Rain…Rain… Rain, Water?

Above, my street after the storm. Below, the muddy brown river.
My water source for a week.
My apt when it rained.

On the night of February 13th Arenillas had its worst Aguacero. An aguacero isn’t just a typical rain storm it´s a downpour, and this time it was the worst we´d had, at least during the two rainy seasons since I´ve been living here.
The rain started at 7pm and lasted for 6 straight hours. My older brother just happened to call me from skype right around the time we lost electricity. Although I couldn’t really hear anything he was saying over the loudness of the rain hitting my tin roof, it was better to be on the phone with someone as I searched for candles and then put out pots throughout my house collecting rain puddles. (my apartment typically resembles a little waterfall when it rains, rain comes in on every wall).
Then I hear my landlord outside my apartment she´s preparing the garage for any flooding. When she sees I´m on the phone, she grabs the phone from my hands and hangs up on my brother. And then proceeded to scream at me about how I am going to cause the lightening rays to come into my house and electrocute me if I talk on my phone or even touch any electronic. She made me promise to keep the phone off. I then got that same lecture for the next two days just to make sure I understood and wouldn’t ever talk on my phone in my apartment when it´s raining. She claims her cousin was struck by lightning in his house while talking on his phone during an aguacero.
I waterproofed my house the best I could and decided a Benadryl to knock me out sounded perfect. The next morning Arenillas looked like a disaster zone. The dirt road outside my house was more like a river, and half of the dirt and rocks had been washed out into the main road, blocking the entire street. The civil defense cars were loaded with belongings, helping the many families whose homes were destroyed move into classrooms in the elementary schools, where they will live for the rest of rainy season. Power was out, and didn’t come back until the following night. And apparently something happened to the water plant by the dam, and water was out all as well. That afternoon in my journalism summer camp the kids did mock interviews as if they were at the radio station, and shared their stories about the aguacero, four of the kids´ families had been evacuated into schools.
By the next day things started getting back to normal. Electricity came back and people came back to work. Water came back in most of the city, but for some reason my street and a few of the other streets close by were still without water. Now, I´ve gone a few days in the past without water and as long as there is a source to steal some water from in a container than it´s totally doable. But this time there really was no water. I luckily had a sprite 2 liter container filled with water as a backup, and that held me over for a full day.
Then came the second day without water: Bathroom smells. I can´t really cook cause I can´t wash the dishes. I just taught my basketball camp for three hours in a muddy court, I´m dirty and could so use a shower. There is not a drop of water on my street. Alright, desperate times desperate means. I take a pot and head down the street, I´m going to half to beg someone ¨no sea mailto, prestame agua¨ (literally meaning don’t be a little bad person, loan me some water). Yes!, being a beggar worked I have enough water for a bucket bathe and some dishes!
Third day without water: It´s hot. 95 degrees and no water. That bucket is empty again. Bathroom smells worst. I don’t look so clean. Walked over the bridge to El Cisne to talk to community bank. The brown muddy dirty Arenillas river looks tempting, I think I may just have to jump in there. No, can´t do it just yet, held myself back.
Fourth day without water: Oh my god I think I am going in that river. Then I remind myself the last time I did that it ended with parasites. Think again. I´ll just stay dirty one more day.
Fifth day without water: I woke up, no water. Thought well I´m already sweaty I mines well go running and spend the day even sweatier. Get back from my run, turn on my faucet just for kicks… and there is water! Granted it came our slightly brown, but there´s water! I took two cold showers that day, my cold showers had never felt so good!