(日本語は後半にあります)
【English】
It's hot...I don't know how many times I say “hot” in a day.
Today's high temperature in Tokyo is 35 degrees Celsius, and it is forecast to rise to 36 degrees Celsius tomorrow. In addition, the humidity is so high that my body feels lazy. Heat stroke alerts are issued every day, and the alert level is "dangerous". Walking under the blazing sun is like going to collapse on myself! So I have spent most of the last few days indoors.
Elementary schools will not hold summer swimming lessons this year due to the heat. The small pool at a nearby park is also in a spa state. There is no place for my elder son to play in the neighborhood, although he has just started his summer vacation. I remember when I myself was in elementary school, I used to play with my friends almost everyday during summer vacation. Sometimes we would play outside, sometimes I would invite my friends over, and sometimes we would go to my friend's house to play.
In recent years, the climate is not conducive to letting children play outside, and it is difficult for children to visit each other's homes... Some of the customs from the days when children were not allowed to visit each other's homes to prevent COVID-19 infection still remain, or it may be because many families have both parents who are away from home for work. I would love to invite my son's friends over to my house and let him play indoors where it is cooler, but it is difficult because my husband works from home about half the week....
So this week I took my elder son to the largest library in the district. We had to ride a bicycle for about 20 minutes, but once we got there, it was spacious, cool, and had study rooms and a Saizeriya on the lower floor of the same building! I thought it would be very crowded with students preparing for exams since it was summer vacation, but it wasn't that bad. Study rooms and individual seats were available here and there and could be used. If you make a reservation, you can also use single seats with partitions. Each seat has both Wi-Fi and power! I will definitely try to use them next time.
When I walk through a large library and look at the bookshelves full of books, I feel there is so much in the world that I don't know yet. Not in a negative way, but in the hope that if there are so many things I don't know, I can expand my world by learning more... But as soon as I pick up the book, I feel sleepy.
Today I read about 1/4 of the book I brought from home and then I fell sleepy (I've been having trouble concentrating enough to read a book properly for the past few years, and that's a little problem). I stayed at the library until around 4:00 p.m. that day and read several books as if I were snacking on them. Although I didn't finish any of the books, I was happy to be able to read for the first time in a while.
The number of steps is for today. I walked around my home at night after the sun had set.
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【Japanese】
暑い・・・もう一日に何度「暑い」と口にしているか分かりません。
今日の東京の最高気温は35℃、あす金曜は36℃まで上がる予報です。加えて湿度が高いため身体が怠い…。連日熱中症警戒アラートが発表されていて、その警戒レベルは「危険」に該当します。炎天下でウォーキングなんて自らぶっ倒れに行くようなもの!ということで、ここ数日はほとんど室内で過ごしています。
小学校では、暑さのためか夏休みの水泳教室はありません。近所の公園の小さなプールも温泉状態。夏休みに入ったばかりですが、近所に長男が遊べる場所はありません。私が小学生だった頃は、夏休みはほぼ毎日のように友達と遊んでいた記憶があります。外で遊ぶこともあれば、友達を家に呼んだり、友達の家に遊びに行ったりもしていました。
今はとても外で遊ばせることができる気候ではないし、かといって互いの家を行き来するのも難しい…。コロナ禍で家の行き来を控えていたころの習慣がまだ残っているのもあるし、両親とも仕事で家にいない家庭が多いせいもあるかもしれない。友だちを招いて、涼しい室内で遊ばせてあげたい気持ちもありますが、我が家も夫が週の約半分は在宅ワークなのでなかなか難しいんですよね…。
そこで今週は長男を連れて、区内で一番大きな図書館へ行ってきました。自転車で20分ほど走らなければなりませんでしたが、着いてしまえば広いし、涼しいし、自習室もあるし、同じ建物の下の階にはサイゼリヤもあるし!夏休みなので受験生で激混みかと思いきや、それほどでもありませんでした。自習室や個別席はちらほら空きがある状態。予約をすれば、パーティションのある一人席も使えるようです。Wi-Fiも電源もある!次回はぜひ利用してみたいと思います。
大きな図書館内を歩きながら本棚を眺めていると、世界は本当に知らないことだらけなんだな、という気分になります。ネガティブな意味ではなく、こんなにも知らないことがたくさんあるのなら、まだまだ学ぶことで自分の世界は広げられるんじゃないか、という期待みたいな・・・まぁ、いざ本を手に取ると秒で眠くなってしまうんですけどね。
『サル化する世界』(内田樹)を1/4ほど読み進めたところでウトウトしてしまいました(ここ数年、まともに本を読めないほど集中力が低下していて、それが悩みだったり)。その日は16時ころまで図書館で過ごし、つまみ食いのように何冊かの本を読みました。読了できた本はなかったものの、久しぶりに読書ができて嬉しかったです。
歩数は今日のもの。夜、太陽が沈み切ってから自宅周辺を歩きました!
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wow very hot flowers are not happy :P
Yeah, I think it's too hot for them too😿
O.O if u go to malaysia u will always feel warm :P
The wilting sunflower is an early autumn beauty! This year we did not planted them, at all.