Rain Day

I wish we followed this logic in Oregon... we wouldn't have school like 9 months out of the year. Then again, we do have busses and cars and paved roads.

Ok, so school isnt cancelled for any old drizzle. But today, since about 1am, it has been absolute downpour. Honestly, I think it sounds way more intense beating down on my tin roof than it actually is when you step outside and survey the damage. Nonetheless, rain is flying sideways and that is enough to make me not want to leave my little cement hut for the rest of the day (unfortunately my bathroom is outside, so unless I want to pee in a bucket - which I have honestly considered - hunkering down completely isn't really an option).

In the wee hours of the morning, I awoke to the thundering sound of rain on my roof, and jumped out of bed to close my window. Unfortunately, my bedroom window is actually broken so it doesn't close all the way. It also has one big fat crack in the right pane of glass that the school has been "meaning" to fix for about 2 years now (they literally bought new glass, and it is sitting in my house they just won't install the darn thing). All in all though the faulty window isnt usually a problem, unless you count a few driblets of water on the floor a serious inconvenience. So, this morning I just groggily tried my best to shove the boy closed, and scoot the goodies I had left under the window out of dropping driblets way.

Since my 6am alarm was drowned out by monsrous rain sounds, I rolled over at 6:30 to discover that, thanks to the sideways rain culprit, my right pain of glass had turned into a pain in my ass, and there was a big fat puddle under my bedroom window that was creeping towards my new computer. Oh no you di-in't!

I subsequently leapt out of bed, scambling to save sopping books, wet panties, and a few damp doohickies, which basically entailed me flinging electronics around the room in dire hopes of saving thier mechanical lives. Then, as the puddle slowly spread, I desperately scavenged for a towel. Coming up empty handed, I settled on two clean sheets (which now I have to wash as soon as it stops raining, and washing sheets by hand in a bucket is painful!) to throw on and hopefully diminsh the ever growing pond.

"Oh my god! Its 6:30! I have the first lesson! I have to be at school in 15 minutes!"

Iraque, of course just laughing at me as always, responded: "Why would you go to school? it is raining. No one will be there."

Really, so there is just this understanding that, come rain, school is cancelled. So my childhood days of sitting by the radio and turning to channel 2 in hopes of hearing those magical "snow day" words were spent in vain. I should have just grown up in Mozambique where the kids look out the window and decide to cancel school themselves because they know the teachers wont go anyway.

And really, can I, like, get a list of all these unspoken rules you seem to have or something because I am quite often left in the dark.

Or in this case, I was left in the rain. Because I went to school. You betcha. I was about 30 minutes late, but I went. About 3 of my students were there and 1 other teacher, the new guy. I guess he needs a list too.

As I ran back to my house, drenched in less than 2 minutes even with an umbrella, my colleagues marvelled at my dedication.

"Wow, you went to school? But it is raining. I made it about half way," (he lives maybe 50yards from the school), "but I got wet so I turned around."