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Saturday, July 01, 2006

Lazy, hazy Summer days???

So Summer has finally hit us and don't we know it?? It has been 40 degrees + (in the hundreds) for several weeks now. We definately prefer this to the Winter weather but you do feel like your skin is sliding off your body!!! With no air conditioning and sporadic electricity to run the fans you do feel like you are chocolate melting pretty much constantly!! The down days are those when there is no electricity or water so sitting in front of a cool fan or being able to have a cold shower is not possible. On those days we head to the pool!!

The swimming pools here are an interesting cultural experience. If you arrive when they open you can pretty much guarantee a few hours of tranquility with only a few people around. By the time you hit noon it is nothing short of unpleasant with bodies everywhere and children begging for food at the tables all around. A couple of the pools have filter systems which we have decided is a positive step forward. We favor those frankly. If the water is clear and you can smell chlorine then you are more than excited!! If the water is green and sludgy looking we tend to bypass the pool altogther!! The great thing is you always bump into people that you know (generally young children who are mostly there unaccompanied or with a slightly older sibling.)The other good thing for us as Internationals is that the pool is extremely affordable being 1.50 for us all to get in and then 75 cents for ice creams for everyone. It makes for a cheap and pleasant way to spend the morning.