It has been raining here for six days. Pretty much non-stop. Baan Wangka, the village I live in, sits on a hill above the river. As gravity works the same here as it does in most places, water drains down the hill into the river. Baan Wangka has a lot of dirt, and dirt likes to mix with water when it gets the opportunity. So when it rains, the water (and included dirt) make the river rise, and make it brown. Very brown.

Now the water we use for washing clothes, dishes, bodies, etc. comes from the river. It is NEVER drinkable, but usually clean looking. Not now. Not even close. I’ve never really investigated the water system here (due to fear…probably better to not know about it in this case), but am 80 % sure they have some sort of filter/treatment process in place. Whatever…it can’t keep up with the amount of dirt/sand/silt presently playing in the water in the river. Therefore, the water coming into our house is dirty looking. If you put it into a container and look at it, it’s like the water in a mud puddle. Washing clothes, dishes, bodies, etc. with mud puddle water seems counter-productive to the washing process. But I guess we don’t really have a choice right now. Our water bill is usually around $3.00 per month (more expensive than electric and cable) so I can’t complain too much.

Today I see the sun for the first time in a week. Hopefully the river can clean itself and the dirt can settle. At least a little. The rainy season continues for about two more months here, so my guess it will be a while before things clear up. No problem…it’s only dirt.