Chameleon Chapter 6 - Being Dumb about Science Stuff and The Allergy Attack

During our time in New Zealand, Sara and I stayed at a beautiful B&B in Golden Bay that had a spa attached with multiple hot tubs and a sauna.  We only had one uncomfortable moment in the sauna (but it was also the only time that we used it, so one for one really), on our second-to-last night.  There was a man in there already, sitting in his bathing suit just sweating away.  We sat down on the top bench on the other side of the hut from him and proceeded carry out an enthusiastic conversation as our bodies rapidly overheated.  After about two minutes, the owner of the B&B then came in and asked the three of us if we wanted more water on the stones.  Not knowing any better and being the agreeable gals that we are, Sara and I both said yes.  The heat increase was instantaneous and oppressive to the point that I felt like I couldn’t breathe.  So we then moved down to a lower bench, while commenting on how hot it had gotten and both agreeing that we had wrongly believed that the additional water would simply add more moisture to the air, not heat it up (science stuff…). 

It was so hot, we had to move again and finally, after another painful two minutes we both looked at each other, knowing we had to leave and feeling mutually embarrassed for disrupting the man’s personal sauna time.  We made the place hotter and then left almost immediately – real classy.  It could have looked like we were actively trying to ruin his time.  We tried to recover from our embarrassment by proceeded to the hot tub.  We got in and started chatting with the woman who was already soaking.  We quickly found out that she was the fiancé of the man whose time we just ruined in the sauna. After about five more minutes, the poor guy came out to find his sweet fiancé next to the two of us.  I watched him take a deep, exasperated breath as he begrudgingly slipped into the hot tub.    

The next day we were relaxing on the deck when I let the house cat lay on my stomach briefly.  Fast forward 20 minutes and I’m sitting in a grocery store parking lot wearing my glasses because I had to take my contacts out before my eyes swelled shut.  Luckily Sara has always served as my nurse when needed and she did what she always does which is handle her shit.  She drove me to the store, got my meds while I waited in the car, and had the kindness to wait until after I started laughing before busting up herself about how scary my face looked.  Unfortunately, we were so preoccupied with how badly and rapidly my face was expanding, we didn’t think to take any photos until after the swelling went down significantly.  We both agreed that the best comparison to make was Will Smith in the movie Hitch, when he accidentally eats shellfish on a date.  It was quick and severe, but then it was over and my eyes eventually went back to normal.  We won’t ever know why I reacted that terribly, but I have to give that cat credit – it was a powerful creature!