JEANNETTES DIARY

Yesterday was the first day of classes at the school where I work. Teachers were as prepared as they could ever be and I was ready to support and offer moral as well as practical help to those who needed it.
I awoke to torrential rain. It has been pouring down for several hours through the night,I guess the tail end of the cyclonic rain that had swept through the Philippines and Vietnam.
How to get to school? The usual river crossing by little boat was out of the question as the last of the stairs down to the river were badly damaged or missing and the river was a rushing torrent of floating debris (trees, bamboo, rubbish, all manner of things). We decided on getting a tuk tuk but the route the driver decided to take us was flooded so we had to turn back. He then proceeded down an alternate route (goat’s track!) - a muddy and very rough track until we joined up again with the main road.
Every now and then the driver had to stop and get out in the pouring rain and fiddle with something underneath, which was a bit of a worry but we arrived at the school and had to wade across the body of water at the bottom of the drive until we made it inside.
Almost 10am and time for classes to begin. No students. Gradually a trickle of students arrived, mostly some novices walking with big umbrellas from the nearby temples. Those on bikes had mostly stayed away. We were able to start one class with 11 students about 10.30. The Intermediate class however was cancelled as no students turned up. As the rain eased up later in the day, we were able to run with all the other classes which was great.

Not only the students were affected. One staff member rang me just before 9am to say he may be able to come later in the day, but right now his dormitory was flooded with water up to his waist and he had been moving his gear from an early hour. This message was of course not fully understood at the time as his English isn't easily understood. He had only just moved to his new premises 2 days ago and had paid his rent in advance for a few months! He arrived later in the morning in his only dry clothes and promptly emptied the contents of his bag on the staff table to dry out!
Another teacher arrived later in the morning having walked to a friend’s house and then borrowed a motorbike to ride to school. He arrived dripping wet in a pair of shorts and then proceeded into the bathroom to change into his work gear.The bridge had been washed away near his home and all the chickens and his dog were washed away. He was very upset. As soon as his last class finished, he left to try and find his dog.

A wealthy looking Lao man arrived through the day, intent on finding out why his grandson, who had had an interview, had not been accepted. We were able to locate the boy’s interview sheet and find the reason why …. he came from a wealthy family!

Then there was the female student hiding out in the staff kitchen waiting for her ex? boyfriend to disappear before she would even think about joining her class. There I am….calling out her name, to be told that yes, she was here but in the kitchen. I tried to encourage her to join the class as it had started but she was not to be persuaded. It wasn't until much later that the coast was clear as the boy went into the toilet and a teacher quickly ushered her out while we stood guard at the bathroom door!!! Can you believe it???

As it was late by the time we had supported most of the teachers through their first day of using the new curriculum books and the river was raging we had to then walk and find a willing tuk tuk driver to take us back over the other side and to eat. We were starving!! Luckily when I arrived home about 9pm, my guest house still had a trickle of water so I could take a shower. I was most grateful. The main town had had its main water pipe severed in the early morning by flood waters and many of course were without water throughout the day!
Well, I’m almost ready to leave for another day. What unexpected events will happen today to make me smile?
This morning it is still wet but not raining right now. Across from my guest house I can see the mighty Mekong rushing along, much higher today and very muddy brown colour. There are people everywhere down at the river’s edge salvaging what timber they can as it comes close to shore. Some people are very industrious and have piles of timber already stacked. This will then be left to dry and used later for firewood.