Rainy Season

The rainy season has officially been here, in full force, for the last two weeks or so. Typically it starts in May, so mid-April was a little early--although the hot season came early this year, too, so the rainy season was more than welcome to start when ever it felt like it. We've had some big stormy downpours, and a few lighter rains as well. The downpours do a good job of flooding anything that happens to be lower lying that what surrounds it. Sometimes this means flooded streets or sidewalks, sometimes property. On the lot where I live, there are three houses. Two of these (mine included) are smaller and newer, and are built up a foot or so higher than the rest of the lot. The third house is actually sunk a few inches lower than the rest of the lot. And in general, all the land surrounding out lot is higher than we are--our lot is sort of at the middle of a "bowl." So--yes, guess where all that flooding rainwater goes? Right onto our property! (And plenty of other properties as well, we are by no means the only ones.)

Therefore--the two lowest areas of our lot, the ground floor of the large house and the "yard" in the back of the lot, have turned into two small lakes for the duration of the wet season. Other areas of the lot flood or dry out depending on how much rain we have. This morning they are basically dried out, although over the weekend we had the most standing water we've had so far. There was enought water that Tol, the younger sister of the Khmer family I live with, caught an 8-inch fish swimming around the front yard. Said fish has now been passing it's time in a water-filled garbage can until Tol decides to cook it up for dinner. It is a little disconcerting wading into the flooding and wondering what else is lurking in the muddy water besides just fish. The lake in the back yard is now home to scores of black water snails. Where they came from, I don't know, but there are plenty of them. The biggest ones have shells about an inch and a half long. The water also means that some of our residents ants have abandoned their wetter homes and now spend their days tramping in lines across my front porch. And of course, there are always the choruses of frogs that croak away day and night--a whole range of sounds from baby to grandpa frogs. I kind of like it.

Thankfully, my little house has been up high enough to stay high and dry. However, I do get to wade through whatever water is in the front yard to get from my house to the big house or to the road and back. Also, we park out motor bikes on the ground floor of the big house, where they can be locked in so they are not stolen during the night. So--between going to and from my house, and driving my bike in and out of the lake that is the ground floor, I have been hanging out in lots of water. I try not to think too much about what all has washed into the water--just rinse my feet off when I get a chance. And so far so good--no wierd skin funguses or anything :)

But--flooding and wading aside, the rains do cool the weather off, which is MUCH appreciated. Plus a good storm is enjoyable when you are dry and inside, and even if you are out and about in it--life goes on. Packable plasic ponchos were made for just such an occasion.