Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro: 29oC, warm, sunny and slightly overcast.
At the moment, Thursday is one of only two days during the week I can do a full two-hour workout in the morning. Now that we are in autumn, almost winter, it is very chilly early in the morning for Carioca standards, but for English standards, no.
As I have lived for more than half my life in Brazil, I am now used more to the tropical climate than northern European temperatures. The last time I visited England was around twenty-two years ago, in December, to spend Christmas and New Year there. I recall visiting my uncle Mick, who was working as a volunteer at a steam railway institution.
The railway had a tourist line that ran through several small towns in the area. I also remember that the weather was freezing during that time. I remember, like yesterday, when we were in the main train yard where the trains got serviced and repaired, the cold cut through us with no pity like a sharp blade. It was too much for me. I think it gave me some trauma regarding going back to live in England.
There is always this comparison and debate among Cariocas that because we are so used to warm tropical weather, going to live in a country with a lower-temperature climate would be at least complicated, if not impossible.
I am giving classes to a Brazilian judge who is Carioca and currently living in Cambridge, England, doing a doctorate at Trinity College. His doctorate is based on a project in education, which he and his team are implementing in public schools in Rio de Janeiro. I have often asked him if he had gotten used to the weather in England, and his complaint is the rain. For him and his family, the rain is, “It rains too much!” Felipe has said numerous times.
When the climate temperature is low, mixed with rain, dampness can penetrate all the layers of your clothes to your bones and soul. As mentioned, it was too cold when I visited my uncle, but walking outside in mean, wet, rainy streets affects the soul, too. Nowadays, probably all the homes in England have central heating, but when you go out, even wearing several layers of clothes is hard.
I remember when I lived in Sao Paulo for the second time. In the wintertime, Sao Paulo is cold by Brazilian standards, and the homes do not have central heating of any type. You are obliged to wear a coat inside your own home because it is too cold and there is no form of heating. For me, it is not logical, completely crazy, to wear a coat inside your home; it is to be worn outside the house, not inside.
However, after writing all this, I find an early chilly morning in Rio perfect. I love the middle seasons: spring and autumn in Rio de Janeiro. In these seasons, during the day, it is warm and cool in the shade, cold at night and in the early morning.
Rio is generally not a windy city, but when it is the middle of the season, there is considerably more wind than usual, which makes it even more pleasant. I know I am repeating myself, but I love this time of the year in Rio.
So, after a good workout, classes, some things to do in the street and about twenty pages of my book to read, I was in bed at half past nine.
Thank you.
Thanks for reading my blog. Check out my other posts and share your thoughts in the comments.
Richard
