Oh my God, it's hot here

February is the hottest month in Arua.  Even at night, I just lay in bed and sweat.  It’s a dry heat, but when I’m out in the sun, it feels like my skin is on fire.  Thankfully, the Peace Corps provides us with all the sunscreen we want (SPF 30) and I brought Aloe Vera gel with me – so I’m not burning too badly.  But because women wear long skirts all the time, my legs are as pale as they are during a Chicago winter.  My upper and lower body have totally mismatched tans.  It's ridiculous.

And because it’s the dry season, the hydroelectric power is failing.  The power goes out every day from 4:30pm-10:00pm.  That also means the water pumps aren’t working either.  I haven’t had running water in 2 weeks and I don’t expect to have it until there is consistent rain (maybe March or April).  Dr. Anne said that this dry season is especially bad – it’s never been this hot for this long (and without any sporadic rain showers).

So my water situation is interesting, since my house has pipes for plumbing but no water.  I have 6 jerricans for water (20 liters each).  Two of them are for drinking water only - I have a filtration rotation set up (i.e. continuously filter water & fill the empty jerrican, while drinking from the other).

The others are for bathing, washing dishes, flushing the toilet, and washing clothes.  Unfortunately, flushing the toilet uses ½ of a jerrican . . . so I can’t flush every time I go to the bathroom.  Funny, I never thought I would want a pit latrine.  I have also had to cut back on bathing – now bucket baths are every 2 or 3 days, which sucks because I’m sweating all the time.  A big thank you to everyone who has sent me Wet Wipes/facial cleansing wipes and hand sanitizers!!!

The good news is that the school driver comes around on the weekend to pick up everyone’s jerricans and fills them at the borehole for us.  I am extremely grateful his help, especially since the borehole closest to my house (a 15-minute walk) is broken.

Now, let’s all do a rain dance . . .

[Ok, after reading Mom's comment, I updated my weather widget for Arua, Uganda - not Kampala.  It's almost a 10-degree difference!  Also, Uganda is high elevation + equatorial sunlight = HOT.]