Under the Menace Of Hurricane ...

I slept very lightly last night, always expecting to wake up to shattered glass, or shouts, or weather sounds at least. My deputy had left me to stay with the kids, so I ended up being alone. I watched TV where they gave news of the hurricane's whereabouts. Cancun and the surrounding beaches had evacuated tourists as a safety measure and people had been evacuated from Progreso as well, and the area where we had been staying during our first week in Yucatan. From the TV images I could see that the wind was already catching up in Cancun and that light structures were blowing over. Early morning this should reach us in Merida.

I fell asleep eventually, slept in my deputy's bed finally, it was further from the window! Then woke up at a quarter to five. I looked outside and tried to listen for the weather but it was pitch dark and nothing seemed to be going on really. The eye of the hurricane had been supposed to hit Merida by 8 o'clock. Maybe the weather just wasn't there yet. I walked out to the corridor and took the elevator down to the lobby. Was still considering whether to walk myself out to the student's hotel across the street, to stay with them when the hurricane arrived. The lobby was empty, and dead empty. It had even been emptied of furniture. The exits were blocked, nobody was allowed to leave the building. I skimmed outside though through the windows and actually could not see any weather preventing you from going outside. But well. I went up to my room again and tried to find sleep again but stayed awake over CNN for a while.

It was bright when I finally woke up again. And still there was no hurricane in sight. The trees were wagging a little, but that was all. I went downstairs and had a coffee outside the conference rooms, but the dining hall was otherwise closed. A couple of hours later they were also serving sandwiches. Good, we wouldn't have to starve. And finally, people starting coming out of their rooms. Just as I was getting desperate for some company. The rest of the day was just spent waiting, and lazing around. Around three o'clock my deputy returned. It was considered safe to be out on the streets again. Emily had lost a lot of speed as she came inland and was for the moment nothing worse than a little storm. It hadn't even rained all that much.

The closing ceremony for IMO2005 had been cancelled, but now that the world was back to normal it was decided to reschedule it. I think everybody was a little relieved. We would thus get a chance to get together once more and the students would formally receive their medals during a little ceremony. Including our student, giving us a little occasion to celebrate. The ceremony was put up in the conference hall where the students passed their exam. It was very low-key, but efficient. No dinner banquet took place this time and we said our goodbyes quickly and went to bed. Another IMO had come to its end ...