Seasons

Sometimes people ask me if Uganda has seasons. The answer is that there are two: dry and rainy. Most of the time Mukono looks like this:

This is the view from my back balcony.

Where I live is green and beautiful. Uganda is on the equator so the weather is temperate and there is always 12 hours of daylight. If you look online the weather forecast is basically the same everyday: Partly cloudy, chance of thunderstorms, highs in the 80s (Fahrenheit). Basically, it is wonderful weather all year round- sometimes a little hot, sometimes a little rainy but a pretty great place to live weather-wise. The dry season can be longer in different parts of the country and is probably the "worst" weather. Here is Soroti in a drier season:

Having only dry and rainy seasons in Uganda is obviously very different than growing up on the East Coast of the US. I have been in the States for summers and short winter breaks since moving to Uganda but have not experienced spring or fall in 4 years. There is something about being used to seasons and what they are associated with that is hard to break: Fall is school starting, leaves changing, brisk weather, Halloween, shortening days- in Northeast of the States we think of those all together. But in Uganda when school starts it is the rainy season then it gets hotter. It is hard for my seasonally-oriented mind to grasp. Then spring: Easter, new plants, being so glad winter is over and lengthening days. While Uganda's weather is great it is sometimes hard to appreciate because it never changes. Four different seasons bring different feelings, expectations and experiences each year.

But this year I will see fall! I will be traveling to the States next week to welcome my new nephew in to the world and to visit and speak at some schools for work. So I am thinking hot drinks, sweaters and foliage! I am not sure if it will be too early in the season for all that but I am looking forward to this view:

Phoenixville, PA- photo credit to my mom, also used in the header for the blog!