Writing in an oven

I’m in Leuven, a university city in Belgium. The temperature’s reached 38 degrees centigrade in the cramped office I’m sitting in with three other guys. This is the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. It’s huge, but it’s the summer holidays and only the masters students are kicking around.

We’re writing and rewriting the final instruction manual for the Incluso project – investigating how marginalised young people can benefit through their use of social media – the EU-funded project we’ve been working on for the past 18 months or so.

Man, it’s hot. I stay in a little B&B, which is very nice. It’s a 5 minute walk each morning to the campus and another 5 minutes to reach the building where we’re working. I hike up three flights of stairs and I have to stand outside in the corridor fanning myself to cool down while talking to my report writing-mates who are inside the office. The sweat’s pouring off me and I look like I’m gonna croak. My colleagues are making fun of me. Ha ha ha. Maybe I am as out of shape as they suggest. But 38 degrees…come on!

I’ll re-read this in January 2011 when it’s freezing and dark for 18 hours of the day, and I’ll remember how hot and tiring it was sitting in that little office. And I’ll wish I was back there. That’s a nice memory.