Days 11-12 (approximately 4 weeks until go to Roti for the first time)

well it's been an interesting couple of days, well actually thursday was pretty dull but friday was a bit, well, of an experience!

I was awoken at 5 in the morning by what i thought was the apocolypse until i got up to find it was actually a massive rainstorm which was flowing off the roof (carrying with it various degrees of muck) onto my freshly washed light coloured clothes which i had left out over night thinking, 'what could possibly go wrong?', well question answered i think.

When i got up a few hours later the rain had subsided and i departed for language school only to get to the door and it start hurling it down again. I have to say, being from the north i've seen my fair share of rain of the years and this was nothing like all of that! imagine accrington's annual rain fall all coming down in the space of 5 minutes but being sustained for serveral hours, that sort of rain.

Having managed to get possible the campest unbrella in the world from host family i set off. Unfortunately the weather had other ideas, somewhat displeased with my achievement with blocking it's efforts from above it attacked me from the ground. On my way i had to wade through calf deep puddles in just sandals of rain water and i fear to think what else (streets in Indonesia aren't the cleanest!).

It cleared up in the day and then when i had to go home again, lashed down not so much like 'there was no tomorrow' more in a way as to make me believe there would be no tomorrow. It wasn't so much puddles the second time as all streets being replaced with calf deep rivers.

The three rules of the rainy season:

1) it will start raining as soon as you set foot outside
2)don't even bother to try and stay dry, just wear things that will dry quite quickly
3) it will stop raining when you get to the sanctuary of where you are going.
4) do not, i repeat, do not, leave your phone in the front pocket of your bag, mine is currently wavering between as life being disabled with a severely damaged screen and watery grave. Sort of a 'died after a long illness' sort of affair.

I talked to the father of my host family in engonesian (it's a language people who only have a weeks training under their belt speak) and he said the rainy season doesn't even start for another month or so and described yesterday as a "shower", however today is much better so i will take his word for it.

Further to this a colleague very kindly gave me a lift from the office to hardy's ( a supermarket) and it wasn't until we pulled up outside did it occur to me that possibly there may have been more than one, alas it actually doubled my journey home!

I'm actually sat in the language school under the guise of doing independent study on a saturday however they actually have free internet which is how you're reading this. We're off for a week now but still have to go to the VSO office for some days next week. I have to say it is slightly concerning that whenever i talk to anyone at the VSO office about Rote/Roti (and indeed elsewhere) all the balinese say 'oh it's really hot there', it's not exactly chilly here so not quite sure what to expect!

The language is slowly but surely getting better each day, i can hold the most basic conversations now if the person speaks slowly, is very patient and only wants to exchange details of my name, age, martial status, where i'm from, my family members and the colour of this book (limited to hand full of colours still). LIke i say it is improving.

I am currently still facing a battle with the language which when i've won things will be much easier (not the battle to get the offical lanaguage of indonesia changed to english, that just won't happen). My language part of my brain is basically divided into two sections, english and foreignish, therefore if someone doesn't speak english i defer back to whatever is in foreignish which has always been french. It is amazing how much french i remember, i can basically construct any needed sentance out here in french whereas ask me in england and i would have no idea. This would be good if it wasn't for the fact fewer people here speak french than english.

Anyway this is already a very long post, hope all is well.....