Too hot. I am melting out here. According to preliminary data from Environment and Climate Change Canada, Sunday was the hottest July 7 on record in 22 communities across B.C. amid a heat wave that prompted weather warnings in much of the province.

The warmest record-breaking temperature for that day was recorded in Lytton, where it hit 39.9 C. Speaking of Metro Vancouver, Monday's high of 33 could feel more like 37 according to CTV News. Fortunately, unlike Japan, Vancouver is not humid but dry, making people less uncomfortable even if the temperature exceeds 30. 

The problem is, no one originally expected to exceed 30 in Vancouver. what I mean is that most apartments or condos don't have air conditioners. In fact, we are on the 11th floor with no air conditioner, with only one fan. Even if you open the window, no wind comes in. You must feel cooler when you are under a shady tree. Yesterday, we tried our best to make our cooling haven by bringing our only fan to the bathroom, setting up a chair inside the bathtub, and filling cold water to my ankle. We have a culture called Ashi-yu which means foot hot spring, The exact opposite of this like Ashi-mizu foot cool oasis if it does sound to make sense to you. Surprisingly, that was fun and worked very well to make my body cool down, one thing that needs to be mentioned is, that also makes it harder to get out of the bathroom. You cannot sleep in the bathroom with the foot water. that was the hardest part of last night.

I remember last Summer I talked about how summer looks like in Vancouver, enjoying the sun at the beach and a little fireworks,  camping, or various nature programs for most families. However, because there is no long holiday such as Obon in Japan, we work as usual. So I sort of miss Japanese Summer with family gathering opportunities, some summer-specific cuisines and festivals.

This year I have something exciting to watch, which is the Canadian Football League (CFL).

The regular season typically kicks off last month, June 9, and usually ends in early November. I watched it only once 2 years ago but at the time I had no interest and no knowledge of football and the main purpose of going to the stadium was to grab beers. now of course grabbing beer should be my main reason to visit but with a better understanding of sports itself. 

So I will take you guys to the world of CFL today. The CFL was officially formed in 1958, The league consists of nine teams divided into two divisions:

East Division: Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Toronto Argonauts, Montreal Alouettes, and Ottawa Redblacks.

West Division: BC Lions, Calgary Stampeders, Edmonton Elks, Saskatchewan Roughriders, and Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Now you notice, that BC Lions is supposed to be home in BC and you know what? BC Lions' Training Centre is located close to our house! I could sometimes watch players practicing last year. 

There are several differences between NFL American Football and the Canadian version. No.1, The CFL field is larger than an NFL field, measuring 150 yards in length (including 20-yard end zones) and 65 yards in width.

No.2 Players: Each team has 12 players on the field, one more than American football.

No.3, Downs: Teams have three downs to advance the ball 10 yards, compared to four downs in American football.

Due to these differences, generally speaking, the CFL relatively tends to end up faster pace and higher scoring than the NFL. Which makes it a little easier for beginners to get into and get excited to watch the game.

For me, other than the simple rules of CFL, less expensive tickets around $30 per game and convenient access to the stadium located downtown make it easier to get into the world of CFL. 

Did you happen to be interested in CFL? 

I will put this as my summer activity in Vancouver going forward and hope I will see many people with the same hobby here. Let me know any summer activity or hobby you are into.