Heat Wave

We have just come out of a “heat wave”. We had three days in a row that the temperature was over 100 Fahrenheit. I am still finding it hard to convert so it was around 39c degrees each day. Luckily here in Manhattan we had no power lost however areas of Queens and Brooklyn did.

One thing that is quite noticeable when you look at the apartments here in Manhattan is that we all have window air-conditioners. The buildings are so old so its the only way to have air conditioning. Ducted air conditioning can be found in newly constructed buildings however the window units are far more common in residential dwellings. You see some air conditioners that seem to be some what dangling from the windows. You wonder if one day they will just simply fall off and crash onto the pedestrians below.

Also its very common when walking to feel what seems like rain drops falling on you from above. When you look up you realize that in fact is the condensation or water coming out of the air conditioner. Annika always seems to think it’s going to start raining even though not a cloud in the sky.

Here in Manhattan we walk a lot! I know I have mentioned this numerous times however this heat makes it twice as hard! The humidity is very high so I find myself wearing no makeup and my hair always up. All modes of mass transport are air-conditioned which is appreciated by everyone I would say.

However on entering the subways the best word to describe it would be “inferno”. It’s like nothing I have ever experienced! You enter and the air is just so heavy you find yourself struggling to breathe. Luckily here in New York you never wait long for a train. The doors open and it’s like a miraculous gush of fresh cool oxygen welcoming you from the inferno that you endured while waiting for this train.

It’s now almost the end of July and from what everyone says August is the killer, so bring it on I say!

As hot as it is I think coming from Sydney it’s not been a shock to the system like the cold here was. I believe the Labor day weekend is coming up at the beginning of September. The weather apparently begins to cool down and then it’s that gradual descent into coldness. I think I will embrace this heat with everything I have while I can .....................