Africa gets cold. Despite all of the warnings I received before coming to Botswana, I did not come completely prepared for how cold it is starting to get here now that winter is coming. I thought "pshhh, I'm from Maine. I'm used to cold. Africa couldn't possibly be that cold. No big deal". I was a dummy. It has been getting down into the 40s (F) at night. Yes, Maine gets much colder than that in the winter, but in Maine there are wood stoves, fire places, heaters, and well-insulated houses and work spaces. These things do not exist in Botswana (atlas not in most cases). When the sun is out, it can feel pretty warm, but when that sun goes down, it really does get chilly. At night I sleep under my sleeping bag lined with flannel and a flannel sheet. Thankfully I brought my favorite hoodie from home because I've also been sleeping in that. Being a fool, I only brought Capri sweatpants, shorts, and leggings for sleeping! I will be purchasing some long sweat pants very soon. When I wake up in the morning these days, I don't want to get out of my bed to bath because it is cold, and this requires going outside to put water in my bath bucket and then bathing in my room in cold air. For the sake of good hygiene, I've been forcing myself to bath anyway. This involves me staying clothed for as long as possible and then getting back into my clothes and under my blanket as quickly as possible afterward. So if you are planning on moving to Africa, this Mainer is telling you that it gets pretty damn cold here so don't be a fool.
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