Parasol = Spanish for "For the Sun"

I think the heat is getting to me. April and May are the hottest months of the year here and I do NOT do well with the heat. Being constantly hot and sweaty with just a general feeling of being disgusting doesn`t up my morale. Nor does it make me want to walk to school. Or teach in a stuffy room with a bunch of kids packed into it.

Sunscreen helps ward off the damaging effects...but it also makes the dirt cling to my skin so when I scratch one of my many bugbites my fingernails come back black. Gross. I know.

There is one thing that saves me. The parasol. Why don´t we use this in the United States. According to my google image search, it used to be a big deal. Now? Not so much. But really, it`s great. Sure it`s a little bulky and I have forgotten it in many classrooms and shops, but it`s my own personal cloud. Mine is a little rust stained where the metal pieces are, but I don`t mind.

HOWEVER, also in my google image search, I came across several photos of one way people are using parasols. It disgusted me. Wedding parties. The bride and her bridesmaids each had a coordinating parasol. Gag me. I hope to never see this in real life.

Weddings in general are getting harder for me to swallow. In my year and a half here I see a lot of my fellow PCVs going home for weddings. The stories of extravagance and hurt feelings (over silly things I might add) and the general wasting of money accompanied by the feeling that more thought is being put into the wedding than the marriage...well it doesn`t sit well with me. (Disclaimer: I still hypocritically like weddings and want to go to them. I`m just not sure if I will end up having one...if I do it will be small.)

And yes, I`m aware I should still use sunscreen.

Back to the point though, today is sunny and about 86 degrees with a nice breeze. I can`t complain about the weather today. Thank God. It has bolstered my spirits (and the fact that I leave early Saturday morning for Little Corn Island doesn`t hurt) and made my general annoyance decrease. I really do feel like when I come back from this week of legit vacation, I`ll be able to handle my lack-of-work situation better and make more work for myself.

Love you guys! Happy birthday to Mice (and no I do not mean the vermin in my house that refuse to die)! Happy Easter to everyone! See you in seven-eight months!