Subtropically yours

It’s hot here. Daily highs are in the mid-80s, with some serious humidity to boot. Our tin roof transfers solar heat straight into the house, making the place insufferable during a cloudless afternoon. There has been, gracias a Dios, rain almost every afternoon and night. But it’s the season for that. Soon summer shall arrive and the rain shall, for the most part, desist. I fear what sort of climatological brutality the dog days of June, July and August might bring, though I’m certain it will result in lethargy. The neighbors are already talking about it, about how Mr. Gringo is going to hate summer life.

This ungodly climate has already resulted in much stinky sweat. Not the drenching, Patrick Ewing sort of sweat, but enough to leave a shirt ready for the washtub by noon. Take that shirt and give it a vigorous hand wash at least once a week, and within a month or two it’s looking pretty ratty. As a light packer, I might have only 10 shirts, which means I’ll be rummaging through used clothes at the mercado de pulga soon enough. To make matters worse, for both my clothes and my social standing: Since I’m allergic to antiperspirant—it leaves a fiery rash and small but sensitive welts in the armpits—I’m stuck with some Trader Joe’s unscented cotton-infused, yuppie-approved “deodorant”, only a tiny step above nothing. The best remedy would seem to be frequent showers, at least two a day, which Dominicans wouldn’t consider strange. That or spraying cologne in my armpits, which they might not find strange either.

Dominicans, in contrast, don’t seem to sweat. I’ve seen a few of them leaking before, but it seems that with most Dominicans their minimal fluid intake leaves their pores perpetually dry. They then interpret our sweating as a symptom of sickness, and ask us if we’re ok, if we have the famous gripe (cold, flu, general bad-being). We then say no, we’re fine, it’s just that it’s hot. And they nod in seeming comprehension.

In conclusion, I predict that dealing with the heat, with all its nefarious consequences, will be my most serious challenge as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Just edging out the appalling state of electricity in this country—think long blackouts, and lots of them—which I’ll discuss later on.