...it's the humidity.
That was a frequent statement of my mother's when she was visiting me in Japan last year. And she would be right, of course - the 34 degree heat wouldn't be quite so ...hot if it weren't for the 90% humidity that goes along with it.
I have become acclimatized to the weather, and also to the sunrise and sunset - the sun rises very early in Japan; though the days have begun getting shorter again, the sky is still light by 4:45 a.m., which means getting out before the heat has time to take hold on the day is easy. I went for a ride yesterday morning and a run this morning- meeting joggers, dogwalkers and other morning people along the way.
Seeing other people out so early in the morning indicates that this is the way that they, too, overcome the limitations of the heat. Our environments offer balance - here, in summer the sun rises early and compensates for the humidity; in winter, the days are very short but the weather is mild and affords some of the clearest air with great visibility. In Montreal, the summer is short but the days are long - the sun doesn't set until nearly 9 p.m. In winter...well, ok. I am at a loss there. There is no compensation for the Canadian winter...
4 comments:
I'm starting to see a trend in your comments and it ain't pretty. I'm with you on the weather thing we've been over 100 degrees here the last few days with humidity in the upper 90s too. At least it cools off to the upper 80s at night.
You are so right about the cultural differences in perception. I've read that the Buddhist background ... "One seeing, one doing" is integrated into everything Japanese. It certainly seemed so to me when I was there. I tried to focus my western mind in the same way, but to very little avail. I enjoyed seeing it in action there daily.
We had about two weeks of 30+ with high humidity this summer (it has been a hot and humid and sunny summber so it has been great for biking) but the sun is already dipping below the horizon at 7.
Don't you miss the -30 degree mornings of January?
I can remember -55 with the wind-chill. I wouldn't go through that again for all the tea in Japan:-)
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