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Too Hot for This
Trying to stay cool in Egypt
Just before I left Germany for Egypt, my family doctor looked at me with genuine concern.
“If you need any medication, just send us a message. We’ll send you whatever you need.”
But I was no longer a naïve thirteen-year-old girl. I was a grown woman in the prime of my life.
“There are good doctors in Egypt too,” I replied, trying to sound calm and unconcerned.
“Well, you know,” he continued, “you’re reaching the age when hot flashes can become rather unpleasant. I could prescribe hormones that might improve your well-being.”
I couldn’t shake the feeling that his concern wasn’t entirely selfless.
“First of all, I have no intention of taking hormones. I’m completely against them. And second, if the weather is hot, you can’t possibly feel hotter than hot.”
He simply shook his head, but I felt no sympathy. I truly believed what I had said. If I ever experienced hot flashes, how much worse could they be? Hot was hot.
As a child, I had plenty of experience with summer heat. On the first day I would swim for hours and play on the beach. On the second day I would be lying in bed with a temperature over 40°C. Surely that was the absolute limit. How could anyone possibly feel hotter than that…
