Sweat, Perspiration and Glow

My mother used to tell me that horses sweat, men perspire, and ladies "glow". Well, here in PV, I "glow" so much that I can light up half the city by "glowing"!! The heat and humidity here are unbearable. July-Sept. is the rainy season and altho every day is sunny and pretty, it will rain for an hour or so most afternoons or during the night, so the humidity stays high.

Regarding the rain...last Tuesday we had a cloudburst. May I set the scene for you. I was on a city bus with Aurora, (my roommate) who was carrying her grandbaby (age 1 year), her sister and the sisters grandson (age 8), a friend and her son (age 7). We were carrying a diaper bag, our purses, and several carry-out boxes of dinners from the school! We climbed aboard the bus at the school and it started raining while we were on the bus. Pretty soon it was pouring. It rained so hard we couldn't get off the bus near our house (dirt roads full of water) so went on to another neighborhood where we got off the bus and waited in a little Mom/Pop store for about 45 minutes to take a taxi home. Cars parked on the street had water up to the windows, covering the hood of the cars. When the bus drove through the streets, waves would send water onto the sidewalks and into the stores. Finally we got the taxi and went home.

When we walked into the house, there was about 1-2" of water covering the floor all over the house. The patio door was open and the water came up the drain in the patio and flooded the house. Aurora grabbed a broom and started sweeping the water out and I had a mop and pushed the water out the door as she swept it to me. Finally we got all the water out and the fans dried the tile floors. I was fortunate not to get anything wet except my shoes. I had just unpacked everything the night before and had not found a place for my shoes so they were lined up against the wall. They got wet but they dried out in a day and I Lysoled them to clean them. The water was so dirty and I knew there was bacteria everywhere. The next day I bought bleach and moped the floors. What a day!

I understand it has been very, very hot in GA, but at least there is air-conditioning everywhere. Our house has no AC and my bedroom has been 90 degrees every day. At night it "cools off" to about 86 degrees. I have decided that I will have to buy an AC or I wont be able to make it. Cars and taxis often have AC in them but they don't use it. They roll down the windows. (Don't ask me why!) And if a building has AC, only the main rooms are cool. We have been having teachers meetings in the church and while the main room is cool, the bathrooms are very hot. The people here must be used to it. They don't seem to perspire (or "glow"!) and just say "Hace calor"--"It is hot!

I told someone that Mr. Neat might come to visit me in September and they said "Don't let him come in Sept. That is the worst month for the heat. He might not want to come back." So I guess I have more heat to look forward to. They say it lasts until October before it cools off. Wonder what "cools off" means?

So my chore for the upcoming week is to get an AC installed in my bedroom. Every day presents new challenges and with the language barrier it is even more difficult. Learning how things work in Mexico is also hard because everything works so differently and the people just know about it and accept it. They are such a patient people. Perhaps I will learn some patience but I want it NOW!!!

Hasta luego.