Things to Love (and Hate) about the Kingdom: Part 1

There are so many things to love and hate about living here. I thought I'd regale (is that spelled right) you with tales of a few of them in a multi-part posting...so check back to read more.

The number one thing to LOVE and HATE about the Kingdom: (drumroll please) THE WEATHER

So let me start by saying it is not as hot as I thought it would be. It is more humid than I remember though, which is a little disappointing. On the dry days, I am like "bring it on", but on the mornings I come downstairs and it looks like it has been raining outside, i think "f... today is gonna suck".

Fortunately, EVERYTHING is airconditioned, but usually overly so. This means you need to remember to bring a sweater, EVERYWHERE so you don't freeze. This is very counterintuitive..even when you live here. Erik actually teaches in a fleece. Our upstairs is much colder than our downstairs, but the thermostat is downstairs, so if it is comfortable downstairs it is probably like a walkin freezer upstairs. By the way, this is why I let the dog (who will perhaps be the number 2 thing to love and hate) sleep with us most nights. I don't want her to be too cold!

One of the crappy things about the heat is that it is hard to play outside with the girls right now between the hours of 8am and 6pm. The playground equipment is scorching, and even a walk around the block with the dog has Anika panting for water and Saskia begging to be carried. We all come back a sweaty mess.

Evenings are LOVELY though....a balmy 90 some degrees, I almost need a sweater when we go for our evening walks into the desert (our house which will for sure make one of these posts backs right up to the desert). Everyone says around October 31st or November 1st, the weather changes and is just lovely until May. A little cold even in the winter, especially at night when it can get into the 50's or 40's even.

Twice a week, when the nanny gets here I head to the pool for two hours of sunbathing bliss at the pool. This ROCKS. I read, lay in the sun, and dip in the pool to cool off. Some days it is so hot I can't go longer than 10 minutes without a dip in the pool, and am completely dry by the time I need to dip in again 10 minutes later. This makes for disjointed reading but I can't complain. I diligently apply SPF 50 before every sunbathing session and am still developing a LOVELY tan.

Going anywhere in the car during the day with the girls is a MAJOR torture session for everyone. Despite all our efforts to block the sun in the car, the seats are always scorching, and the air stifling hot, until the aircon kicks in (usually right around the time we arrive at our destination since nothing is much more than 5 minutes from here). I have found all sorts of tricky ways to use dishtowels and things to wrap seatbelts and car seat restraints so that the girls don't get burned by their too hot buckles. I have considered wearing gloves to drive because the steering wheel is SO fricking hot.

The most amazing thing is that right now is the month of Ramadan. This holy month of fasting rotates throughout the year (since the muslim calendar like the chinese is lunar). However, right not it falls in September. I can't believe that most of the people in this country are not drinking water during the day. I try to be contientious, but the last few weeks have been sneaking a water bottle into the car and taking furtive sips whenever I feel like I am far enough away for anyone to see me.

I am sure I am forgetting highlights, the tar bubbling to the top of the asphalt and sticking to your shoes when you cross the street, crayons melting in the car, and the ever amazing tap water. (In the summer people turn off their hot water heaters and use the hot water as cold since it is in the house and is cooled by the AC, the cold water tap then becomes the scalding hot water, as the water is heated naturally to almost boiling in the pipes that run underground outside the house!) Crazy.

I think that's enough for a first post. More to come soon. Stay tuned for part 2 Liyah the wunderdog supremo!