Sa — Flood in Hoi An
Sa — Hoi An Flood
Sa stands at the emergency flood exit-door built into the attic of her house in Hoi An, Vietnam.
“Usually, there are floods at this time of the year. The highest water level in my house was 2.2 meters (7.2 feet).”
“If the water flow is too strong and rises fast, we have to escape through this door”, she explains, pointing to the door where she was standing in the photo.
Trinh: Are you afraid of floods?
Sa: Yes. I am afraid of them, but I have been living here for a long time, so I’m used to it. We live in the attic. For my whole life, whenever we see the water rising, we have to figure out our plan. We live with the floods.
“During this season, we had to store food beforehand. (In the photo,) I was standing at the escape door. The current at this spot (in front of her house) is usually strong”.
Trinh: What was on your mind when you saw Alden wading in the water to take pictures?
Sa: I was thinking that he was pretty brave and capable. Because the locals are used to the strong flow, we can deal with it. However, he’s not from here, it’s not that easy to wade in the strong water flow. On that day, the water was this high (pointing at Alden’s shoulders). After that, I told my brother about him, and we agreed that he must love art a lot. No kidding!”.
The Old White Wall that is now Yellow
Did you know that Hoi An wasn’t always painted yellow? Most of the buildings were once white like this wall was until about 2 months ago. It was one of the remaining white walls in Hoi An, beautiful in its mottled antiquity.
We asked Ms. Sa about why the wall was refurbished and painted yellow.
“The old wall was wearing down, so we had to make a new one. Otherwise, my house would have collapsed during this flood. As time goes by, it will be old and beautiful again. It used to be white.”
I love the fact that she said it was old and beautiful. That’s how I think of Hoi An, old and beautiful.
