When I first came to Athens I heard from some of the professors of Scripps School of Journalism that there was a storm, which caused a lack of electricity in Athens/Ohio. Some areas such as that of professor Yusuf Kalyango from Oeganda did not had electricity for one week. When we were in Pennsylvania/Cleveland Athens experienced another storm, so we did not had internet access when we came back in our apartments.

According to New York Times of 26 July 2012 researchers said that strong summer thunderstorms pump water high into the upper atmosphere and pose a threat to the protective ozone layer over the United States. With their findings they draw one of the first links between climate change and ozone loss over populated areas. Ozone helps shield people, animals and crops from damaging ultraviolet rays from the sun. Much of the concern about the ozone layer has focused on Antarctica, where a seasonal hole, or thinning, has been seen for two decades, and the Arctic, where a hole was observed last year. But those regions have almost no population. A thinning of the ozone layer over the United States during summers could mean an increase in ultraviolet exposure for millions of people and a rise in the incidence of skin cancer, the researchers said.

In Suriname a country with a tropical climate the weather is hot, but it has humidity in it. But here in America the weather is hot and dry and with the thinning of the ozone layer over the United States no wonder I am experiencing the burning of my face. Now I have two colors on my face, a dark one and a pink one and I also see flakes like the skin of my face peels. It is a good thing that one of the SUSI scholars Huei Lan Wang from Taiwan, always covers her face with a dark cap. Her face will surely not burn, but for myself I find another solution.

Last week I talked about the burning of my face with friend Marcia Revales-Trotman from Miami and she advised me to use sun screen to protect my face. But since I have no time to buy it I use coconut oil, one of the traditional oils I have brought with me from Suriname, because some days before my departure to the United States I had diarrhea and after the advice of my friend Irwin Wist from The Netherlands I drank one spoon of this oil. He advised three spoons a day, but after drinking only one the diarrhea was completely gone. So I thought I would bring that oil with me. Irwin also told me that the oil is good for your skin. So every day I rub it on my skin and face. Now the burnings are gone and my skin feels very soft.

According to The Coconut Oil Miracle (Previously published as The Healing Miracle of Coconut Oil by Bruce Fife and Jon J. Kabara when taken as a supplement, used in cooking, or applied to directly to the skin, coconut oil has been found to: promote weight loss; help protect against heart disease, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, and many other degenerative diseases; strengthen the immune system; improve digestion and prevent premature aging of the skin. So from now on I will use only coconut oil, because it has so many positive effects.