It’s quite astounding just how much water can dump from the sky in the space of a week. It has absolutely teemed here and it has affected nearly everything we had planned to do. The previously mentioned grade 3 camp was one example. After waiting in vain for some of the parent volunteers to actually volunteer to do some hard work, as expected, I loaded the bus with the help of the drivers. Great tubs of food and drink, along with excessive baggage for an overnight trip was passed, heaved, slid and hauled into every last spot on one of the last surviving big yellow buses. The rain was tumbling down when we left and by the time the kids were disgorged at the top of the mountain, it had really set in. We arrived to the news that some of the cabins were flooded and others had an ant infestation and armed with this information, the fact that all our activities were outdoors and dependant on fine weather, we abandoned the trip. We tried to cheer the kids up with a few activities that day and converted the defrosting slabs of meat and veggies into a BBQ for the kids the next day.
Trouble is, of course, that even though we’d said it would be impossible to reschedule, that is exactly what we’re doing, looking to the Thursday and Friday of this week to do it all again. If it continues to rain, we’ll make do with a sleepover in the library; nothing at all to do with the original educational aims of the camp and a complete waste of everyone’s time if you ask me, but the kids will love it!
Cass has worn her “crappy” shoes to work a few times this week to wade through the rivers that just cannot drain away here, forming powerful, gushing torrents across strangely cambered pathways. She changes into her good shoes when we get to school. The air is thick with a clingy dew and the slightest physical exertion drapes a clammy sheen all over your body. We get the occasional window when the monsoonal rain stops just long enough to do something (like get to the supermarket) before it just unleashes another attack from nowhere.
The surf has not been an appealing option either, not because of the rain, but a continuing lack of swell that has got all of us very frustrated. Carl and Ross and I went and had a few beers on Friday to celebrate both Gurecki’s and Raj’s birthdays, and the “quiet night” ended up being very long, but great fun. Needless to say, after many months with barely a beer passing my lips, Saturday’s hangover was rather intense! The small weed-like plant that refuses to die out on our balcony was a real personality compared to me that day and perhaps achieved a bit more movement. I think it looked a little healthier as well, which is a sad testament as it is a filthy, sorry-looking wizened and alien little life form (much like I felt).
Cass has spent some of the weekend tapping out some responses addressing her own professionalism as part of our school wide evaluation process. She needs to justify her work in terms of 15 teaching standards, quite a confronting prospect when you’re an Australian, as the need to exceed the standard seems necessary for a lot of them. I’m sure many of our colleagues are very happy drawing the long bow and praising their magnificent achievements, but it seems a little unnatural for us. Ah well, when in Rome and all that!
Today’s photos are quite an unusual mix. As we’ve been cloistered indoors for the majority of the week, I snuck out to take a photo of the rising river levels and misty backdrop just over the way. Cass was cooking some spaghetti sauce for tomorrow night and I decided she was worthy fodder for my lens (even though she is horrified I’m including it!). Thirdly, the ever-inquisitive Virg.After this tirade against the bucketing rains, I actually hope it rains just a little longer……….one night’s sleep in the library will be a much better outcome than sloshing around a paddock by day and spending the night with a damp, tired wriggle of little kiddies!