April 13: Part One--And then...there was a flood!

Doesn't it look peaceful?
It is--during the day!

So far, I haven't been scared, but tonight I am. Surrounded by fellow women, the raucous noise and arguments each night at Kalulu were an irritation; tonight it is just me in the girls' dorm when I head to bed. I try to sleep, but when the argument outside my window escalates to an angry, alcohol charged, "I will be back at 8 a.m., and you will give me my money--or else!!" I am wide awake. Am I in a bad movie!?!? I seriously consider going down the hall to where Ollie and Dominic are sleeping. Forget propriety when it comes to matters of safety. I think even Mom would approve! Fortunately, it's the last argument and I need not 'besmirch my reputation!' ;) Tonight's chaos, though, isn't over.


The doors at Kalulu stick and it requires significant force to both close and open them. It isn't until now that my paranoid mind realizes that the loud bangs sound kinda' like gun shots. I've probably been woken up a good 4-5 times and am rather irritated by the time my roommate arrives. She's quiet, though, and frankly it's nice to have someone else in the room. I soon fall asleep--alas, it's not for long.  I wake to switched on lights and an, "Excuse me; there is water on the floor."  I'll admit it; a catty, "Excuse me; I'm trying to sleep!" slips out of my mouth before I catch myself.

What can I say; it isn't even 5 a.m.!

I look down, though, and see that there is water. A lot of it. Water that surrounds most of my bed, soaks my room-mate's clothes and items she has left on the floor; stretches across our room, out the door, along the hallway, into the kitchen; through that door, onto the porch, and down the stairs to the yard below. In most places it is a thin film, at others it is nearly 3" deep!

Room--minus the flood!

Well, Joe (watchman who will be held responsible) and I take to work with a deck squeegee, small broom, and, after enough has been sopped up, a mop and bucket. Sometime during the night, a tap was left running in the kitchen sink. This wouldn't have been a problem except they also left a plate directly underneath the tap that sent the water up onto the counter and down to the floor, across the kitchen, along the hall, under the door of our room only to puddle up around our bunks. In all, the water probably traveled a good fifty plus feet! It takes nearly an hour to clean up and the sun still hasn't risen!

Unfortunately, the excitement and tension of last night has bled into today. My foul mood only deepens when I realize that I have missed saying good-bye to Dominic and Ollie. Additionally, my roommate's parents have arrived and she is moving into their dorm room. To top it off, I have just received a lecture from the manager to lock all of my valuables (which I have been) when I go to ask her if anyone has found a phone. Fuming at the world in general, I begin to journal at one of the tables. My spirits lift when Dominic and Ollie walk through the gate--they haven't left after all!

I tell them a bit about the night's excitement, and Ollie asks if I want him to call my phone (I would have done this earlier, but my roommate's phone is out of commission due to the flood). Sure enough, it has slipped far enough under the bunk-bed that we weren't able to see it when we moved the beds the night before. Fortunately, it stayed dry.

Unfortunately, it really is time for Ollie and Dominic to bid me adieu.

A bit later I realize that I have a problem. I don't have enough cash left to book a cab, I need groceries, and I have run out of time on my prepaid minutes for my cell.

Now what...?