Tuesday, July 10, 2007

finding high ground

We've been told that the Philippines has two seasons; the dry season and the wet season. Well the wet season started just shortly after we arrived here and will continue for the next couple of months. We have had some rains and thunder storms that have been exciting. We've even been told that there will be flooding, electricity outages, and typhoon warnings while we are here. We have been anxiously awaiting these fun adventures. We purchased candles, watched the thunder and lightening storms from our house, and anxiously awaited the phone call telling us we don't have to work because there is just too much rain. Well none of this has happened yet, but last night was sure fun. Jeanette and I were heading home from dinner and our cab was stopped in traffic. Then our cab driver asked us if he could just drop up off here because there was flooding on the approaching road and cars could not get through. We laughed and then realized he was serious. Flooding there was! We had to cross the road to get to our apartment and so we walked through water well past our ankles. No I realize this seems like nothing to many of you (and I'm sure we will experience worse), but I couldn't help but chuckle as cockroaches floated by. I tried to divert my mind from previous images I've had of the pollution, mounds of trash, human feces and other bodily fluids that I see lining this street on a regular basis. Fun times!

Oh, I forgot to tell you about our adventure a few days previous. It was raining really hard and we had to go to the store, so we decided we would just get a cab. Well every other person in Metro Manila had the same thought and there were no cabs available. We stood in the pouring rain for some time waiting for a cab and just when we were about to give up............ a man with a horse and buggy showed up to save the day. Yes, in Metro Manila with something million people and traffic worse than New York City, we took a horse and buggy to the grocery store!

I'm sure there will be more fun stories to tell like these from our adventures in the rain. So stay tuned.

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