IN THE HEAT OF THE DAY
on My VSO Ethiopian Adventures (Ethiopia), 11/Apr/2011 10:58, 34 days ago
Alternatively,‘in the day of the heat!’Although the changing of the seasons here is not as dramatic as it is in Europe, (a change which at the present time, I’m sure all of you in the northern hemisphere are greatly relieved to be experiencing), we are having our share of drama here.As the sun moves northwards to the Tropic of Cancer, it is about to pass overhead here as we sit at slightly less than 10 degrees latitude north of the equator. The temperatures are steadily and consistently rising, and whereas throughout February and into early March it was still quite bearable, especially as the nights still usefully cooled, something happened towards the end of March. The last ratchet of the temperature recently was like the straw that broke the camel’s back, or like the frog in the pot of water heating on the stove, you adapt to creeping change until suddenly reality hits. I do not have a thermometer and receive a surprisingly wide range of responses when I ask what the temperature is, but by my reckoning it is up to 36-37 degrees C early afternoon now, a time when there is also NO shade unless you are actually under cover of some sort. Buildings throw no relief, there is no shady side of the street.What is worse is that the nights are now stifling. So how are I coping?Exercise is now out of the question and even my little yoga sessions are too potentially exhausting to contemplate. I used to walk to work in the mornings, as it was still quite fresh, the dust settled and it was a good way to start the day. Now I take the staff bus service, even though it is only a 20 minute walk. The first of 3 showers for the day is taken on rising at 6.15am even though you now start sweating as soon as you are dry.The classroom is relatively cool between 8-10am and with all the windows open and the sight and sound of industrious little weaver birds building new nests in the trees right outside, it is rather pleasant. However, the last few days we have awoken to early morning winds, so the dust is already swirling and the classroom windows are banging and paper displayed on the walls is being ripped to threads. So windows are closed if doors are open and vice versa. Not pleasant.My Ethiopian colleagues seem to be feeling the heat just as much as me, but they are stoic and accepting, and this is the only way to survive. Any emotion, (I did briefly go through a stage of feeling sheer panic), just increases your body temperature. Everyone walks slowly and even Ethiopians are increasingly protecting themselves from the sun. Umbrellas are popular and women wrap scarves around their heads. The poor female manual workers on the windswept, dusty and baking campus strap old paperbags around their heads, bags now empty of their cement and sand contents. Students use their small notebooks. The kids seem unaffected and have as much energy as always, although I notice that the football marches outside our compound start by 6.30am on weekends and finish by mid morning. Late afternoon, although the heat still palpably hangs heavily, the matches start up again.I shower again at lunchtime. In the afternoon the rooms are heavy with heat, unrefreshed by wind which has dropped somewhat since the morning. On the plus side this means there is not so much dust coming in if the windows are open. You simply have to accept that sweat will pour from every gland in your skin and that you are always damp. Dogs are prostate in any shade that can be found and little herds of goats (collective noun for goat eludes me) are rather amusingly huddled in patchworks of shade. Horses and donkeys are frequently not given that option by their masters! See the next blog.Home by 5.45pm and straight into the shower. The fan in my bedroom (bought by VSO especially for volunteers in hot locations!) is switched on and the door facing the outside courtyard is opened. By bed time unfortunately the temperature outside is now lower than inside. I bring a bowl of water and sponge and wet myself all over, stand in front of the fan and then lie motionless on my bed with no cover, hoping that sleep will overcome me. Sometimes recently I have been kept awake with the heat, but other nights, well I guess I’m just so tired.There is now no freshness to the air when the door is opened in the morning, and the whole cycle starts again, except the temperature will go up a little more today.On the positive side, I can sense my body rapidly adjusting and although the next 2-3 months will be the worst in terms of heat, I think I will manage. I have not been dehydrated, no headaches, and apart from tiredness at the end of day, which is improving, I continue to feel very healthy. And then there is the swimming pool, but I need it here in the compound! The bad news is the heat will continue to increase and May is the worst month. I think people start to sleep outside then, a practice which is common in hot countries and I think of our colleague up in the true desert, not far from Danakil (the hottest place on earth), he has already only slept inside on one night since he arrived in September! Here it may be for 6 weeks in the year.The other good news is that at the moment we are having a bit of rain and that is really reducing the temperatures. As I write the thunder is rolling overhead, the clouds are thick, wind is blowing and there is rain around. Much of the country does experience‘small rains’ around this time, but we were told that Dire Dawa is unlikely to see rain. Well, any of it is welcome, long may it last. Especially as it seems that the small rains elsewhere are being reluctant to start, which is starting to worry some people, not least of all the farmers.I will finish teaching the Diploma programme at the end of June, which is less than 3 months away now. With the end of that programme and the end of the academic year, my responsibilities here will be complete. However, because I am only here for one year and planned to return in September I have applied to do a 6 week summer project which will mean being sent somewhere else in the country. It is not the best time in Ethiopia as July-August is the main rainy season and in some parts, it does really rain at this time. I could be swapping dust for mud. Alternatively I could be sent up into the desert!! I have already told VSO I would decline that offer!!