THE Oppressive Heat Arrives

The outdoor temperatures we just started reaching in Abu Dhabi exceed all of my previous experiences, surpassing youth baseball games in the low 100s at the Edrico Tournament every July. High of 107 degrees yesterday (42 Celsius), same number expected to register today. We knew this time was coming, as I doubt anyone moves to UAE without hearing sober tales about THE Oppressive Heat, and now here we are.

That seems to be the unconsciously agreed-upon phrase to describe the hot season around here - THE Oppressive Heat - as I've seen various strangers and bloggers use it. It should be the mascot of the Abu Dhabi professional indoor lacrosse team. Ex-pats will warn you that THE Oppressive Heat emerges as the central antagonist in UAE life sometime toward the beginning of May(not unlike The Ohio State University during September), and after five-plus weeks of highs in the 90s (which is fine by me), we leaped past the point of no return. For the next 5 months, all outdoor activity likely will have to be planned around it.

Now I have asserted many times over the years that I am a hot weather person, but that's as we define hot weather in the U.S. East. Birmingham, Alabama was certainly my favorite climate I have ever lived in, as I gladly exchanged regularly hitting 100 in the summers for winter days that rarely dipped below freezing. Miami's climate has always sounded great to me, and I don't have any more interest in seeing snow unless I'm skiing.

So secretly, I have been hoping that I won't find the UAE heat as oppressive as every single other person I talked with. 107 degrees felt survivable...like, you could still plan outdoor activities, as long as there's shade and a cool body of water around. In yesterday's example, we went to lunch by the pool at the Abu Dhabi Shangri La, and although you could feel the heat in waves like an oven door opened into an air-conditioned kitchen, spending a half hour in the artificially-cooled pool and then eating in the shade made it comfortable.

But the heat test has only just begun, as we don't plan to see another day with a high below 100 until October, and as we move deeper into the summer, we expect to hit numbers like 115, 120 or 130. Plus, unlike Vegas (where I remember feeling pretty comfortable outdoors the year I watched my friend Jeff play in the World Series of Poker in July), it is NOT a dry heat, they say. It is going to be plenty humid. All evidence suggests that time spent outside this summer will be time spent miserable, for me like everyone else.

Last weekend when we were hanging out at The Hilton and the weather was still pleasantly in the 90s, we set up shop in lounge chairs beside a middle-aged couple from Texas. Since you seem to run into a fairly limited number of Americans in Abu Dhabi (far more Europeans), they were excited to hear our American accent and immediately initiated a conversation.

We found out the guy is from Texas and keeps a summer home in Florida, so hoping for a little reassurance from the like-minded, I told him that I consider myself a hot weather person, and that I'm holding onto hope that everybody is exaggerating about how miserable the heat is, until it proves me wrong.

He chortled and with a still-distinguishable Texas accent said: "Brotha, I wish that was the case."

In related news, the average daily temperatures still look to be well over 100 in early September, and Labor Day is looking awful good as a time for my first trip back to the States. Heck, maybe I shouldn't wait that long.