Summer in the City

The French seem to have a certain immunity to summer heat that I clearly lack.  I observed this in the metro, which seems to be my favorite place to notice differences between French and Americans.  Maybe this is because I spend a large portion of my day underground in the dungeon that is known as the metro.  But I digress.

Is it just me or is metro line 4 extremely similar to sitting in a sauna, the Journey concert last night, or perhaps a quick little trip to the core of the Earth?  I find myself sweating profusely each time I have the pleasure of patronizing line 4.  But not my fellow metro riders.  They sit/stand in the metro with their jackets/scarves ON while I am sitting there practically sticking my head out of those ridiculously tiny windows.

The French tolerance to heat probably stems from the lack of air-conditioning (or "climatization" en francais!).  In the US, especially in the South, EVERYWHERE has air conditioning.  Schools, homes, restaurants, and cars all have air conditioning, but the French see AC as an added luxury, not a necessity.  Since they aren't exposed to air conditioning as often as we are, I guess they have gotten used to being really hot for most of the summer.

It is hard being hot and sweaty while I'm here, but it's worth it to be able to spend some time in Paris.  Sometimes I just wish there was some ice water to help me cool down!