Hot Heat Sizzle Sizzle

We came back to Mundri in the middle of dry season. It is 108° today in the shade. Yesterday, it was just as hot during the day and was 93° at 7:30pm (at that point in the evening, we all start saying how cool it is and how thankful we are that it cooled down so much… at 93° ;)).

Larissa told me one time that during really hot days all she can think of is different words for the word hot. She will try to think of something and the only thing running in her head is, “hot, hot, heat, scorching, very hot”… etc. I giggled at this at the time, but now I have slipped into the same habit. I will be walking from my house to the team house (about 20 yards) and all I can think of is, “hot, hotttt, sizzle, heat, hot, hot”.

As a team, we are trying to adjust our days around the heat. Will and I used to do language lessons at 1pm, now we are moving them to 10am so that we do not have to bike back during the hottest time of the day. This is good, and necessary, but it is hard for my western mind to adjust to. I want to be productive. I don’t want to be sitting in the shade during the hottest part of the afternoon, I want to be moving around, visiting people and “doing” something.

This is on our compound. Doesn't it just look hot?!

As I was contemplating this yesterday, something inside of me said, “watch the people”. Meaning, observe what the Moru people do at the peak of the afternoon when the only words in your head are synonyms for “hot”.  Observe how they cope with the extreme heat and how they have learned to adapt over all of these years in the hot temperatures.  

So I did. And you know where I found them? Sitting under mango trees or gathered around whatever shade is on their compounds. I’ve noticed that they do their normal daily tasks of fetching water, hand washing clothes, carrying firewood, etc. in the mornings and before around 12:00 and then again after around 5pm. Shop owners still tend their shops in the afternoon, but they sit in the shade and usually show up earlier and leave earlier this time of year.

So, it looks like we need to learn to adjust as well. Who better to learn from about dealing with extreme heat than people who have done it their whole lives? This season might look a little slower than other parts of the year, but there is grace for adjustment periods. And to be honest, I just pray I can make it through the… hot, heat, hot, hot, sizzle, sizzle, sizzle….