Summer in Lima -- ¡Qué calor!

I´m back in Peru again, and this is the first time I´ve spent part of the summer in Lima. The temperature doesn´t get extremely high -- only the mid-80s -- but with the near-100% humidity and lack of wind, the heat is hard to get used to. Some other things that I have trouble adjusting to every time I return:

• pollution -- as usual I developed a respiratory infection the first week I was here.
• noise -- Saturday nights are usually sleepless nights because there´s almost always an all night party within earshot
• water -- bathing with 7 liters of water (the capacity of my solar heater)
• dust -- leaving a window open on a windy day (a necessity during summer) means having to sweep the floor the next day.

The one thing that I always seem to adapt to rapidly is the food. I love the many creative ways they use potatoes, and I especially like the variety of the fruits, many of which we don´t have in the states, like maracuyá, lúcuma and guanabana.

I´ll be here until May, laying the groundwork for some projects that won´t get into full swing until June and July. After attending my daughter´s graduation and my son´s wedding, I´ll return at the end of May. This year we have another group of Canadian students from Global Youth coming to Peru, and they´ll be spending a week here in Lima and another week working with my friend Ernesto in Cai Cay to complete the adobe building that will house his educational center. In July, two students from the University of Dayton will join me for several months to help me with my investigations of efficiency improvements for gas stoves and of a new solar device for water purification that we will be installing for the first time anywhere in the world.