When I tell Brazilians from São Luís to São Paulo that I live in Teresina, their response is unchanging: “It’s hot there, isn’t it?”

It is.

Even people here accept that heat is Teresina’s claim to fame. More than once I’ve heard the joke that people from Teresina don’t go to hell because they’ve already lived through it.

The first thing students or professors at UFPI do when they step into a classroom is switch on the air conditioning. Most places in this area of town – shops, restaurants, clinics – have air conditioners called splitsgoing all the time. A friend tells me that Teresina uses the most energy per capita of any city in Brazil. If that statistic is true, I’ve done nothing to change it since I have my split on whenever I’m home.

When going from AC at home to AC at school, I use an umbrella to hide from the sun. I don’t care that most of the people doing the same are older ladies – it’s necessary.

Right now we’re in a season that Teresinenses call B-R-O Bró, a shorthand for the months setembro, outubro,novembro, dezembro. During B-R-O Bró, it reaches the mid-nineties daily. The grass is turning yellow and some trees are losing their leaves because it’s so dry.

But even this hottest of hot seasons has its surprises. A thunderstorm blew in this afternoon, making streetlights and headlights come on before the normal time. I rushed home to take my clothes off the line.

The storm turned out to be big enough to knock out the power for an hour. I sat on my porch for a while, enjoying the unseasonable wind and rain that some Teresinses will tomorrow be calling a miracle.