So about a month ago Katie and I decided to give up fans for lent. To the average North American this decision probably doesn’t mean much. Temperate summer climate, cold winters, and air conditioners have rendered fans unnecessary and obsolete. Needless to say, it’s different in Tchad. Lent crosses the peak of the the hot season in Tchad. Tempertures rose above 40C and we consumed water by the liter. There are no air conditioners. There was only heat and many sleepless nights.
The conversation leading up to our decision went something like this:
Katie: What should I give up for lent this year?
Dan: I usually don’t give anything up.
Katie: Ok, but what should I give up this year?
Dan: Fans, you should give up fans.
Katie: Ok.
Dan: But that was a joke.
Katie: You’re going to give them up too.
Dan: Dang.
Fortunately, the electricity was cut most of the time, so I didn’t have to worry much about my stength of will. But there were a few days where my host parents sat beneath a huge fan in their room set to top speed, while I spent the night sleepless in the heat of my concrete bedroom. Oh yeah, concrete absorbes the heat during the day and lets it out at night. This is all well and good if you are a reptile, but as a human I did not appreciate the sauna I slept in each night. Thank goodness it’s over. The hot season is almost over too, so three cheers for that.
5 comments
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April 15, 2010 at 11:52 am
Virginia Lepp
Hey Dan – you forgot to mention it’s not just the walls that absorb the heat. Everything we touch is warmer than body temperature – gotta love the pre-warmed toilet seats, hot water for brushing teeth, hot bedsheets, etc. My personal favourite is trying to cool off with a mid-day shower and then bumping against the hot shower wall to undo all the benefit. “Almost over” is relative – but it will pass and next year at this time you won’t even really remember what it’s like.
April 17, 2010 at 8:36 am
Seth
Dan that was a bad move. You cave too easily. You need to work on being less like me in that respect.
April 19, 2010 at 10:57 am
Jordan
Don’t communicate with the women… they only trick you into being as miserable as them!
May 7, 2010 at 2:15 am
Jordan
You update almost as regularly as VG Cats! We demand posts!
May 8, 2010 at 10:00 am
danieltvader
VG Cats has a high speed internet connection in his house. I’m looking at an unreliable satelite uplink in the Martin Luthur King Center. Do not face the wrath of the apathetic blogger!