S...l...o...w...

I'm discovering that something strange happens in this region during the summertime.

Things....slow.....down...... Almost to a standstill (not that things move particularly quickly during the rest of the year, but that's a whole separate issue and conversation). And people think you're nuts if you imply that they shouldn't.

The reason? Simple. The heat. It's just too hot to do anything.

I suppose it's the same reasoning that's used to explain why we Southerners speak and move a little slower than the rest of the country, but in this region of the world, this excuse takes on an entirely new meaning. It really is unbearably hot. And so people don't work or shop or gather socially until the sun goes down. I now understand why the Egyptian population is pretty much nocturnal. It didn't make since during the winter months, but now it does. Quite simply, it's just too miserable and unbearable to be outside during the day.

The heat as certainly taken its toll on our work. Even though I've stayed just as busy as ever in the office, my work outside the U.S. Naval compound has pretty much been stopped dead in its tracks. No trainings for laboratory or hospital staff. No sample collection. No assessments of new facilities. No travel to meet and develop new collaborations. And there's practically no one in the office. Apparently everyone saves their vacation time for the summer and uses it to escape from the heat for two, three, four weeks at a time.

The Djiboutians "strongly suggested" in May that we not return to their country until September at the earliest. The Ghanaians haven't stressed the issue as much as other countries, but it's pretty obvious that things will move more smoothly after a couple more months. And here in Egypt, people look at me like I'm crazy if I try to set a timeline for anything to happen between now and October.

Up until now, the heat as been the primary factor in all of this, but I'm afraid another factor is approaching that will slow things even more. Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting, in which Muslims refrain from eating, drinking and smoking from sunrise until sunset, will begin in late August. The Ramadan fast isn't like the version of fasting that most of us claim during Lent, when we give up chocolate or sweets or television; Ramadan is true fasting - not a morsel of food, not a drop of water, not a single cigarette (which I expect to be a huge deal here, where every single man chain smokes from sun up til sun down) - every day for a month from sun up til sun down. As much as things have slowed down over the past couple months due to the summer heat, I expect the few things that are still moving forward to grind to a complete stop when Ramadan begins.