Last Tuesday evening I left Chad and returned to the UK. It all happened rather suddenly and was not part of 'the plan'. When I was unwell a couple of weeks ago I was advised that I should return to the UK for further tests, that even the 'good' hospital I was treated at couldn't do - a further reminder of the limited health care available to the majority of Chadians.
The first few days of being back in the UK are always a rather strange experience. Making the transition from Africa to the UK seems to take longer than the journey and so I find myself physically in one country but mentally still in another.
Returning at this time of year there is also the stark contrast in temperature to contend with. Although this is the cooler time of year in Chad daytime temperatures still reach 38C, whereas the temperature in Cumbria on Thursday morning was -2C...
So each day I now:
- Take a hot shower, rather than a cold one
- Put on more layers of warm clothes, rather than wearing as few thin cotton clothes as possible
- Wear two pairs of socks, rather than none at all
- Switch the heater on in the car, rather than the air-conditioning
- Keep the central heating on, rather than the ceiling fan
- Sleep under a warm duvet, rather than on top of a single sheet
I am definitely a person who prefers hot weather to cold weather but there are two things I love about a cold climate - you can spend the evening in front of a roaring log fire and you see views like this:
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| Blencathra |