Hace MUCHO calor.

Summer is in full swing down here and it is HOT. Despite the high temps, I have been enjoying the weather. Although I must admit, I still haven’t quite mastered my understanding of the Celsius scale. The hottest day yet this Chilean summer reached a whopping 35 degrees Celsius, which I believe is in the low 90s on the Fahrenheit scale. Thankfully, it is a dry heat. There is always a nice breeze during the day, and at night it cools down quite a bit. One thing that Chile could use, though, is some aire acondicionado! Most of the time, it is cooler outdoors than it is inside buildings. And don’t even get me started on the Metro. With temperatures on the rise, my appreciation of the subway system here has decreased; the stuffy train rides have gotten to be almost unbearable.

The increased heat has brought with it some interesting Chilean revelations. When I learned Spanish, I was taught that the word “hot” translated to “caliente.” Speaking in terms of temperature, it seemed likely to say “caliente.” However, if you are working up a sweat on the dance floor at a club and you feel your body temp rising, I advise you not to say, “estoy caliente” or “I am hot” unless you want all the guys to keep infringing on your personal space. In this sense, “caliente” translates to “horny.” Luckily my friends warned me about this upon my arrival, but I since have had to correct some other gringos using this phrase so they too can avoid a language misunderstanding. If referring to the temperature outside, you say “hace calor,” which means, “it’s hot.” If you are hot, the correct thing to say is, “tengo calor.” It quite literally translates to “I have heat.” And let me tell you, unlike those of you in the Midwest, nosotros estamos en Chile ahora, tenemos mucho calor.

The other funny thing I have noticed here is the Chilean beverage of choice. With the dryness of the area, it is imperative that you keep yourself hydrated. I’ve never been one to drink my 8 glasses of water a day and I certainly do not drink nearly enough water here. I literally have to force myself to drink as much as I can and even then, it’s not enough. The amazing thing about Santiaguinos, though, is that despite the dryness and the heat, no one drinks water! They all drink soda. If they do drink water, they drink carbonated water. It never ceases to amaze me. I seriously have no idea how these people keep hydrated because I primarily only drink water all day long and I am dying! They don’t even give you complimentary glasses of water when dining at a restaurant like they do in States as soon as you sit down at the table. Here, if you want tap water, you have to ask for it specifically. If you just say you want water, they ask if you want it “con gas” or “sin gas” (with or without gas) and assume you mean bottled water.

The thing that truly amazes me about this weather, however, is its consistency. It is sunny every day and on the rare occasion that it looks like it might rain, it never does. It’s always a bit cool early in the mornings on my way to work and of course, again in the evenings. The heat seems to reach it’s peak temperature about mid-afternoon between the hours of 2:00pm and 4:00pm. I’m so used to checking the weather every morning before I get up to determine my outfit for the day, but here, I don’t have to do that! Especially after a most unusual summer weather-wise my last summer while living in NYC, this is a nice change of pace!