As a self-proclaimed warm-weather-lover, I
came to Dubai from Australia with what I thought was an advantage. I already
liked the heat (by which I meant anything up to mid-30s. Aah, the naivety).
That had to put me ahead of those who preferred warm coats and log fires.
Right?
Well, predictably, no.
Wrong.
I’ve come to believe that people who grew
up in freezing cold climates, who are used to shutting themselves in for half
the year, are at a massive advantage here in Dubai.
Close the doors and windows, turn on the
air and sit tight for the day? No problem. The only outings you can take are to
air-conditioned malls? Hey ho, we’re used to it. Organise ‘indoor play’ for
three active children for a weekend? Sure, got this. A week? A month? An
eleven-week summer holiday block at 50 degrees, with Ramadan thrown in for
triple points?
Well, no one likes it, but some people
manage better than others.
As in, me. They manage better than I do.
But I am – slowly – learning. So as I
approach my third hot season in Dubai, I decided to share a few things I’ve
come to understand about surviving summer.
Don’t fight it
After I arrived, as the weather warmed up,
I persisted in doing things my way. Windows and doors always open for ‘fresh
air’. Dinner at the outside table. A morning trip to the beach.
The trouble is, an open window can’t catch
a breeze that was never there. And even if it was, the houses are designed to
be unbreachable bunkers of refrigerated atmosphere. Air-flow is the exact
opposite of what they promote.
And no matter how much iced water you
drink, dinner in the garden at 38 degrees is no fun for anyone. Ditto swimming
in the intensely salty, bath-like waters of the Arabian Gulf in July.
Just give in. You can’t win.
Sometimes more is less
To my mind, a floaty summer dress is just
the thing for a hot day. Uh huh. Rookie error. If you actually have to do
anything – walk, carry stuff, drive a car – you will sweat. A lot. And
sensitive Celtic skin like mine (and my children’s) will come out in every kind
of fiery rash you can think of. So now I try to dress to absorb sweat. T-shirts
with fitted sleeves to protect my underarms, leggings to protect my (ahem)
legs. I even get a rash from the rubber strap of my flip-flop. (I’m Australian,
so I want to say ‘thong’ here, but then everyone will be wondering about my
rash from another kind of thong, and I really don’t want that.) I even have to
make sure there is fabric between my décolletage and my seatbelt if I don’t
want a terrible itchy blotch just under my neck.
Over-sharing? Just telling it like it is…
Re-invent exercise
I could probably just sit in stunned
silence for the five very hot months, but the kids don’t really go for that.
And it would give new meaning to the words ‘sedentary lifestyle’. So we have
developed some strategies to keep active.
For instance, every summer my eldest son
turns the dining table around against the wall and uses it for table tennis.
Genius. I couldn’t care less about the inconvenient angle, the marks on the
wall (they wash off) or the endless tick-tock,
tick-tock, tick-tock of the ping-pong ball. At least he’s keeping busy. And he’s
like a dog – he needs ball sports at least once a day.
I try to walk or swim as early in the
morning as I can, except for the very hottest months. It’s about the only way
you can connect with nature during this time, and its good for the soul.
Also, I’ve forsaken the expensive local gym
to do stretch classes at home via my laptop instead. At least two of my
children have pledged to join me daily when the holidays begin. That’s
exercise, an hour or so killed, hop
My friend Inga told me that last summer,
heavily pregnant, she would sit in the empty mall (it was Ramadan) drinking
water (which she was allowed to do because she was very obviously pregnant) and
say to her two little boys, “Run!” They would peg it up and down the halls of
commerce for a couple of hours, then go home tired and happy. So clever!
Finally
I've learned you can never drink too much water, but I still haven't learned not to set up elaborate indoor play my kids are too old for (e.g. something from here - I really want to do that Entrapment break-in scene one).
So what is your best strategy to cope with
the weather?
