before attempting to get back into work mode. Right now I feel lazy in the way that too much vacation encourages. I sleep late, eat too much, spend more money than I like... all while trying to remember the students and their own predicaments. It’s a sizeable set back... in more ways than one.