Funny what you get used to!

It’s mid -winter here. Not that you’d notice. The day is 11hr 58min long compared to the mid-summer excess of 12hr 16mins we get in December. Sunrise is generally between 6:30 and 7:00am, Sunset is generally  between 6:30pm and 7:00pm.

There are some aberrations though.

The earliest sunrise is actually 6:25am on or about October 31st.

The latest sunset in actually 7:08pm on or about 27th January.

Although it does feel cool at the moment it is in fact 22°C (the cloud doesn’t help),  though  it’s forecast to rise to 29°C later on. Year round the temperature tends to hover between 25-30°C year (Daily Max). It’s funny what you get used to.

 Photo taken earlier this month at Tunza Lodge

Four Seasons, One Tree

The tree outside my classroom is currently exhibiting all four seasons. Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer.  Branches bare, in bud, in leaf and losing leaf. Such are the trees of the tropics

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.

Perminant Summer but Signs of Spring in October

It’s possibly the start of the rainy season now – not that we’ve had much rain yet – though we have had some big downpours. However, yesterday was cloudless blue and very hot. For a newbie from the UK it’s a bit strange. Life here seems to my cold Northern brain to be a permanent summer. Even the rain we’ve had is more reminiscent of a summer storm than a winter deluge. Day after day the temperatures range from a daytime low of 25°C to 32°C – yesterday might have been hotter.
To be in October and enjoying such temperatures is strange. In my last school we close the ICT rooms when it got to 30°C – here I’d never teach if we followed that directive.
Of course we’re in the Southern Hemisphere (only just at 2.5°S!) and so we are technically moving into the hotter time of the year – though I don’t think there’s much difference.

Sunbird

What is clear is that the birds are starting to nest; gathering twigs, grasses etc and starting to display a little. In that sense it is Spring, which makes sense. I suppose this activity must be a response to the rains to come. Personally I’d be pleased if the rains held off a little until Half Term when we’re planning a short break away – details to follow 🙂

Summer of a Different Kind

T minus 30

Today is the first day of the Summer Holidays. Normally this would mark the start of a six week break. A chance to get off the hamster wheel which is work and rest for a little while before climbing back on in time for the exam results. Of course this is a different kind of summer. With contracts signed and exchanged and a completion date set for 29th we have lots to do. Thankfully our buyers are happy to allow us to remain until the 31st or 1st but even so a week and a bit to clear out. We still have things to sell and dump and give away and little time to do it. Even with a lot done there is a lot to do still. To add to the mix we have a series of injections over the next 4 days – for me not too many but plenty for the rest. Today is also Anita’s mum’s birthday and a chance to celebrate as a family. We’re juggling lots of priorities at the moment 🙂

A year ago today I was in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and down in the Mekong Delta. Here are a couple of reminders.