The weather here is a conundrum. As one might expect from a place located in the biome categorized as "Tropical Rainforest" (yes, the science I am teaching has definitely landed in my brain) the weather here is hot, wet, or most often, both. Every day brings temperatures of 86-88, and a humidity factor of around 85%. If you aren't sweating, the air is sweating for you... though truthfully it is not that bad. It usually showers at least once a day, however briefly- which brings about 5 minutes of relief, until the rain starts steaming from the streets, turning the entire country into a spa-worthy steam room.
While a perfect day in the United States is a breezy, 75 degree wonder with a blue sky, a few picturesque puffy white clouds and a steady stream of cheerful sun, here the best days are gray. Not rainy, but gray, with enough cloud cover to ensure a breeze and a temperature drop of 5-10 degrees, and a noticeable lack of humidity in the air. In other words, the perfect day here is the "oh crap, not again" day in Seattle.
All I can say is, it is a good thing that I will be returning to the States in the spring/summer. The idea of a actually wintry day fills me both with longing and with an absolute fear of turning into Frosty the Snow(wo)man from the shock to my system.
The lack of variation in weather also creates an interesting time paradox. Even though it is now almost December, everything looks and feels the same as the day we arrived. This creates a strange sense of timelessness, a weird feeling that I am floating through this experience in one long, sweaty dream. One of the other volunteers, my next-door neighbor aptly pointed out that we will all probably look back on this experience as a really long summer job. So all of you back home, appreciate your seasons, your subtle and not so subtle signs that time is passing and the world is changing, because as idyllic as it sounds (and usually is), being in a land of perpetual summer is slightly disconcerting.
Love from Samoa,
Rosa
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