Winter Blues

Snow on the mountains after a few rainy days.

A man in my village on a cold, windy day.

I take pride in saying that I am a Cali girl. I grew up in an area where winters were extremely mild and you went on vacation to see the snow. So when Peace Corps told me in early December 2010 that I would be going to Africa I told myself, okay, yeah, this is perfect. Little did I know that they would be sending me to Lesotho one of the few (and perhaps only) African countries that experiences an actual Winter.

Snowy paw print

A lot of my friends and family ask me how cold it is in Lesotho at the moment and the honest truth is that I have no idea. The only weather I can find for Lesotho is for Maseru which is one of the lowest points in the country. This means that it’s probably also the warmest. Right now Maseru the high for is about 64 F (18 C) and at night 29 F (-2 C).  Where I live, it’s probably a few degrees cooler. That being said I cannot describe the winter I am experiencing using empirical data but rather my own observations. For the most part winters are supposed to be sunny with clear skies. I was told that Summer is the rainy season. This means that nights are unbearably cold and no matter how many layers you wear you are still freezing. So how does one sleep at this temperature? I personally layer my clothing and then layer my blankets. At the moment I wear thermal underwear, night pants and a night shirt, a sweatshirt with a hood, a thick winter scarf, and two pairs of wool socks. On top of that I have two flat sheets, a comforter, and a blanket on my bed. And when I sleep I tuck my head under the covers and assume a fetal position. It’s cold.

A rare snowy day in the lowlands

But as soon as the sun comes out the temperature rises considerably and the day is bearable.  I still have to layer to stay warm but I don't have to wear a heavy jacket.  But if it is cloudy or raining the days are extremely cold and even a warm jacket won't keep you warm.  You just have to grin and bear it.  Most Basotho may light a fire outside or have a gas heater inside the house.  Unfortunately gas heaters are only useful in small spaces.  Not to mention the possibility of carbon monoxide poisoning.  Therefore I only use them when I'm taking a bath.

Some local village girls on a warmer winter day

Usually it doesn't snow in the lowlands, just rain.  After a few days of rain (in Lesotho it never rains just one day) the mountains are covered in snow.  It's quite a site.  But a few weeks back the temperatures dropped dramatically and we had snow everywhere.  I guess anything is possible in Africa.
Now I was in Mozambique last week and the “Winter” there was like a Californian Summer. I can’t imagine what Summer is like. When I was there it seemed like Mozambique is one of those typical African countries you see on TV: flat savannahs that last for kilometers, women wearing typical African fabrics, and if I haven’t already mentioned it, very, very, hot.

My host brother going out to herd his sheep.

In those ways Lesotho is quite different from Mozambique (not to mention the fact that all Mozambiquens speak Portuguese) but Basotho have adapted to this atypical African climate. Most Basotho use blankets to stay warm and depending on who they are and what they are doing there are many different ways to wear your blanket.  Men will usually wear it around their shoulders, and women will usually wrap the blanket around their waists.  Actually Basotho women wear blankets all year around.  When they are pregnant they wear a blanket around their belly to keep the baby warm.  Basotho women even use blankets to carry their babies.  They place the baby on their back and wrap the blanket around themselves and the baby and use a pin to secure it.

Local village girl wrapped in a warm blanket.

My coworkers with their warm jackets and blankets around their waists.

A former volunteer told me that the hardest thing about winter isn't that it's cold but that you can't get away from the cold.  With no concept of central heating this is very true.  Therefore unlike Americans Basotho never remove their layers when they are inside because it's still very cold.

A rondaval after a day of snow.

Traditionally Basotho used to live in houses with thatched roofs.  These houses are great insulators and are meant to keep the house cool during the summer and warm during the winter.  I had one during training so I can attest to the keeping cool part.  But from what my friends tell me about winter the houses are not that affective.  They all have very high roofs which means that when you do use a heater the heat rises and at the end it isn't much warmer.  But I'm sure it's better than nothing.
In my opinion winter has not been too bad.  Maybe it's my positive attitude or the fact that this winter has been milder then the last few but I have to say that I am proud to say that I have survived a Lesotho winter.  I can't say I'm ready to face the east coast or a European winter just yet but I'll take it one step at a time.