Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Humidity

Guys, its bad here...humidity-wise that is. I mean real bad.

I thought growing up near Houston, 90+% humidity, was wet and, well I guess it is, but here it is crazy wet (even though it almost never rains). Go figure, huh?

Two examples:

#1 Since we bought a car recently, earlier today I decided to get it ready so that when we do finally get our license plates we'll be ready to take it out around town. So, one of the things to do was to set up car-seats for the kids. In doing so, I pulled Maddox's car-seat out of a storage closet in our house and found it speckled with mold, or hongos as you say here. Nothing terrible but definitely a change from West Texas. I mean his car-set had been in the closet for 2+ weeks in the middle of our home. I was slightly surprised to find the mold situation. So, I asked a Peruvian and her response was simple, "Aqui hay humidad en todas partes." Simply, "humidity is every where down here." The fix apparently is, when the sun does come out, to place the moldy item in direct sun-light. Unfortunately, though, today wasn't one of the more sun-filled days. We'll see about tomorrow.

#2 When I came down here about four months ago, I learned quickly about the need to purchase dehumidifiers. Apparently, they are in high demand at all the appliance stores. So, now that we live here, each night we turn on our dehumidifiers to suck all the "wet' out of the night air. We do this so that our clothes don't become moldy hanging in our closet. Seriously, we do this. Below is a video that will nicely illustrate how much water is removed from the air each evening (yes, every single night). Its simply amazing that this is a reality. On a side note, if you listen carefully you can here Maddox in the background. See if you can understand what he is saying. His Spanish is already taking off!



Before signing off, I want to mention that we see these nuances as the character of our new life here. The same way we dealt with dust-storms and nasty heat in Abilene, we'll come to appreciate the quirks of Peru I'm sure. I'm posting this information so that you can connect with our life here and that when you come to visit (that was a hint) you'll already have the ins-and-outs of la vida Peruana.

3 comments:

Nana said...

Now that is what I call HUMIDE!!! Oh my goodness! Who needs a shower?? Just stand in the closet all night!! Viva Lima!

Vanessa said...

So....are you saying just to leave my hair straightener at home when we visit....because, really, what will be the point????!!!!!!

Deb said...

Same in Miami and England, especially with the dehumdifiers. Try putting panty hose on!! ;)