Other parts of Southeast Asia weren't so fortunate. Super Typhoon Megi crushed the Phillipines on the the way to the mainland. It was the most powerful storm in this area in two decades and that, my friends, is saying something. A super-typhoon is like a monster category five hurricane. I expected to get rain from the edges of the storm but aside from a light shower here and there we got nothing. Meanwhile, a town in central Vietnam got three feet of rain. From one storm.
But when it rains here, boy, does it ever rain. When it rains the classrooms are empty. You can't blame the students for not coming when the water is two feet deep in the streets. There was a big storm before my 6 pm class one night. Only three of 22 students arrived. I had planned a group activity. We still did it, but there was only one group! Here are intrepid students Samrith (white shirt), Gueak Ly (pink) and Huy Sreang (black).
You can see what look like stains on the back wall. It's water coming through the wall. It was raining so hard that water was seeping through the walls and puddling on the floor. Water seeped in behind the map, soaked through the cardboard backing and ruined it. There are water droplets on the inside of the glass. Here's a closeup of the back wall.
Now the weather is quite cool and pleasant. It gets hot during the day but not oppressively so. On some mornings and evenings when I'm riding my motorbike I actually get a little chilly. It's such a nice change. I remember what it was like when I arrived in April, which is the hottest month. Locals and longterm expats said it was the hottest April they could remember. And again, my friends, that is saying something. I am not looking forward to April...
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