flood.

so today maybe wasn't the best day i've ever had. i woke up to the POURING down of the rain....it usually doesn't rain during the morning...it rains at nighttime. so this was a strange occurence. anyways, showered...and just as i stepped out of the shower, the power blinked off. it came back on shortly after...and blinked off again a little later.

then...i averted the literal river that had taken over my front yard by going around on the patio. that was good until i got to the steps that were literally so innundated with water that i had to just forge the river to get to the next solid spot. i did, hopped in the car....and yeah. nothing. it told me that it couldn't start because the security program had been tampered with or something to that effect...so the car would not restart. i called a friend, who came for me with his brother. that was after trying to get through to cabs for literally like 20 minutes. all this in the midst of the pounding rain. i'm not joking. it was raining so incredibly hard. so we transfer all of my kids' books into the car of the brother...and head off for school. i'm literally more than soaked...and freezing cold. the books are all wet....and we're off.

we stopped for coffee at a local bakery. that was nice...and definitely the reedeming moment of the morning. the coffee was really savory. so driving to school was like pretending to be on a submarine. the water was gushing from all sides...and the cascades that our area is famous for had steep competition with all of the water falling off of the mountain sides onto the cars/roads. pieces of the mountain were literally caving in, covering the road. i found out later that all entrances to the city were blocked off...and that from chapala to ajijic (a ten minute trip when conditions are normal) was an over an hour commute because of the water and debris.

so we arrived at school....and to my surprise, almost no one was there. i was slightly annoyed that i had gone to all of this trouble to get there, even calling in to tell the secretary about the car issue....i had half my fifth grade group. they brought food. so that was a bonus...we ate taquitos, tamales, frijoles, and fanta orange soda instead of doing spelling. but, as well, very few maestros were there. me and a couple others. people couldn't pass to get to school..and on top of it, there were literal floods that really did a lot of damage to a neighboring city. several rescue workers, food donations, blankets, and clothes were sent to the pueblo this morning and afternoon.

the day drug on, as you can imagine...and with twenty restless nine year olds...it was a chore to keep them sane. we read, played games, and waited it out. the rain continued pouring until late in the morning. about halfway through the morning, i was giving instructions for something....and devin, one of my gringo students, turned around sharply in his chair to ask me a question. when he did, he spun his arms in the air....and completely showered me in the remaining coffee that i had been holding. he freaked. he kept apologizing. i just told him, "que bueno que me puse el color negro esta manana..." good that i put on black this morning, huh? he laughed nervously...and apologized again. it was no big deal. i was just soaked for the second time of the morning...with brown liquid this time. at least it was hot and not cold like the other liquid had been. :)

so we continued on. my sixth graders were really engaged in a book that i started reading them...so i now know how to pass time if need be. they were really entertained by my elaborate movements and sound effects. que bueno.

anyways...so then i left...sort of without permission. my kids had their last class with another teacher...andi snuck out...mostly because i didn't have car...and needed to get a ride. i did so with my friend carla, who's the english teacher for secundaria. she took me to the plaza to the restaurant. hopefully pablo can come look at the car later or tomorrow.

i took a taxi home...and am sitting here...really exhausted. i think i'm going to close my eyes. that would be nice. it was quite a day. i learned from my experience: how to maneuver with the ajijic taxi service, that teachers sometimes are required to be bigger than the circumstances that present themselves, how to not pass through the middle of my yard in the midst of a rain storm for fear of sinking through to the lake, that fifth graders can't be cooped up or easily entertained for more than about 10 minutes, that cadillac's have extremely elaborate security systems that don't really make much sense, that this community pours itself out for the sake of others without conditions...when the need arises and even when it does not...they are such a graceful and kind group of people....

it was a good day. a tough day. but a day full of learning more and more and more. that's what i'm here for. i'm trying to soak it all in....especially with the torrential downpours that grace us each and every day. i'm soaking in lots. :)