Fans and flora

First off, happy birthday, Canada. If all that I've been hearing about the G20 summit is true, you deserve a bit of a break.

It's hot again here, although not as hot as it was when I last posted. Unfortunately, my apartment is less than well-ventilated, even with a fan going, and so the cool air outside is steadfastly remaining outside, and I am stuck in here wondering if I should just cave and turn on the air conditioning. I got my remote control for the air conditioner translated today by one of my Japanese coworkers; apparently there's a built-in dehumidifier as well! I'm quite pleased, but right now sucking the water out of the air is just going to leave a lot of hot, dry air. Cooling down is the thing.

Actually, the humidity here has its perks. The wind is soft, almost silky; I can't quite describe it, but there's no edge to it, like in Canada*. I have yet to have problems with dry skin or dandruff, which plagued me back in Ontario, especially in the winter. Also, it smells wonderful outside.

This may also be due in part to the fact that I live in a more suburban area of Nagoya, and a few houses have yards; the ones that don't are given to fervently compensating by cramming as many trees and potted plants as they can into the crevices between the outer wall and their house's wall, so the effect is similar. There are also quite a few communal gardens around here; small plots of lands with corn, potatoes, eggplant, fruit trees, onions, daikon or other assorted fruits or vegetables growing on them. I never see people working on them; regardless, they're quite abundant. Thusly, when walking down the street - especially at night - the air smells of damp greenery and flowers.

I should like to buy myself a plant one of these days; something to stick on my balcony and enjoy when I can. I'm not keeping it inside, though; I'm quite sure that the temperature in here rises well about 35 when I'm not around to turn on the fan.



*I rather enjoy that about the wind in Canada, though, so perhaps it's not such a plus.