Downpour

It's rainy season here in Cambodia. 9 months ago, I arrived in this fair land in the middle of rainy season. Isn't it interesting, this cycle of life and living?

Rain. Has always exhilarated and enticed me. Back in Singapore, monsoon season was my favourite season. The harder the rain beat down on the roofs and rattled the windows, the harder my heart would thump against my chest. But living here in Sihanoukville, on the side of a lush hill with highlands stretching across on one side and the blue, crystal ocean lining the other side, watching the rain is a whole new experience. 

First, you hear it. A rushing, drumming, chanting type of sound. And then in the distance, you see it. A great white mist in the distance. Because Sihanoukville is largely undeveloped, and I have the great privilege of living at a strategic vantage point, you can see for miles for almost 180 degrees. But back to the great white mist. It creeps slowly as the rumbling grows louder and louder until it dawns upon you. Right in front of your face, you see the downpour but you stand largely untouched aside from light sprays. It gushes, it blows and finally it soaks and drenches everything in its path. And when the rain does its damage and turns our unpaved tracks into slippery slopes of mud and slithery streams, it retreats as seductively as it came.

I asked my Grade 1 class today what type of weather they liked. Most exclaimed rainy weather. I can see that. As I sat on the balcony marvelling the view of the rain, I was also marvelling the Life University soccer team fighting hard in the rain. It was a sight. Guys sliding around in the mud. The referee kicking around in puddles. And not too far away unbeknown to others, just beyond our school walls, only seen from my 5th floor perch, I see a village team in a game of their own. No soccer jerseys, no shoes, no refs, no turf, no rules. Boys against boys against nature.  

2 teams, 2 different worlds, 1 big downpour and a single passion for soccer. A great ad for Adidas.