Summers in Botswana Are Not To Be Messed With

A fellow PCV told me that Botswana summers are not to be messed with. She was not wrong.

As I am writing this post, it is a balmy 104 degrees in my room.  And the sad part is, it is so hot outside, that when I walked into my room, I thought, “Oh, it’s cool in here.”

It has been 100 degrees plus all for about two weeks, and it doesn’t cool down much at night. Last night, it was 99 degrees when I went to bed. I keep cool at night by sleeping with frozen water bottles and a fan. In addition, when I climb into bed, it is actually so hot out, that my sheets are warm, and feel like I just took them out of the dryer.

One of the challenges of living in rural Botswana is that the electricity and water go out several times a week. When the electricity goes off, I can’t use my fan to keep cool. And, because there is no power, the water bottles in my fridge start to melt.

I can’t even take a cold bucket bath, because the weather is so hot that it is heating the water pipes, so my bucket baths are warm. To compound matters, my roof is tin, and I have no ceiling in my house. Therefore, my roof attracts heat.

Currently, it is the rainy season. And, while it hasn’t rained much, when it does rain, it cools down a lot, which I am grateful for. A few days ago, it was 114.8 degrees Fahrenheit. Thankfully, we experienced a massive thunderstorm and it cooled my room down to 86 degrees.

This blog post may sound like I am complaining. Let me be clear: I am not. I agreed to extreme weather and unpredictable water and electricity conditions when I signed up for the Peace Corps. These are just a few of the daily challenges that I have experienced since coming to site.

A few days ago, the water and electricity both went out. It was 100 out, and I was lying on the floor trying not to melt (side note: I finally understand how the Wicked Witch of the West felt in the Wizard of Oz, if only someone would throw water on me). However, it was the first time that I felt like a true Peace Corps Volunteer. Because I knew, that all around Botswana, there were hundreds of other Peace Corps Volunteers, sitting on the floors of their houses, possibly without water or electricity, trying not to melt into a puddle. Just like me.

And I love it.