Thursday, December 16, 2010

Missing the Heat

All it took was 26 degrees Fahrenheit for me to begin missing the sun and heat of tropical Timor-Leste. And the breath-taking cold also brings to mind the old adage: be careful what you wish for.....

In Timor, where it was hot and humid, I was looking forward to cold weather -- my idea of cold was...say....45 degrees Fahrenheit.  A crisp cold, not a bone-chilling cold. Also -- I had completely forgotten about the wind -- and there was plenty of that with the 26 degree weather -- which pushed the temperature even lower.

I was completely prepared for the 45 degree "cold," when I arrived in Washington, DC -- I had a thin, long sleeved shirt, a t-shirt and a light jacket. It was the heaviest of winter wear in my closet in Timor-Leste.

Painfully and obviously it wasn't enough.

Still, I did get that snow I wished for -- on my second day in DC.  And it actually warmed up before it started snowing -- so, in a sense, I did eventually get what I wished for.