From Summer to Winter

A few days ago I hopped/flew/teleported from the southern hemisphere to the northern hemisphere. It's been awhile since I obtained any real distance from the equator, however, so the shock has been rather huge.

For starters, it's summer back home on Clove Island. That means heat, humidity, and a downpour when the humidity and heat get too high. I wouldn't even consider wearing long sleeves, let alone socks in weather like that. And a coat? That would be insanity.

Yet here it's 60 degrees out and I'm freezing. This type of freezing reminds me of a camping trip my family went on to Three Creek Lake in Oregon-- we woke up in the morning to find an inch of ice in the water buckets! Now recognize that my body hasn't experienced true cold in over two years, and that the houses here aren't really heated, and you might understand why my back is stiff from the cold and my fingers have a strange propensity towards going numb. I'm currently wearing a shirt, two sweaters, jeans, two pairs of socks, and I'm sitting in the sun. Oh, the sun feels good!

But what am I doing here off of Clove Island? Well, I'd be happy to tell you more about that in a private conversation, but suffice it to say I'm doing 40 hours of Arabic study (12 down, 28 to go!), and I'll be back on my island in just over a month.

Oh, and I had a 20 hour layover in Cairo on my way out... so take a look at the pictures!