Seasons in Senegal

One major adjustment in Senegal has been the seasons, or probably the lack thereof. We get 3 major seasons, but in my perception it's all just variations of hot.

The longest and most arduous by far is hot season (in Pulaar: ceedu, pronounced che-doo). Spanning from March to July, each day is easily over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, but usually in the 115 range (or around 48 degrees Celcius). Due to this incredible handicap to most daily activities, many wake early and try to get all the necessary tasks and labor done early (fetching water, sweeping the compound, gathering wood, etc). That way, one can easily stay under shade structures for the rest of the day, and avoid any prolonged exposure to the sun. What I most often hear if I try to walk anywhere after 10am is "Naange ine wooli!" which translates to "the sun is hot!" and then the speaker tries to stop me from going anywhere and sit under their shade structure. Almost everyone sleeps outside during hot season, I most definitely have to because my room is cement bricks with a tin roof which heats up like an oven.

Hot season is followed by rainy season (Pulaar: Ndungu, pronounced n-doo-n-goo), from about July to October. Of course, this varies greatly throughout Senegal, as the rainy season up in the Sahel is far different from the green southern regions. Whereas down there rain comes at least every few days, our rainy season this year was averaging once a week. The rains are pretty heavy; a big downpour lasts up to a few hours. In the interim of rain, it is still pretty hot. Just after a rain it cools down quite a bit, but that often doesn't last more than half a day. Also with rainy season comes the birth of many insects that cannot survive in the harsh desert during other times year, most annoyingly: mosquitos and flies. The days are spend constantly swatting and as soon as the sun sets I have to put on bug spray. I still sleep outside except for when the heavy rains hit at night. All in all, I think rainy season is my least favorite, at least here in the North. It has the miserable heat of hot season, with added humidity, and flies all day.

Generally speaking, October and November are less affiliated with any particular season and more so represent the short Indian summer between rainy and cold season.

Now on to my favorite: the short but sweet cold season (Pulaar: Ndaabunde, pronounced n-dah-boon-deh). "Cold" is incredibly relative, as it usually means an average of 70 degrees F during the day (about 21 degrees C). Those few months (December-February) are filled with the ability to sleep inside, and hang out inside during the day. I feel a lot more freedom because my days are not dictated by the weather/heat.

After living through 2 years of this cycle, I am way too excited for the temperate California summer that will greet me upon my return!