The Parenthesis Entry (actually the entry is really about the weather)

In my classroom, on my wall, I’ve got a picture of a female monster and a text-bubble-shaped white board by her mouth. Emily, as Christoph and I call her, delivers Christoph a morning message every day so that he gets some reading practice. Yesterday, the morning message was “It is hot!”. (I’m pleased to report that Christoph read it with fair ease, thanks to my superb teaching abilities! Toot! Toot! (That’s me tooting my own horn!)).
Yes, the weather has become HOT this week. I’m not sure the exact temperature, but it’s GOT to be hitting 40C. For the most part I have been enjoying this heat, as I can bring out the shorts, tanks, and summer dresses I so happily packed in my suitcase (rather than packing them into boxes for the winter, like most of you. MUAHAHAHAAHAHAH!)
Oh sorry. I distract myself.
So yes, the weather is hot. And I have been taking advantage of it by swimming in the pool every day. Some of you that know my family well (I’m thinking specifically of the Sharples here – what up? (that was my shout out!)), know that the Sears’ love reading in pools (or by bodies of water generally). I do most of my best reading in or around pools, and this week has been no exception. I have read TWO FULL books since Sunday! (Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro – totally good and strange; and We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families, a stunning piece of literary journalism about the Rwandan Genocide). So yes, I have been enjoying the heat.
There are a few small downsides to the heat, though. The first is that it’s too hot to horseback ride. I can’t put those horses through a mid-afternoon stroll, which is the only time to go during the week. Bummer, but I’ll have to wait until Saturday.
The second, and biggest, downside is the heat in the classroom.
OH
MY
GOD.
That room is a sauna. No, a boiler room. No, a pressure cooker.
– The only windows face south, so we get the direct sunlight in our “classroom” (which is actually the second-floor gallery of a run-d0wn squash court, but don’t get me started on that!).
– The roof is made of sheet metal. People here usually use thatch as the top layer, not (as I originally thought) for aesthetic purposes, but to keep the place cool. Boy, could I use some thatch right now (never thought I’d say that!).
– There is (well, was) no fan. There was also no electrical socket. In my boss’ attempt to appease me in this ridiculousness (rather than just find an alternate space), she had an electrical socket and fan put it. I kept my mouth shut, even though I knew this wouldn’t prove to be a good solution. We can’t put the fan directly on us because it would make all our papers fly away, so we have to point it 45 degrees away. And anyway, it’s just moving hot air around, so it’s as good as useless (I’m reminded of my drive from Dakar to Nouakchott – Sahnah, remember how keeping the windows open was actually HOTTER than closing them, and our boiling hot water, when put on tissues and applied to our faces, actually served as a makeshift AC system?)
Anyway, the intense classroom heat has given me a headache and general uneasiness every day, only cured once I’ve plopped myself into a cold swimming pool for a minimum of two hours. Hence, the excellent reading.
And so the cycle resumes.