Monday was our PTA meeting in Ebeye. We handed out report cards to the parents. I was approached by two parents to discuss their student's grade in English. I failed 33 of 150 students. Ahhhh! That was a scary number. The sad part is the students who failed laughed at me when I asked them if they studied for their final. Obviously they didn't.
On our way back from the meeting I was sitting in the truck bed enjoying the cool air. Driving through Ebeye was a crazy experience. The streets were full of water. As we drove a couple children ran up to the back of the truck and grabbed on so they could stand on the bumper. I realized one of them had a wooden board in their hand. I knew exactly what he was going to do and said, "Be careful!" The 10 year old's quick response as he lowered the board into the water with one hand and stepped onto it was, "Don't worry, I am not a child." For about twenty feet he hung onto the truck with one hand and surfed in the flooded street. I wish I had brought my camera. As we neared the causeway to Guegeegue we came to a puddle almost eighteen inches deep. Children were playing in it, the water past their knees. They were certainly having fun.
I wondered if the houses were flooded. The houses do not have cellars (my students told me one church does...) and I think most of them are built a little bit off the ground. I hope no on was sleeping in puddles last night. I was also thinking about how there is no sewerage in Ebeye. I wonder if the waste comes up when it rains. That is not a pleasant thought, especially since the children were so enjoying themselves in the flooding rain water.
The Island where Nick is teaching, Santo
