Heat

Heat has been the buzz word the last week. I got a cold beer in my hand after sailing on Saturday and there came steam from the beer. Not the normal one that goes up, but the one that falls downwards from the bottle or from any really cold object out in boiling heat. (Yes, the beer did taste pretty good!)

Spending most of our lives in airconditioned rooms, the heat wave is still bearable. The temperature hasn’t dropped below 30 for many days – not even in the middle of the night. Adding to that the humidity which makes your clothes stick to your body the second you leave home and even the Swedes will consider staying inside. (Despite that genetical malfunctioned programming to want to be outside as soon as the temperature is above 15 and/or it is between May and September.)

We ran out of coffee in the office, it was 3 pm and my coffee craving was getting bad. It is a seven minute walk to Starbucks but after having checked the weather channel and learned that it was 38 degrees – feeling like 42, I decided that walking there just for a coffee was not an option. Suddenly I realized what to do. I made a phone call and 20 minutes later the delivery guy turned up with a latte in his hand. 20 kuai including the delivery (24 sek). I love China!

Another reason for loving China is how they tackle problems. There is a law which says that everyone who does not have access to air condition does not have to work if the thermometar surpasses 37 degrees. So officially the temperature in Shanghai has never been higher than 37 degrees. There is a big thermometer on Nanjing Road and even though it is 37 degrees at 12 o'clock already and all normal thermometers would have rised a couple of more degrees till 2 o'clock, the Nanjing road thermometer will stay at 37. Typical Chinese way to not break the law but stilkl do it their own way...