Someone turn off the heater

Jul 8, 2018

2 min read

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I’m a Texan. We Texans know a thing about hot weather. So when I came to Saudi Arabia I didn’t totally melt to death. Not like my British and Canadian colleagues/friends. Seriously, they have a rough time in this weather.

As for me it’s doable. I can manage. How? How do I manage living with summers that are ALMOST always in the triple digits. With summers where the lowest temps are in the mid to high 90’s. And how do I manage with tempertures that can get as high as 125 farenhei?

How do I manage?

Three words.

I. Stay. Inside.

‘Cause that’s where the air conditioning (AC) is.

Thank the Lord on high for the AC!

Thank the Lord on high even more ’cause Saudis love (need) their ACs just as much as Texans do.

I honestly RARELY go anywhere in the hottest months (June to August) in this country.

My routine is pretty much:

1. Get in van and go to work (our vans have cute little curtains to keep the inside cool)

2. Get in van to go home.

Rinse and repeat Sunday through Thursday, which are the work days here.

As for weekends–this won’t come as a surprise–I don’t go anywhere. On the rare occasions that I do, it is somewhere close and it’s brief. Even with all the places (like malls, coffee shops, restuarants, etc.) having ACs it can still be hot. Doesn’t help that we women wear black robes. Totally not cool with cooling down. But I’ll save that for another blog.

But, hey, there are benefits from living in such extreme heat. I can catch up with tv shows and movies. Not to mention, it gives me little excuse to not focus on my writing. Silver lining?

Also, truly, this weather has me much more appreciative, than before living here, of Texas heat. Because it’s really better in Texas. But that’s pretty much with everything. Ok, I’m being a bit biased here. It’s the Texan in me. 😉

Oh if any one is wondering if there are a lot of people who go out during the hot summer months. All I can say is, sure there are people who go out in the day time–it is summer after all–but Saudi is very much a night time country. Meaning, they, Saudis, are big on being out and about after the sun goes down–maybe even later like after 7p or 8p. I think the hot weather has everything to do with that. But I could be wrong. Anywho, I’ll leave you with this picture. Just to brighten up your non-triple digit summer days. And if you happen to live in a state that has triple digits every day three months out of the year you MOVE. Even Texas doesn’t have that. 😜