How you know you live 4 degress North of the Equator

I have always been a guy who loves weather and topics on the subject have and continue to fascinate me. Both my Grandfathers were farmers and from my experience being around them, understand how and why climate and other weather-related phenomena sparked their interest. I guess it’s in my blood. When journaling, I’ll often document the weather for the particular day. So after well over a year and especially after experiencing 12 full months in the jungle I thought I’d give a few of my observations pertaining to the statement: How you know you live 4 degrees North of the Equator.

Here are a few…

1) The words ice, snow, shiver and season do not exist in your people group’s language.

2.) Any given day could by any other given day of the year. (The temps vary so slightly that a season concept is non-existent.

3.) The sun is always intense and always hot even when the temps aren’t.

4.) You can get sun burned in <10 minutes.

5.) You have to search far and wide to find sunscreen in your country’s capital city.

6.) You have never worn the only sweatshirt you brought from home.

7.) The temps have never dipped below 67 degrees.

8.) You woke up freezing cold and checked the thermometer to see the display show 72 degrees Fahrenheit.

9.) You hung your black shirt out on the line in the morning and pulled a fully dry brown one in the afternoon.

10.) Your clothes will decay at an alarming rate.

11.) You never assume or have confidence that it won’t rain.

12.) Fully cleared grass and other plant growth can be over 6 feet high in a matter of a month or so.

13.) People are shocked that a time of year exists where you live in which it is so cold you cannot swim or wash in the rivers.

14.) Intervals of rain are consistent enough that for 80% of the year water caught from the sky is sufficient for all needs.

15.) You’re always sweating and as a consequence, you’re always washing clothes -and you don’t even think of wearing yesterday’s shirt today. lol
16.) You are always perspiring and have broken into a sweat at any and all of the 24 hours in a day.

17.) The season concept is painstakingly difficult for your people group to understand.

18.) If you cook it today, you better eat it before today ends.

19.) Ants: unfathomable both in number and variety. Every one of them is armed to the teeth.

20.) You’ve never had a need for chapstick or any type of lotion.

I could go on for a while but I felt twenty reasons would suffice to give you a little idea climate-wise from a 15 month veteran jungle man.