Water-Lieu Day 2: Crossed Lines

First off, accolades to my boss of bosses (aka the Chief of Police) as despite al my ranting, he at least understands the foreigner's desire to shower regularly. We've been given two rooms at a swanky hotel that is unaffected by the water stoppage because they draw from an uncontaminated underground well. This means I'll be able to cleanse myself tomorrow (Thanksgiving) regardless of my own apartment having water or not.

Anyways, as this situation develops it becomes only more and more clear that no one knows what the hell is going on. Fact: A chemical plant exploded in JiLin. That is all I can state as a fact at this point. There may or may not be a toxic level of benzine (benzene?) in the local river. It migh have already flowed past, it might not have really reached us yet. It might not even exist, this might all be one big over-under-reaction. I know my fellow Americans were quite disturbed with how the Katrina disaster was handled, but trust me, it can't have been as confusing and poorly organized as this. And this situation DOES NOT compare to the devastation of Katrina in any way, other than it involves water.

At this moment, I've got water in my apartment again. I've flushed my toliet clean and refilled buckets. Food supply going strong, stink still contained. Tomorrow I will wake up, shower either at home or at this hotel, trek across town to snag some Dewars, then relax until the Harbin Holiday Inn sets the table for turkey dinner. Our latest edition to the staff, a fellow Americano, will be joining me, plus an Aussie and her Russkie friend. It'll be a multi-national Thanksgiving, but it'll be with friends, and it won't be alone. I'm thankful for that.