If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the … country?

It is definitely summer here.  Summer means dry heat heat heat, which you can definitely feel.  Summer also means pollution.  A few days of rain here and there definitely help though!

In case you missed my list on Facebook, here are a few things for how you can know it’s almost summer:

1.  I have to use fans in my house again, and my hair is poofy today because it got an unintentional blowdrying.

2. I can’t see the mountains from my apartment for all the smoke (more on this below).  — This is what Ishould be able to see.

3. The dogs aren’t wearing their shirts anymore.

4. You choose to take a cold shower and actually enjoy it.

5. You can watch the dishes dry before your eyes.  Laundry too!

6. Have I mentioned sweat yet?

7. I mostly don’t have to wear a jacket when I drive at night.

8. The water coming out of my sink is warm. [The only hot water I have in my apartment is in the showers.]

9. You can say goodbye to race season. One more running race this Sunday, but the last one was nearly a month ago.

10. It’s taking less time to get used to the pool water.  Actually, it’s starting to feel good.

Summertime is the season for burning fields and forests.  This means the air quality is very bad at times, and the smoke just sits between the mountains.  Everything is dirty because the dust and smoke settles on it, including my floors.  You can check out this link for the Air Quality Index for Thailand and see how good or bad the air was the day before.  A measurement over 100 is unhealthful.  The last few days have been between 85-90, because of some rain last week.  The highest I’ve seen for Chiang Mai so far is about 160.  Pray for more frequent rain! 🙂  In fact, I received an email from the US Consular Department warning Americans of traveling in Northern Thailand because of the health risks for people with respiratory problems and more.

Here’s a picture courtesy of irrawady.com, a news site for Southeast Asia:

just hold your breath for a few weeks

It didn’t take me long to get used to the look of the pollution, or the feel.  I thought it a little strange that these smoky grey skies would seem normal to me, and then I figured out it was a little like Ventura — the skies looked like the June gloom we get along the coast; the heat felt like the Santa Ana winds; there was an occasional smell of smoke, just like Santa Anas and forest fires.  So I was used to it!  The problem… it’s still pollution and bad air quality.  And did I mention it’s hot?

It will only get hotter for the next month and a half, until the rainy season starts around the middle or end of May.  Then it will be hot AND wet.  Oh the weather of Southeast Asia. 🙂  Thank God for fans, air-conditioning, and plenty of pools for plenty of swimming!!!