It occurred to me the other day that I haven’t been in winter since about this time last year. I love summer. A clear day filled with sunshine is all I ever wanted and I would much prefer sweating in the sun than freezing in the winter. With this year long summer, I might, for the first time in my life, be looking forward to the winter.
Summer here has been pretty intense. Along with the training and adjusting to life here, the heat was just as strong as any I have experienced. The African sun has burnt my skin and made me peel multiple times while I have been here (I’ll start wearing more sun screen). The hardest thing is not having air conditioning. No where can you go to escape the heat. Sure there is shade in places and cooler buildings but that’s really not the same thing. When you walk around all day in the scalding sun and ride in a minivan packed so tight grown men are sitting on your lap all you want to do at the end of the day is walk into a 7-11 blasting AC and sip a drink with ice cubes in it.
Ha Makhoroana is getting cooler now and I am really enjoying the crisp autumn air. We are just finishing with peach season and supposedly moving on to oranges soon (I haven’t seen orange trees). Some mornings are cool enough to make me curious about winter. There is something nice about having to need my covers in bed finally but I am nervous about living in my hut during winter. Lesotho is the coldest country in Africa. I know it’s still Africa but we do get snow fall here and my site has some altitude to it.
Anyway, just some thoughts on weather. I’m finishing up my first quarter now which I consider a success. I’ve accomplished I think a good deal. Speaking of summer and sunshine, I will be going on my first vacation out of country to Durban, South Africa the first week of April. I will be staying in a hostel on the beach. Maybe some shark diving?
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