Power Out

It's officially the rainy season in Thailand, which isn't saying much for Isaan because it's still really dry here. Actually it's been so hot and dry this year, that it's delaying the rice planting, which is bad news for my village as they depend on the rice crop for their livelihood for the rest of the year. But around 3pm today dark clouds moved in and the wind really picked up and it poured and it poured and it poured some more. I'm always amazed the streets don't flood when it rains so hard like that, but somehow they don't. As a result of the storm, the power in my village went out. That happens occasionally and it usually comes back on soon. However, today it was out for hours.

It quickly became hot inside my house because that meant my trusty fan was able to take a much needed rest; I use that poor fan nearly 24/7. I went over to Grandma's house and fell asleep on her wooden bench she is always perched upon. The rain brought cool weather and it was so peaceful laying there with a breeze and drifting off as I listened to the rain drops on the tin roof and knowing Grandma was next to me organizing her basket of important things. There was literally nowhere else in the world I wanted to be at that very moment except right there. That struck me as fortunate because when you think about it, that feeling of pure calm and peace rarely happens day to day. We get so caught up in our lives and things to do and places to go, but today I was completely and wholly content.

After a nice hour nap later, I wandered back to my house and played on my computer until the battery died. It started to get dark and the power was not yet back so Grandma and her 10-year old grandson came over to give me candles and matches, which I greatly appreciated. Grandma ever so patiently instructed me on how to light a match, which would have annoyed me, but I can understand seeing that I don't have the greatest track record in the village... piercing a hole in the Freeon container in my fridge, locking my keys inside my house, breaking my gas stove, and the list goes on.... I am a silly foreigner after all, so it's fair she assumed I've never seen matches before.

Once the power came back I stepped out onto my porch and gave a big cheer over to Grandma across the fence "the power is back!" and she just grinned back at me.