Bengfort.com

It has been raining in Shenzhen for the past three days, and I have woken up every morning to the sounds of thunder and pattering rain. It would be quite relaxing actually if I didn’t have to wake up and fight the wind and the rain to get to school each day. Normally only the bottom of my pants get wet during my treks to and from school, but today I had a minor disaster.

The rain was harder than usual today, an unceasing cascade that inundated the drainage system and left the highest and driest places still covered in two inches of standing water. I walk out of my building, and the area leading to the gate is completely submerged. The guard house right in front of the gate is a little island, completely surrounded by water. Being late, I decide that my only course of action is to hike up my pants and wade through it, I don’t have enough time to find a way around. My feet and ankles are wet, but still good to go.

However, when I reach the 20 meter road that leads up to the only entrance of my school, I encounter a conundrum. The entire road is flooded with water that literally reaches my knees. The sidewalk on the side, about 6 inches higher than the road, seems like the best option to reach the gate, so I set out, wading my way gingerly through the water. I am almost to the gate, the dry land of the school campus emerging just beyond it. The guard wades into the mire to open the gate for me, and I am almost to land when I forget that the sidewalk I am on ends and that there is a step down to the road. However, I did not see the step beneath a foot of murky water, and lo and behold, I do down like the Titanic.

I’m sure it was hilarious looking. All of a sudden I am walking, the next thing I know I am on my butt sitting in a foot and half of water, entirely soaked, and having dropped everything I was holding, purse, umbrella, house keys. Luckily my purse floated, so my cellphone inside was okay, I found my sunken keys, picked myself up, and couldn’t help but laugh. I have class in two minutes, I’m at the school, there is no way I can go home and change, all I can do is head in soaking wet.

I enter my office and all the teachers just stare at me. I’m dripping, disheveled, and just a little distraught. The only thing that I manage to say is,”I fell.”

Miraculously, my teachers dug up a shirt and pants that fit me. The clothes still looked pretty ridiculous (they were guys clothes), but I guess it is better to be warm and ridiculous looking than shivering wet and maybe just a little less ridiculous looking. I got to class 15 minutes late, but still managed to conduct a lesson.

Getting out of the school was also a challenge. Since the main gate was flooded, the administrators decided to open a small side gate that is normally locked, and also has a ton of construction going on around it. Imagine a thousand people trying to get out of a 3 foot wide gate at once hobbling over planks and other construction rubble. It was quite the adventure. Anyway, we’ll see what the situation is like when I head back to class this afternoon!