Summer in Mito!

Summer has come! June and July were humid but mild, and I kept being assured that “summer was coming.” Well, it finally hit around mid July. Between the temperature and the humidity and the constantly beating sunshine, it often felt like it was high 90s or even over 100. My class is on the fourth floor and I have no fans in my room, and there was frequently no breeze to be had. When they didn’t have swim class right before mine, my kids were often quite miserable.

My weekends were often spent indoors with the curtains drawn and my AC blowing periodically, with me only venturing outside near closing time to grocery shop. Dishes were done minimally to avoid standing over a sink of hot water for an hour, and this was accomplished partly by switching to salads and sandwiches for most of my meals. Showers were taken 1-2 times a week and otherwise replaced with cold sponge baths to avoid sweating after cleansing. I was never one to wear ankle socks, but ever since July it has been the only kind of sock I wear. When out walking I huddle under a parasol, and I consume roughly three litres of water a day. I’d also taken up drinking barley tea, which tastes absolutely vile (think watered down coffee), because it was prepared in a cooler at school.

I went home the second week of August, coming back 9 days later. Roughly a week later, the horrible sweltering heat just disappeared. I couldn’t believe it.