Mwanza Dust!

The first thing we have noticed on our return here to Mwanza is the dust and the heat.

It was particularly noticeable after the cool and lush weather of Moshi earlier in the week.   

  

 It obviously hasn’t rained here for many weeks it seems. 

   
Different too to the humidity and heat of Dar Es Salaam and the dry of Malawi, Zambia and Botswana. There is no cool bite to the morning weather and no autumnal feel up here so close to the equator. No bare branched trees, no gold, russet and red leafed bushes. 

    
    
    
   
I like the heat here and the birdsong which seems more intense here than anywhere else in our journey – even Lake Malawi/Nyassa.

Unwelcome here is the complete lack of water pressure which had put a hold on showers and frustrated attempts to plough through a mound of much needed washing.

It’s quiet here on the compound. Just us and one other colleague now. Our neighbours moved out to Uganda yesterday. Other houses await new tenants or the return of their occupants after travels abroad.

It’s strange not to be moving on from place to place. Nice to be doing nothing.

I loved the journey through Africa but now we are very much in Mwanza and very much home!

Seeking Shade

The rains have yet to come. Some say they should have come already. What little rain has come has simply humidified the hot air. Each day seems hotter than the last. Even the Tanzanians are complaining about the heat and the sweaters are disapearing.  

Today we are in town and it’s baking – so finding shade is a must. One place which offered shade and some good food is Kuleana’s. Here in the shade you can get Pizza – Tanzania Style and Fresh Fruit among other things.    

I can’t believe I actually want the rains to come. I like heat but day after day we get what would amount to a record breaker back in the UK. 

Feelin’ Hot Hot Hot

As we reach the dog end of January – one thing is clear – the temperature is on the rise! Here in Mwanza the thermometer has risen from a pleasant 25-26°C to 30°-32°C which might not seem much but is making a difference. It is less cloudy too and a lot less rainy. Apparently it will continue until the Long Rains in March – April.

I do like the heat and appreciate it’s a lot hotter than those of you in the “cold north”, even so I was getting used to the mid-20s so I am wilting under the extra heat in long trousers day after day.
In honour of the new temperatures some of my Heat related iTunes – all on my iPod (honestly!)

Level 42 – Hot Water

Power Station – Some Like It Hot

Billy Idol – Hot In The City

The Cure – Hot! Hot! Hot!

Glen Frey – The Heat Is On

Style Council – Long Hot Summer

Katy Perry – Hot ‘n’ Cold

DJ Fresh ft Rita Ora – Hot Right Now

Arrow – Hot Hot Hot

Carols on the Equator

It’s hot, sunny and 28°C AS I write this blog on the 5th December. I’m sitting on the verandah overlooking the garden and listening to Christmas Music on iTunes.
It’s all very strange as I sit just 2°S of the equator. After almost 50 years of cold northern Decembers my brain finds it hard to comprehend. It’s 4:45pm and broad daylight another anachronism of this time of year. Especially strange are the news reports of sub-zero temperatures and snow on the way in the UK.
I am happy here in the heat, even with a small amount of December sunburn from yesterday’s Sport’s Day, but I will miss the snow especially after last year’s snowless winter
It’s a surreal life perched on the equator at Christmas.

You can see videos of some of the Christmas tunes in various blogs each day in December.

The Heat is On!

T + 19

After a gentle introduction to Mwanza during the first couple of weeks. The temperatures are on the rise. We have had a hot and sunny week. The temperatures hitting a high of 30°C and not dropping below 20°C.
Working in a hot ICT suite is challenging and there is definitely no air com here. It remains to be seen how hot it will get, but the heat is on!

Taste of Tanzania

T Minus 36

Tomorrow we are expecting the hottest day of the year in the South East of England, though it’s been hot today (reaching 27°C ) tomorrow may see the mercury rise to 30°C. So hot in fact we have been told we should not teach in the ICT suites.
These rooms, hot at the best of times lack air conditioning and have poor ventilation. The combined heat of 31 PC’s is enough to make the rooms a steady 26°C even in winter. The addition of a hot summers day makes it unbearable. As I ponder this I am fully aware that in Mwanza these outdoor temperatures are commonplace and I will be teaching in a Computer Suite with no real alternative. It remains to be seen what the ventilation is like at my new school. I consider this weeks weather good preparation.