It’s hot!
I’ve tried with ‘lectric fans,
And pools and ice cream cones.
I think I’ll take my skin off
And sit around in my bones.
It’s still hot!
-Shel Silverstein
There’s a person in my family who would not list “wearing clothes” under things that are “Liked” on her Facebook page.
For the past thirty-three years, I never got this. But now I do.
I got to class the other day and one of my classmates said “I heard on the news that October is slated to be the hottest month this year”. October? Seriously? October as in my most favorite month in the entire year- hot?!
Yeah Sally, I feel your pain. The Great Pumpkin ain’t coming here either.
This does not fit in well with Megan’s flawlessly-executed plan to obtain autumn-scented candles from the States (which my brother had to hand carry and give to me in Dublin, because candles can’t be shipped in the pouch. Thank you John Boy). In fact, one is burning as I type this, and if I wasn’t sitting in a tank top and shorts, wishing that my air conditioner had more punch, I might think that fall was in the air.
Oh but it is not.
I just took this photo. A lot of maddening road construction has been going on by my street for months now. Most of it is manual labor- and I don’t care how habitué you are to this heat, I am sure this really, really sucks.
I have learned that in this country, you don’t get up each morning and ask yourself, “What am I going to wear?” Rather, you look at your collection of aesthetically-pleasing apparel and think, “What shall I sweat through today?” Then you put it on and head outdoors to enjoy ten seconds of feeling pretty.
The Senegalese have their own coping mechanism for this heat. You know how on long flights you are given nicely rolled-up facecloths that are steaming hot, and help create the false impression that you are refreshed? Well I’ve been walking to class lately and passing a lot of dudes with wadded up pink facecloths atop their heads. Somewhere, there’s a little wooden roadside stand run by a former flight attendant who knows exactly what the people in this country need.
As for me, I don’t have a shaved head, so I can’t exactly go for this option. Well I could, but I really do need to decide where to draw line on ridiculousness as I make my way through this Dakar existence.
I guess that this also rules out spending the remaining days of this month naked. Good thing I’m not that “other” person in my family, or there’d be some really traumatized Trick or Treaters come the end of the month…
