Floods in Jakarta!

Hello Everyone!

Some of you might have heard about the flood here in Jakarta. Well, I know I told you not to listen to everything you hear on the news about Indonesia, but this flood did actually affect me. It was such an excitement! Only a "bule gila" (crazy white person) would say that! HA!

Friday morning it down poured. Around 10:00am I received an email from my Principal saying that if this continues until 12noon, then we will dismiss kids early. At 11:10am parents were called and we began dismissing kids and started our "Emergency Flood Evacuation Plan." Only in Indonesia do you have plans like that! It was extremely disorganized and hectic. The teachers were not staying calm for the kids sake. (At least most of them were not). I, of course, had no idea what was going on. I continued on with my day as normal until parents came to pick up their kids. By 1:00pm I still had two kids left. The floods were getting extremely high and it was very challenging to get anywhere in Kalapa Gading (my area). So parents were having a hard time getting to their kids at school. All the teachers were supposed to stay at school until all their students were gone from their class. However, at 1:00pm, my "Lower School Liason" (she is like my supervisor) came to me and said, "You have to go home now. We are sending all the people who live in Paladian (my apartments) home now, because your area is worse!"

So I hopped into the school bus with my other co-workers who live in my apartments. The water on the street in front of the school was about knee deep, and the second we turned onto my street the water was up to my hip. Water started seeping in through the doors and the vents of the bus. Because cars were trying to get through on both sides of the street it created waves in the water on the road and the waves went up over the windowshield and over the entire bus! It was such an experience to remember. It was like driving through a river. At one point the bus almost stallled, and we all gasped, because we knew we'd have to get out and swim from their if that happened. But luckily it kept chugging along! We made it safe and sound to our apartments. There was a foot of water inside the bus, so we didn't quite make it dry! But we didn't have to swim!

If you remember I'm on the 18th floor, so I didn't have to worry about my apartment getting flooded. And if the electricity was turned off due to the hight of the water, then we would just use the generator. So as long as I stalked up on food and water, I was good for a few days. The only think I was worried about was rats and cockroaches. Because as the water comes onto land, the only place the rats and cockroaches have to go is up! So I taped up my drains and doors with ducktape, to make sure they didn't come to my apartment! My friends laughed at how paranoid I was about this!

Being the "bule gila" (crazy white person) I am, I went down to the road and took lots of pictures of the flood. I just stood in the rain watching the cars and vans get stuck trying to drive through. I walked through the flood just a little to get the the other side of the street to take more pictures. People were floating on different things in the water, trying to salvage their buisinesses, and bring food with them. It was sad to watch, but I was happy I could give them some entertainment! They loved to laugh at me, as I walked through the flood taking pictures! And now they have a story to tell their friends and family, about the crazy bule who walked through the flood taking pictures.

I was concerned for a while about some of my friends. Some of their houses got flooded and some were stuck in different places. One of my friends (Angel) got stuck at her work. But luckily her work is very near to my apartment so she walked through the floods to my apartment and stayed with me for the weekend. It was so nice to have a buddy! I was stuck in my apartment, but at least I wasn't stuck alone! It was actually quite relaxing. We just watched T.V., talked, slept, and ate all day Friday and Saturday!

Sunday the water went down quite a bit. Sunday morning the water on the road in front of my apartments was only at knee level. Therefore I braved the floods, and took a taxi to church! Of, course my friends warned me that if I leave my apartment I must bring extra clothes and shoes with me, just in case I get stuck somewhere. As we drove to church we kept running into road that were blocked off due to the flood. At one point we had to turn around on a one way road and go back against on coming traffic! Like I said, driving here is ridiculous! Can you imagine us driving the opposite direction of all the other cars, and they are just honking their horns and, not even slowing down for us!

Finally we found a route we could take to church. We drove by one of the poorer areas and saw all the houses flooded. Then shortly after passing the houses, I looked out my window and saw crowds of people gathered together underneath the toll road laying on blankets with baskets of food around them. There were babies, and young children screaming and crying and all the adult faces staring at the cars go by with the most devestated faces! I knew that these people were the ones who had lived in the area that I'd just seen, flooded out of their houses. They had brought the things they could save with them to this little area under the toll road. Oh, my gosh, I can't describe the devestation in the air. It was absolutely humbling. And then to imagine that this wasn't even the worst of it all. This was just the beginning! There are supposed to be more floods coming. Some of my friends could have been these people. Luckily the church I go to takes care of everyone and will put those in need at someone elses house. Please keep these people in your thoughts and prayers.

As I got to church, I found out that my area was one of the worst areas for the flood! I came to church with flipflops on and my pants rolled up high. Everyone else was dressed normal and didn't even look like they'd come from a flood. Of course of that is because they are used to this craziness. They went on with the day like normal. Some of these people at my church had come from their houses with inches of water in them and changed clothes when they got to church and then went right into singing and praising. I was shocked at how encouraging they all were after what they had been through! It was extremely convicting to see. Back home I hear complaints about getting our hair wet as we walk through the drizzling rain of Tacoma!

When I got back to my apartment after church all the water in front of my building was gone!

Let me tell you that this was quite the experience! I left Tacoma wanting to experience the culture here, and wanting to learn more then what I could just by visiting, and you know, I definitely feel like I have! These are the types of things you only learn and experience if you live in a different country, not just by visiting. I feel so grateful for my opportunity here in Jakarta! You may think I'm crazy for feeling this way directly after a flood, however, I have never felt more grateful.

I hope this doesnt give you a bad impression of Indonesia. Because I am the one who has lived through this whole thing, and it has only greatened my perspective of Indonesia now. Please keep in mind that this is not an everyday occurance and that there are devestating things that happen in America and lots of things that we disagree with in our Country. Its really no different. Natural disasters are a way of life, that is why they are called "Natural" disasters.