We have certainly been enjoying the fresh fruit (read mangoes), but now Julie and I have to back off. Having eaten mangoes everyday, I think, and some days more than one, we have developed some rash. That is not good and it itches like crazy between my fingers, but I immediately suspected the mangoes. I remember my mother getting a terrific reaction to mangoes soon after we moved to Florida in 1959. Someone gave us a large quantity and said you could just eat them like apples, skin and all. SO we did! Mom's face swelled up and her throat closed so much that she feared her breathing would be cut off. We soon discovered that the oils in the skins are intense and can be toxic in large quantities, so, thanks to that early history, we knew from the beginning here that we should not eat the skin. (There is another evidence of God's preparation in my life-- who would have thought that I would ever need that knowledge again!) At first I thought it might only be because Julie and I have been the ones peeling and preparing the fruit, so we gave that job to Ray, at least to peel them. It has gotten better, but we want to be wise and not have a re-occurrance.
Bananas are also readily available, but 3 times as expensive as mangoes. Apples are here in Mali too if you are downtown, but 2 to 3 times more expensive than bananas-- you didn't know that when you are enjoying your apples you were eating "exotic fruits", did you? A "manguru" costs about 10cfa for a samll one, and 40-50 cfa for one that would easily fill a 2 cup measure. Bananas are 400cfa/kg (8-10 small bananas), and 3 apples cost us 400 cfa. The exchange rate is currently about 450 cfa/US dollar. NOW-- you do the math! :))
We slept out on the roof one night last week, but have decided not to repeat that experience until we get some mosquito nets. We have not SEEN mosquitos but Julie and I both had what appeared to be bug bites-- that are itchy-- so something got to us. It was considerably cooler out on the roof, under the stars, than inside the oven that the apt becomes after the sun has been shining on its masonry walls all day. When I got up and went inside at daybreak (6:00ish), it was still like walking back into an oven-- well at least an oven that has been turned off for a little while. Ah-h-h well! Until mosquito nets we will stay inside at night.
We have screens on the windows and the fans have been able to be running MOST all night, many nights now. We are also hoping to soon get some floor fans that we can place at the windows to blow the cool night air in on us. The ceiling fans move the air, but when you first turn them on (say in the afternoon) you can feel the heat being drawn down from the ceiling. It would be nice to let the heat rise and replace it with the cooler outside air. We will see! Maybe all that reading and studying that we have done with alternate energy and self sustaining lifestyles will pay off here as well.
I have actually been doing a lot of thinking about the things that we have learned in that "conserve energy" search over the years. Does anybody have the Mother Earth News complete dvd archives, by any chance? :)) Maybe I should write to them and ask if they would be willing to donate a set to us to teach the principles here in Mali. THey had some marvelous articles in the early days-- 1970's, when Ray & I were charter members of the magazine. One of those was an evaporative cooler/refrigerator. I am putting that principle to work here by wrapping a wet cloth around my water filter to pre-cool the water we draw to drink. It will cool the water to about 80*, but I need to refresh the water on the cloths several times a day. My next project is to build a small box as a cooler, putting that evaporative cooling to work for more items. Our electric refrigerator is a very small countertop model, and without consistant electricity, ....!! I have been using a wet cloth on top of it to help to dissipate the heat from it's motor, and that hopefully takes some of the strain off of it. I know that the top of it can be cool to the touch rather than hot, like it is after the cloth has dried out.
If bananas, bread, tomatoes, butter, etc could be kept at 80 degrees F, instead of 95- 100 degrees, it would be a great help. Wouldn't do much for the meat, but the fruit would last an extra day or two or three, and the butter would not run off your knife. It would also help to keep our ointments and even toothpaste a bit cool so that they are not so runny. Neosporin is difficult to use if it runs off of the wound like water. We are keeping that in the fridge. LOL
We continue to be amazed at our adjustment to the heat. Many westerners seem to mind it more than we. Thank you for your continued prayers and thanks to God for His provision.
Be blessed and be a blessing today!
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