The unfortunate configuration is that our bedroom is in the front of the apartment, facing the street. So first, it is noisy. We hear the garbage guys coming through at 1:00 a.m. and we hear the water truck delivering water to the restaurant across the street at 7:00 a.m.
Also - importantly - the summer sun shines on the front of our apartment. That means the bricks, cement and marble heat up all day and keep our bedroom oven hot well into the early hours. But we have our fan.
What is remarkable is the significant difference in temperature during a hot day from room to room.
The bedroom is rough, the living room is nearly unbearable, even with the fan on full force. The kitchen is intollerable - and the utility room. Lucky for me, the office is the coolest place in the apartment and I have a ceiling fan.
When Luiz can no longer stand the heat of the living room - in front of the TV - he joins me in the office. The bedroom, while having the bed - good for naps - is just really hot. Even with the fan blasting.
Ultimately it is the bathroom, with the shower, that provides relief. But I must add that, as with most Brazilian residences, our water is sourced from a tank on the roof. So when it is a terribly hot day, the water in the tank gets heated up to a pretty hot temperature. So there is really no cold water. But the natural process of water coolingly evaporating from your skin saves the day.
I feel a little bit captive in my office on super hot days -- but then, we often take to the beach for relief. (Luiz recently took a nap on the kitchen tile floor to cool down.)
But I will take it over shoveling snow ANY DAY.
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I would also trade beach for snow... most days.
We are drinking ice water, sleeping under the fan, taking cool showers, and sometimes laying on the tile floors.
Our lunch is fruit and geletin.
We do what we can do...
"and sometimes laying on the tile floors."
...just like a cat!
Hang in there guys!
day by day... :-)
Hehehe, I like the way you describe things, Jim. Laying on the tile floors, for example, sounded like fun to me.
Here's so cold, the streets still have patches of snow that during the day are nothing but dirty slush mess that makes walking the dog more of a challenge to keep him the less dirty possible. Also these shorter winter days often give me the blues. The other day I saw Ray shoveling the snow around the house and I felt sorry for him.
We also would take the beach over SHOVELING SNOW any day.
Gil - you and Ray are welcome to visit - and escape the shoveling - any time.
It's bizarrely cold in Sao Paulo. Usually, in the summer, it's desperately hot.
Obrigado, querido.
It'd be really nice to get to meet you guys down in Rio/Niterói sometime.
We're hoping to move back south soon, then we'll be state neighbors and you'll have to come visit us in Sampa ;) No beach there, but lots of things to do.
Abração.
Gil
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