How you know it's hot

Chad is hot. It ranks alongside South Sudan as the hottest place I have lived. If you ask me ‘how hot is it?’ my answer will be a vague ‘high 30s to mid 40s (centigrade)’ as I have made a conscious decision not to look at a thermometer too often. When it is this hot I find that knowing exactly how hot it is just makes me feel even hotter.

If you can’t imagine what it’s like to live in such a hot place maybe this list will give you a bit of an idea.

• The sun may be shining but, unlike the UK, that is not a reason to go outside
• On entering a room I make sure I position myself as close to a fan as possible
• I am just sitting, seemingly exerting no energy, and yet I am sweating
• I spend quite a lot of time thinking about when I will next be able to take a shower
• I take three showers a day – one in the morning, one after work and one before going to bed
• I prefer a cold shower
• After the shower I can’t seem to get dry and then I realise I have already started sweating again
• Working with a laptop on my lap creates large damp patches on my legs
• I don’t need to plan what I am going to eat too far in advance as frozen food takes less than half an hour to defrost
• If I forget to put the butter back in the fridge it quickly turns into a liquid
• Toothpaste and all other gels and creams are always soft and a bit gooey
• My laundry takes less time to dry than it does to wash
• I long for it to rain
• The sky looks like this: