Well, after weeks of sweating because of the "cannicule"/ i.e. heatwave, we are now experiencing a very pleasant 64 degree day of nice breezes. It feels like fall, and it is such a nice change from the recent above 90 degree heat that we have been having. I know, ya'll are still in that above 90 heat, but there is a huge difference- You have air conditioning! You go from your air conditioned house to your air conditioned cars to air conditioned stores, workplaces, churches, etc. It is very different here. There are very few air conditioned homes. Most places of business are not air conditioned, with the exception of the grocery store and the inside part of malls (not the stores in the mall though). I could not escape from sweating all day long. I had to absolutely give up on drying my hair because I could not bear the heat. Appliances give off so much heat in my non-climatized house that I didn't use them much either. Sarah Adeline and I have been sitting around in the dark (no lights on- that gives off heat too) with the shutters closed (to keep out the sunlight which heats up the house) for weeks. I finally came to the conclusion that those last few pounds that I wanted to lose before going to the pool did not matter anyomore- we just needed to get wet to cool off! On the news they recommend going to an airconditioned place for at least 3 hours a day to get your body temp down, so we have been shopping alot- at the grocery store and in the center of malls. I was shocked to find out that the major dept store here does not have air conditioning. In fact, many French people get sick when they stay in air conditioned places. Don't ask me why, but I guess their systems just aren't as used to it as we Americans are. Anyway, I have bought 3 fans and 1 refraicheur d'air- it is this machine you plug in and put in water and ice packs that cool the air. I feel like a pioneer woman. I made homeade lemonade for the first time on Monday- out of necessity- you can't buy it here. Crazy, huh? Anyway, I have been making mac and cheese from scratch too since we've been here,and today I am making chicken and vegetable stock to use for cooking. Who am I turning into? I know- it sounds like June Cleaver, but to me it feels like Laura Ingalls. Help! I am coming home on Tuesday to the wonderful air conditioned US where there is Crystal Light and Kraft macaroni and cheese (although I think I prefer homeade) and cans of everything one needs to cook with. Hope to see you all soon!