-^-for posterity-^-

every day in the mekong is like living in a furnace. the heat seems to pour down like syrup and covers you and doesn't let you move as you should. an accurate assessment of the weather each day would either be 'hot' or 'hot with rain. everyone seems to take this incredible uncomfort with ease.

today, however, is quite different. today, for the first time since i've been here, people are actually admitting that it is hot. i didn't quite notice a difference, every day is the same sweltering misery, but everyone else seemed to be in on a joke. the coffee shop waitress, the photocopy man, the lady that sweeps the halls, they all claimed, with a frown on their face, that today was hot.

so, today is officially hot. today is so hot that people living in the heat all year long say it is hot. today must be something like 130 degrees. the sun must have moved a bit closer or gotten a bit more hot overnight and we are all suffering through it. i look forward to the rainy season when at least there is a slight breeze at times but even then i will be miserably sliding around in a slimy rain coat that doesn't cover the bottom of my sopping wet pants.