War and no peace

I survived a Russian winter. A winter so harsh even locals admitted that it was cold. I mistakenly thought that once the weather warmed up, I would be fine. Little did I know that I would be at war against nature.

It's hot. Yeah yeah, I know that cities in the mid-Atlantic region of the US are breaking records, but at least there's air conditioning. Here, it's just hot. Even when it's not that hot, the sun is unkind and merciless.

To battle the heat, we eat ice cream. It instantly soothes the mind, body, and soul. The alternative is to jump into the river. It's a longer-lasting kind of refreshing.

One night, a group of us went to meet at the river and some jumped in. It was too inviting and I couldn't refuse, so I spontaneously jumped in. Some people say that the Volga is dirty, so I figured that swimming at night would be better so I couldn't see the filth. A couple of pansies (from Spain, of course) complained that the water was too cold, but it was warmer than any ocean I've ever been in. Swimming in the river at night (no tan lines) trumps ice cream.

Heat 0, Tammie 1. But there are the mosquitos...

Insects in Russia are large. I've seen bees 2 inches long and the mosquitos look like evil-fairies. Every night, I become a mosquito slayer. Yes, I was raised not to kill, but I justify it with the laws of karma. They bite me and inflict pain upon me (I learned that I am allergic to their bites, it's gross), so I can squash them. Let it be, it's MY law of karma. I am paranoid of being bit because it's so uncomfortable (pain, not itch).

My combat tactics

- plug-in repellant in my bedroom that I never fail to use

- a fan above my bed powered on high to blow the mosquitos away.

- sleeping under a blanket to physically protect me from the fighters

- a binaural music track to drown out the buzzing noises

Believe it or not, this only has an 80% efficacy rate.