Today is the first day of school. Yes, on March 1st, kids begin school here in Argentina. As I walked along to the gym this morning, I could see the excitement in their eyes as they strolled along hand in hand with their mothers or walked along in their freshly pressed uniforms along the tree lined streets of my barrio.
This realization this morning threw me for a loop. It’s summer, isn’t it? I mean, I come here to enjoy the sun and the heat. Could it really be the southern world equivalent of the end of summer?
It’s only March! I want more!
This is something I always struggle with – I never really know what time of year it is in that seasonal sense here in the Southern Hemisphere. In the last few weeks, we have had outrageous rains that have inundated neighborhoods all over town. I was on a bus the other week that got diverted because people were rioting in the streets because they had gone two days with no power. Nice. This brought about some cooler weather that left everyone asking if summer was already over. I blamed the cold (as everyone did) on all of the rain, but I think I may be wrong.
It really started to hit me last night as a friend and I rode out bikes home at about 8 pm, the city was already enveloped in that inky black darkness that comes with days that are shorter, winds that are brisker.
If you know me, you know my thoughts on this. I am a seasonal nomad, so even the slightest idea of cold weather is enough to get me checking out Travelocity. But yes, it is true. March is September in my Northern oriented internal clock, with the first day of fall being March 20th.
Anyway, it appears that summer is over. The children were not the first sign, they were the final sign.
Adios.
2 comments:
Remember your options: return to the perpetual summers of southern Florida, come back to Washington and enjoy the three feet of snow we've received this season, or simply drink more Malbec and allow Mother Nature to have her way with you.
Ah, yes... Maybe it's best to just let Pachamama do here thing right here. But eventually, the DC snow will melt, the flowers will come out and it will be biking season. Ah, the temptations!!
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