After a busy December filled with my one-year anniversary of becoming a PCV, Christmas, New Years, and vacation I am back in Lesotho where summer is in full blast. And since I have been here for over a year (and have experienced all the seasons Lesotho has to offer) I can say with confidence that I prefer winter over summer. "What!?" you may ask sitting on your computer, rubbing your eyes as you try to see if what I have typed is some simple mistake. How can this California girl who grew up with sun and beaches say that she likes winter better than summer? It's true, there are definitely things I like more about summer such as longer days, ability to wear all my nice summer clothes, and loosing my winter kilos. But overall, I enjoy winter more
1. Food lasts longer in winter. Just to remind everyone, I have no electricity in my house which means no refrigerator. This means that in summer my food goes bad very quickly; certain vegetables go bad within 24 hours of me buying them (walking with them for 30min in the sun doesn't help either). In winter my place is cool enough that most vegetable last almost 2 weeks including milk and cheese. It's funny growing up in a place where we put almost everything we buy in a fridge and now truly finding out how long things last with out being in sub-zero temperatures.
2. It's much easier to get warm than to get cold. You would be surprised how difficult it is to make an iced coffee with out ice. In winter I make hot food and hot beverages which keep me warm. I pile thermals, blankets, and jackets to stay warm. In summer there are only so many clothes I can take off and I'm still hot. My house has an uncanny ability to be a few degrees warmer than outside. Perhaps it's caused by the cooking or the angle the sun hits my house. This is an advantage in winter, in summer not so much. Open windows definitely help the situation but Lesotho is a very windy country and at the end I usually have to close my windows.
3. Sweating in a country where water isn't always available is not fun. Every time I leave my house I bring a bottle of water with me. On summer days I easily drink 5 or 6 of these bottles to stay hydrated. As a volunteer it is recommended that I boil and filter my water. Guess how many locals do the same. And even if I chose not to do that I still expect my water source to be decently clean. This is not always easy to find. Therefore refilling that water bottle can be difficult. And if I in a taxi where I can't just walk out and start looking for water or walking back home which can be a 45 minute walk in the sun I simply have to stay thirsty until I'm in a position where I can get water. Which brings me to my next point...
4. Walking 3km in the hot, blazing sun is exhausting. To get from my taxi stop to my village is a 3km walk. In winter it's a great walk; warms me up the perfect amount. In summer it is miserable. The sun is beating down on the Lesotho mountains by 6am and it doesn't stop until 7pm. By time I get to where I'm going I need to fill up my water bottle and regain some energy before taking another step.
5. Mosquitoes in Lesotho? Only if you're as unlucky as me and it's summer. I came in to Lesotho thinking that there are no mosquitoes in Lesotho. This would have been a huge plus for me for I realized that I apparently have very delectable blood (if there were vampires in Lesotho I'm sure I would not be writing this blog post). Unfortunately this is not completely true. There are no malaria carrying mosquitoes in Lesotho (thank god) but if you are living near large bodies of still water (as I am since my village has two large "swimming pools") then you will have mosquitoes. In winter, the mosquitoes are non existent but in summer they are every where. Fun fact: mosquitoes like to hang out in outhouses so I have bites in some very interesting places. I do have a mosquito net so when I'm in bed I'm protected; if only I could stay there all day...
But otherwise I am happy for summer. School's starting in 2 weeks and I can't wait to finish my service with some pizazz. So until next time, Aparna
