The things that make us wilt and melt
might be the same things things that make us stronger
A week before we left home to travel to Egypt via Toronto, we spent 24 hours in Peterborough, a midsized Ontario town, for a soccer tournament. The temperatures were in the high 30s with extreme humidity. Sitting on our lawn chairs with hats on our heads to shield us from the midday sun, the air felt like soup. Every breath a big gulp. The kids on the fields somehow kept moving. Frequent water breaks were had. Sweat poured off of us like we were ice cubes, melting.
More than once, M pointed out that this was great practice for our upcoming adventures. More than once, I responded, this does not bode well for our heroes.
We’ve been in Egypt for 6 days now. The temperatures hover around the high 30s all day, and the AC is working all night or we wake up in pools of sweat. And yet, the heat is more forgiving. Is it because we haven’t been spending the whole day outside? We’ve come pretty close on multiple occasions. Is it the dryness of the heat? Cairo is a concrete jungle, sure, but there isn’t a drop of water in the air. It is not soup, but a dry sauna door opened a few feet away.
In the evening, it is downright breezy, but not the kind of breezy that makes you reach for a sweater.
The last time I’d been to Egypt was 17 years ago, as a newlywed. M and I got married on a Saturday night in February and got on a plane the following Wednesday to honeymoon and meet each other’s extended family. At the time, we never imagined we’d be gone so long between trips. The cousins and daughters of cousins I saw back then are in various stages of nuptial progression. There have been several recent weddings. Other engagements. A newborn or two abound.