The Heat Is On

THE HEAT IS ON
From what I hear, the weather isn’t too good back home. A hint of spring followed by a return to winter.
As I sit here, there is a film of sweat on my arms and on my face. I’m wearing a loose t-shirt, light shorts and flip-flops and that’s too much. Outside the sun is glaring down and I am wondering if I will survive a walk.
In our part of the world, we shiver most of the year and wrap out to protect ourselves from the cold. A large part of our household budget goes on heating systems of one kind or another.
Here, it is the heat rather than the cold that is the enemy. You wear light flimsy clothing to protect your decency and ensure you don’t stick to chairs. A large part of the household budget goes on air conditioning of one kind or another.
One of the major downsides of having air conditioning is that, unlike heating, it is noisy. I am so looking forward to being able to sit in a room without that constant hum. People tell me you get used to it, but I wonder at a neural level if you ever do? Noise is supposed to be the greatest source of stress to us humans and it certainly is to me.
In the apartment in which I am living, I currently have no AC turned on. Yet all the time I can hear a pretty loud hum I suppose from ACs in all the other apartments linked by a central utility block, which is behind the sitting room and bathroom here.
In the previous apartment two floors down, the hum was compounded by a rattle and was unbearable. I didn’t sleep for a fortnight. Here, the ACs at least are up to date – they are the split ones not the window kind. But why any of them should make such a noise is beyond me. Maybe because they have to circulate air rather than just sit there and be cold (or hot) like at home. Sitting here reminds me of ferry trips across the Irish Sea and that irritating rumble. Maybe the constant noise is why so few people read books here.
You can sense that everyone is getting ready for the Big Heat. It’s already mid-30s most days, but I’m told that is nothing compared to what it will be in July and August. Even early September is bad. There is also humidity, which comes from living on a peninsula, with no place far from the sea.
An advertising supplement in the local newspaper advertises 30 cool prizes for 30 hot days. They are offering a Samsung 1.5 ton window AC for QR987 (Eu219) or QR1,113 (Eu247) with remote. All ACs here re operated by remotes. A split AC is double the price at 2,134 (Eu474).Table fans are also on offer; that might be an idea. Or how about a portable AC for around QR 1,000? (just over Eu220).
Then there are all sorts of fridges and freezers, most of them large and one of them absolutely massive; it looks like a double fridge and has two doors. A big cold cupboard. Cost? QR4,279 (Eu951). Also water dispensers, which clearly are used in more than offices here to judge by the large containers of water you can buy even in local shops (why are corner shops called supermarkets here?)
Move on to the fun stuff and you can buy a small family frame pool 549×122 (Intex)for QR2,196 (Eu488). Or a little one which looks like a large bath 160x260x65cm for a mere QR338 (Eu75). There are also paddling pools and dinghies for children. Also on offer are blankets of all sorts; these are used for outdoor picnics. Or maybe the locals really don’t feel the heat the way us wimpy Westerners do?
You definitely get the feeling you won’t be able to spend much time outdoors once the Big Heat hits. So how to get away from the horrible hum (which I am about to do this minute. Can’t stand it anymore) ?