FLOOOOD!

I'm not talking about anything on the scale of the New Orleans flood, or the Jakarta 2002 floods where hundreds of thousands were displaced from their homes; there was no heart-wrenching footage of entire families taking refuge on a make-shift raft as their roof gets swallowed by water... but last week our staff house flooded!

This is the first time we've had flood issues since being in Indonesia, but according to friends it had to happen sooner or later (most have experienced floods, and some on several occasion)! "Everyone has to have an Indonesian flood story to take home", consoled Cecilia!

In fact, the situation wasn't THAT dire... it was just the series of factors that came together: high tide ("so", in terminology I adored, a coworker said "the sea was full"), major garbage problem in Sorong (ie. blocking the gutters and sewers, and more devastatingly their outlets to the sea), heavy rainfall (duh!?), and a low-ish lying property. But the worst that happened for us was that a few things got a little wet... but they probably needed a good washing anyway (luckily nothing electronic)!

Of course, then yesterday it *almost* happened again... when I realized it had been raining on a torrential scale for quite some time, I rushed home to 'guard' against the floods (how does one do that exactly!?)... when I arrived the water was already surrounding the house in a dirty brown moat, and not a speck of the patio was showing, but it hadn't quite reached the doorways. After raising everything up off the floor and out of harm's way (including the clothes which were not quite dry from the thorough wash they got after the last event!), I spent two hours running from the front to the back doors, checking on the 'current situation' and readying 'dykes' at the doorways - haha!

The rain slowed, and we were safe... this time. Let's hope this isn't us in the future!