Not tears. Not rain. Sweat. And lots of it. Despite DC’s late spring and my week in Canada, the heat and humidity have come home to roost (and roast). Plus, I didn’t help things by going to Raleigh, North Carolina, for a few days.

That’s right, after spending the previous Wednesday-Monday in/en route to New York for camp, I had a work trip to Raleigh from Wednesday-Friday. Tiring? Yes. Worth it? Very much so. The purpose of the trip was to learn how North Carolina State University applies human-centered design to their projects, including this library. There’s even a robot that fetches books!

Raleigh has a lot to offer: compact downtown, friendly residents, booming local beer scene, zero traffic, antebellum (possibly haunted) mansions, and a diverse array of events–my hotel was the hub for not only the Future Farmers of America convention, but also the Miss North Carolina pageant. However, Raleigh also offered a gift I very much wanted to refuse: humidity. Oh, the humidity! I didn’t need a map while running; I could just follow the trail of my sweat on the sidewalk.

But soon, this will all be a thing of the past. Because it’s almost time for…SWITZERLAND!