Winter in July

Alright, let's get serious here. It's gosh darn cold over here.

"Pardon me, madam," you say, "but I was under the impression that you were in Africa. Am I mistaken?" I thank you for the courteous tone of your inquiry, and reply, without your equanimity, "yes, but I live on top of a mountain and it's the middle of effing winter!"

Let me back up. In a friendly way, I mercilessly mock Winnie (during the week) and Kay (on the weekends) everytime they, rather querulously, talk about how cold it is. I tell them they wouldn't survive in Canada! That it's negative 30 for four months straight! That I once waited for a school bus for 45 minutes wearing only a kilt and tights on my legs! And everything is uphill both ways!

And most of the time, I'm not even lying when I say that I'm not cold at all. But it's the DEAD of winter now. There's so get water. There's thick fog in the morning. The sun sets quickly, and the water that comes out of the pipes is icy. Okay, not icy, but COLD. The windows don't close all the way, so a slight draft wafts in all night. The worst is having to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night- first feel around for matches to ignite the lamp, then go outside and do your business, them wash your hands in liquid nitrogen. It takes about half an hour to fall asleep again after that. Oh, and for the people that have been here that are going to make fun of me like how I make fun of the Kenyans, have you ever spent the night in a mountainous abode? NAY. When you're at this high altitude, even 50m makes a huge difference.

During the day it's totally fine and I traipse around wearing a t-shirt and sandals. But tonight...man, I wish I had a third blanket. Oh, also, I live right beside the hospital, and this is the season when every one is sick. I came home the other day to find a bunch of men lying around my front yard, waiting for treatment but unable to sit normally, I guess. I hope they're not contageous.