Oh, to be in Minnesota.

It's hot.  The temp has reached 100 degrees Fahrenheit for multiple days now….and it’s still June.  The intense heat and humidity lasts pretty much through September.  Which means I am going to have resist melting for the next three months. 

Perhaps you think I am exaggerating.  Well, I just learned this week that the town in which I work, Yorii Machi, is the second hottest city in all of Japan.  The town in which I live, Ogawa Machi, is also in the top ten.

Ugh.

It’s tolerable inside where it is shaded…well, that is, if you can stand sweat rolling freely down your face, legs and back.  Every classroom has two oscillating fans on the ceiling.  They help…a little.

The worst part is when I have to walk to school from the train station and back.  Three days a week, this is a half hour walk.  There is shade for approximately 3% of the walk. 

I work in the Japanese “countryside” which means farmland.  The air is soaked through with the odor of warm manure.  It’s so thick you can just about see it. The blacktop of the streets practically steams in the oppressive heat. 

Many older Japanese ladies walk about on their errands under the portable shade of an umbrella.  I have joined their ranks.  It offers more shade than just a hat would so I can stave off a sun burnt face, neck and arms. 

I feel so quaint, carrying around a parasol to protect my skin…as sweat streams down my body.  I take that back.  I actually just feel like I need a shower. 

Thankfully, 夏休み (Natsuyasumi-summer vacation) is fast approaching.  Which means I can spend the hottest days in the comfort of the air-conditioned library studying Japanese. 

I am looking forward to a month of activities that don’t involve profuse sweating.

It’s just not my thing.

I miss Lake Superior.