Dog Days in Ohrid

It is hot.  The heat of summer normally isn't an issue in Ohrid, but this year has already been crazy hot.  We have become giant beach bums, and I don't feel bad about it because that is where the rest of the population is too.  When we aren't hanging at beach, we are living like vampires. We keep the shades closed all day long to keep things a little cooler in here.  We have been playing the Wii a lot.  We have had a lot of smoothies and ice cream sundaes, and we have done lots of water play in the porch.

We have even had to turn on our air conditioner. We never had an A/C in any other apartment here. When we moved into this apartment, our landlords pointed out the a/c in the living room and we thought, 'Oh, that's nice, but it's never hot enough for an A/C here.'  We may have turned it on twice all of last summer. This year, we have turned it on a lot.  Brian and I have had to start sleeping in the living room so we could actually sleep instead of just sweating all night long.  Hopefully it will cool off soon and we can move back into our bedroom.

Summer also brings the reminder of one of the big differences between Americans and Macedonians (maybe all Europeans).  Promaja.  Promaja is basically a breeze coming in through a window, from the A/C or from an oscillating fan.  Promaja is one of the most feared things around these parts.  While we, as Americans, roll down windows, crank up the air condition and stand in front of any fan we can find, they run away from such things. They keep all of the windows closed even in the car. Basically they would rather live in a sauna than get hit by a breeze because they are all sure it makes you sick.  It can cause anything from a literal pain in your neck to a sore throat, to a cold. And, you know what? After all this time over here, I am beginning to believe them. It still doesn't seem to affect us, but I believe it may really affect them.  We joke around with our Macedonian friends about it. We like to tell them that Americans are vaccinated against promaja.  We all just laugh at the difference and of course, keep the windows closed and the fans off.