In June I had been told that July would be hot, but August would be worse.
During the month of July I learned that I could sweat. In the USA I would only sweat if I was working out for more than an hour at a time. Then it was only in the 'normal' places people sweat. So, I was so surprised that after a ten minute walk to catch the train my back and shoulders would be soaked from my backpack. Those morning and afternoon jaunts in the beating sun found me thankful for my sunglasses, which in the states I would use when driving into the sun. Then I found that wasn't enough. I bought a hat, a big floppy hat. My head is large so I was thrilled when I found one that would fit. I didn't care that my hair would not look nice, it wasn't going to look nice anyway with the heat, I put the hat on my head, sunglasses on my face, and left in plenty of time to make it to the caffè bar to buy a bottle of water, even though I always was carrying one or two bottles of water with me. It would give me time to be inside for a minute, to buy and drink a cold bottle of water.
When I got home in the afternoon I would just sitting in my living room doing absolutely nothing and the beads of sweat would drip off my arms and forehead. I had my ceiling fans going to keep the air moving, but it was hot inside my place. It was hard to concentrate on anything. When I checked my thermometer I was greeted with 29 - 33 degrees Celsius. So, I would flip the switch to see the numbers I really understood: 84 - 91 degrees. This was in my kitchen, with lights off, fans running, windows open and nothing cooking. It was so much cooler than outside. Then as I would fix supper my thermometer would quickly get to 40 C (104 F) or more.
In July all I could think of was 'this is July, August will be worse.'
Fortunately, August came and it did not get worse. It was still hot, but my kitchen thermometer dropped and held at 29 C (84) for most of the month. It was amazing to think that felt so much more comfortable. I continued to don the hat and the sunglasses, but would be satisfied with my own water.
To think clearly in those temperatures is difficult. It was laborious to do anything. I could not study with understanding. I could not work on my finances correctly. Listening to Italian TV was challenging unless it was a subject I could understand (thanks MasterChef Italia!)
Then there was an opportunity to go to southern Italy for a week for a convention. This sounded great. Surely we would be inside air conditioned rooms for workshops during the heat of the day, right? As I looked at the schedule and realized that the only thing scheduled from 10 to 6 every day was free time: to go to the beach, to go to the pool, to explore the city, to take a nap, etc. I'm so glad I was encouraged to head to the beach in the mornings and get in the water. (The pool or a nap was my choice for my afternoons.)
Side note about the beach: toddlers without suits, little girls with only bathing suit bottoms, men with speedos or boxers, and ladies with two piece suits were the norm. Now the men and the ladies were of all sizes. In those two piece suits would be what you would expect when you think of thin Italian women, to the extra, extra, extra large. Just so you know, I have a one piece suit, one of the only ones on the beach that week. But, no one cared what you looked like. We were on the beach together, to experience the sun, sand, and sea. What a pleasant experience it was!
I love my jeans. (They are cotton you know!) I really do not feel comfortable in shorts. This summer I would wear shorts if I was not leaving my apartment. Even after my time on the beach.
So my first Italian summer is in the books. I made it through the heat, I drank a lot of water, I sweated more than I ever had before. As September began and the temperatures plunged to a 'chilly' but very comfortable 23 C (73 F) for a few days, I found out that this summer had been the hottest in 150 years!
It is now mid September and the temperature is to reach 30 C (86) today. This reminds me of a wonderful Indiana summer day!
