Estou Bem So Calor

It's 110 and I am in jeans. Never thought miss sweaty aka the high school queen of hot flashes and pit stains aka me, would see the day.

Actually its been over 100 degrees every day this week, and I have barely blinked. It isn't that I don't feel the heat. Nope. I think the reality is just that I have become accustomed to having sweat dripping down my face, cleavage, and back at any given moment.

My favorite part of the Mozambican summer? The sweat rag.

A sweat rag is a little mini wash-cloth, or handkerchief that one keeps in their back pocket or purse to pull out and wipe the sweat off their face whenever necessary.

There isn't even any social judgement when one pulls the mini towel out to give herself a wipe-down. Heck, I wipe my cleavage mid conversation... I think it is better than the alternative – dripping sweat on my students as I lean over them to check their notebooks to see if they have done the latest homework assignment. Although, that might be a good punishment.

“You didn't do homework, I will now drip my booby sweat on you.”

Currently the normal punishment is manual labor. Students who don't do homework, disrespect the teacher, or are just plain horsing around have to carry water for teachers or hoe in the school garden. In fact, at the beginning of the year all students have to put in some time to beautify the school ie cut my lawn and dig me a new trash hole.

“What did you think extra curricular activities were?” Another teacher once said to a group of hot disgruntled students at work in our yard.

I am pretty sure I would go to prison if I ever demanded these things of a high school student in America. Or at least the zit faced students would hastily respond with a “yeah right crazy lady my daddy will sue you,” before hopping in their mom's mini-van and heading to the mall.

But I can tell I have acclimated significantly in the past year. Last January and February I spent many a day perched in front of my fan in my bra and underwear cursing the calor. And yet this year, I just carry on my day, sweating, wiping, working, wiping...

I have also adopted the typical Mozambican passing exchange:

“How are you?”
“I'm fine, just hot.”
“Me too, just hot.”