Open Windows

It is African hot here in Kisumu. Dancing around 100 degrees fahrenheit each day, there is no relief, no air conditioning, only cold showers (we do not have hot piped water at home). Walking to town or to work on the red, dusty roads leaves our feet and shoes coated in dirt. All windows are kept open; at home, at work, in shops and hotels. When cars speed down the dirt roads, dust clouds travel indoors so that we smell and taste dirt. I keep my computer in its case and zipped in the backpack to ensure it remains dustfree. To keep our feet clean even in the house, Ian and I have taken to wearing cheap, rubber slippers. The dirt washes away in the shower and I am temporarily cooled by the cool water, but as soon as I dry off, the heat returns. It helps to sleep with wet hair. They say things will cool down when the long rains start--any day now!

Even with this insistent heat and the equatorial sun beating down most furiously between 1 and 3 p.m., it's not as suffocating as the Georgia heat can be. In middle Georgia where I grew up, the temperatures can hit the high 90's, or even 100, and the humidity makes it almost impossible to move. Walking outside, it often feels like a hot, wet, heavy blanket has been thrown around you. In Kisumu, it's very dry and a breeze is always blowing off the lake. It gets slightly cool in the early morning hours, but getting to sleep is difficult unless I'm totally exhausted. Even though the dirt roads will be especially muddy and messy when the rains come, I'm really looking forward to the daily rainshowers.