The holiday is here

Today is the first day of my holiday. Ok, it's Saturday and I don't work on Saturdays anyway but YEA I'm on holiday. I have seven weeks of holiday, punctuated by Christmas, New Year and a visit from my beloved parents.

Today has been good: breakfast with M (a colleague who's off to New Zealand) followed by a visit to the supermarket to buy a fan (upright and oscillating). Then a trip to the gym, a long cool shower and a nap. Finishing off with another trip to the supermarket and a thunderstorm.

So, in detail... breakfast was at the new bar right next to the school. First time I've been there since it opened. M and I spent a good couple of hours chewing the fat and it was good. I like the fact that you don't get hassled here even when you've finished your food and drink.

The trip to the supermarket was a mixed bag, the fan is great although I had to assemble it myself and I'm left with a couple of bits left over (I know I should be worried but the fan works, so what the heck!) but the bread I bought was mouldy when I took it out of the wrapper. That's the problem with the heat here and their fondness for polythene wrapping.

With the heat I find my feet are swelling up so I'm trying to make sure I go to the gym regularly. Problem is, the heat is just as bad in the gym as outside. There are big fans (and I mean big) and I was lucky enough to get a treadmill right in front of one which meant I could actually do some work albeit for only 45mins. However, once I'd finished I had to walk home and let me tell you it was unbearable (although obviously I have borne it) - it was so hot that my sweat was sweating. In fact it was so hot I actually had a cold shower and I didn't bother to try to dry off, just laid down in front of the fan and fell asleep.

Another quick trip to the supermarket this evening to buy some fruit and a pizza and home just in time for the thunderstorm to start. There has been lightning pretty much all evening, but in the distance, until suddenly the wind rose, the thunder roared and the rain came down. The storm is directly overhead and, like so many storms here, it is spectacular. Sheet lightning giving us purple skies, crashing thunder vibrating through the building and steady, persistent rain - I wish I had the words to bring it all to life. And a blessed side-effect? The temperature has dropped.

Thing is I've just noticed it's 2am but it doesn't feel like it and I don't feel like sleeping - I find the energy of the storm to be very invigorating and the cold air blowing in through the windows to be refreshing. Still I should go to bed, I want to go out tomorrow.