What Happens Between 100 and 105 Degrees

Well, it is officially Spring. That is, it's Spring where the season actually exsists. In this country, it doesn't. Yesterday, the weather did have some changes here though. It got seriously hot, and I think the warmth is here to stay. For me, this heat is uncharted teritory. I've maybe experienced over 100 degree weather before, but certainly not without air conditioning. When it gets above 98 at home those are deemed good days to stay inside and watch movies or go to the pool. But yesterday, when it was over 100, I was galavanting around town on foot and non-air conditioned buses, not to mention that I had on an undershirt beneath my long-sleeved one and a scarf on my head. I'm not quite sure why the heat didn't affect me very much, but that might have been because I knew there was a milkshake waiting for me at the end :)

So what am I discovering about life in this range of temperatures?

First off, it wears me out! It takes a lot of energy just to get from point A to point B on a super warm bus.

Second, you have to always carry water on you. I feel like a fish with all the water I've been consuming in the past few days.

When it's this hot out, I can wash, dry and wear a single item of clothing in one afternoon- even towels only take two hours to dry.

Unfortunately, it's not hot enough to fry an egg outside- I'll experiment again when we get to the 110 degree range.

An iced/cold coffee becomes luke-warm faster here than a hot one does when put outside on a wintery day.

People often take the bus for just a few short blocks.

And maybe most importantly, I've learned to be thankful for God's design of sweating. Eww, I know. But it really does do the job to cool the body down. Plus, I just have had to get used to it- I begin to persperate on the walk from my bedroom to the bathroom.

I'm sure that soon I'll be wishing we could have some more 100 degree days instead of the warmer ones that are bound to come- I just hope I can survive this first!

Can't Go Over It, Can't Go Through It, Gotta Go Around It!

Here's what I walked up to when I walked out my gate the other day:

Well, hello there water! Wait; I thought I lived in the desert.

I do.

Then why am I surrounded by huge puddles? Where DID all this water come from? It definitely didn't rain- when there are clouds in the sky they're the little whispy things that aren't capable of producing an ounce of precipitation. I have no idea where all this water came from. Probably something to do with the big holes they construction workers keep putting in the road.

So, how do I get across the street? Puddle jumping would be awfully fun- that is, if I wasn't in a skirt and the puddles weren't completely mud. Plus, I think I pulled a muscle getting onto the bus the other day. Guess I'll go way around. Well, it's not that far out of my way, but walking in the dusty soccer pitch is neither fun nor easy. *cough cough*

Fast forward to now: You would think that with how dry everything is here that the water would get soaked into the ground and dry up instantly, but that's not what's happened. Water is still here and I still walk around. I've consumed a lot of dust and walk approximately 40 extra steps in order to get to the other side of the street. And life is great if that's all I have to complain about :)

Oh, the Weather Outside is Frightful!

Yep, the weather outside is frightful! Or, maybe more like was frightful. And not really frightful at all. It was actually quite nice. But I say that because today I was cold! In fact, I don't think I've sweated at all today. This might be a first in the month I've lived in Africa. On my walk to the bus this morning I was thankful to have a headscarf to keep my ears warm, and in class I was even more thankful for it as I wrapped it around my shoulders to put another layer around my arms. I might have even had goosebumps.

I could go on about this big event in my life, but I know that most of you reading this are thinking that either 1) you are cold every time you outside this time of year and know what it feels like to be cold or 2) you are rejoicing because you are getting 'nice' 60 degree weather.

Just for the record, it was about 68*F this morning when I was freezing. Yep, I'm freezing at the same temperature you heat your house to!