Liquid Brain
Yesterday my brain melted. It was 111 degrees here and I couldn't help it. It just melted.
I shouldn't be complaining, though. Megan holds the record for the all-time best attitude shown by an almost 8-month pregnant woman in 111 degree heat. Our favorite time of day is around 4:30 in the afternoon, when the sun isn't as dangerous and we walk down to the river. And then we just sit in it. We have a great piece of river here, and some parts are shallow, while some parts are deep enough to dive into off of the large rocks that line it. And we just sit, Megan and I, and talk about how good we feel in the water. Marc and Chinua swim or dive or play with the kids, but Megan and I just let the water treat us like old friends.
Last night at about 3:00 AM I woke up feeling like I was going to suffocate in the still, hot air, and I had to get up and pour myself an ice cold bath. I splashed it all over myself until I became really cold and felt like I was having a heart attack. Only then did I get back out and go to sleep.
One more thing, and then I'll stop complaining. The hottest weather that I've ever been subjected to was in Varanasi, India for five days in the hot season. Some friends (including Chinua, who wasn't my superstar husband or even boyfriend at the time- this was six and a half years ago) got stuck there when the police declared a curfew on the whole city because of Hindu-Muslim violence. The power went off periodically all day long, and we spent our whole time there moving between our guest house and the one restaurant we were allowed to visit, five doors down, which for some odd reason is called the Mona Lisa. We ate Sapagiti (just kidding, we didn't actually eat it, but this was their word for Spaghetti) and Rice Pudding, Boll Ramin (Menu English for a bowl of Ramen) and Banana Porridge. We lay staring at the ceiling fans in longing, at the inevitable times when the power would go off. We soaked our sheets in cold water at night, to try to make our beds cool. We mainly stayed out of the heat in the middle of the day, except for me when I ignored a warning and went out for a walk at noon, only to develop heatstroke and get feverish. We didn't have to take care of children. We didn't have whimpery, sweaty little babies. We didn't do dishes. I didn't have office work. We hung out and tried to stay cool, talked to our fellow prisoners (all I can remember is one man from Hong Kong who grew up in Britain named Koon Ming, and one Japanese boy named Hiro), and waited to catch the first train out of there.
Yesterday it wasn't far from being as hot as it was there. We don't have a/c here either, although so far, thankfully, the power has not shut off.
There are highlights, though. I love being in the river with my kids. I love how YaYa hugs me and how she looks in her little orange life jacket, how their wet kisses feel, how excited they are to be there. This is the first summer that Kid A has liked swimming, and yesterday we even brought the Leaf baby in, since the water was so warm. There's nothing like holding a little naked baby in a beautiful green river, with the tall trees rising up around you to improve your spirits on a wickedly hot day.
I shouldn't be complaining, though. Megan holds the record for the all-time best attitude shown by an almost 8-month pregnant woman in 111 degree heat. Our favorite time of day is around 4:30 in the afternoon, when the sun isn't as dangerous and we walk down to the river. And then we just sit in it. We have a great piece of river here, and some parts are shallow, while some parts are deep enough to dive into off of the large rocks that line it. And we just sit, Megan and I, and talk about how good we feel in the water. Marc and Chinua swim or dive or play with the kids, but Megan and I just let the water treat us like old friends.
Last night at about 3:00 AM I woke up feeling like I was going to suffocate in the still, hot air, and I had to get up and pour myself an ice cold bath. I splashed it all over myself until I became really cold and felt like I was having a heart attack. Only then did I get back out and go to sleep.
One more thing, and then I'll stop complaining. The hottest weather that I've ever been subjected to was in Varanasi, India for five days in the hot season. Some friends (including Chinua, who wasn't my superstar husband or even boyfriend at the time- this was six and a half years ago) got stuck there when the police declared a curfew on the whole city because of Hindu-Muslim violence. The power went off periodically all day long, and we spent our whole time there moving between our guest house and the one restaurant we were allowed to visit, five doors down, which for some odd reason is called the Mona Lisa. We ate Sapagiti (just kidding, we didn't actually eat it, but this was their word for Spaghetti) and Rice Pudding, Boll Ramin (Menu English for a bowl of Ramen) and Banana Porridge. We lay staring at the ceiling fans in longing, at the inevitable times when the power would go off. We soaked our sheets in cold water at night, to try to make our beds cool. We mainly stayed out of the heat in the middle of the day, except for me when I ignored a warning and went out for a walk at noon, only to develop heatstroke and get feverish. We didn't have to take care of children. We didn't have whimpery, sweaty little babies. We didn't do dishes. I didn't have office work. We hung out and tried to stay cool, talked to our fellow prisoners (all I can remember is one man from Hong Kong who grew up in Britain named Koon Ming, and one Japanese boy named Hiro), and waited to catch the first train out of there.
Yesterday it wasn't far from being as hot as it was there. We don't have a/c here either, although so far, thankfully, the power has not shut off.
There are highlights, though. I love being in the river with my kids. I love how YaYa hugs me and how she looks in her little orange life jacket, how their wet kisses feel, how excited they are to be there. This is the first summer that Kid A has liked swimming, and yesterday we even brought the Leaf baby in, since the water was so warm. There's nothing like holding a little naked baby in a beautiful green river, with the tall trees rising up around you to improve your spirits on a wickedly hot day.