September, I remember/A love once new has now grown old
In my nearly 2 years here, I have come to love Strana. In the blistering hot summers (sometimes), and the chilling winters, I can see beauty and appreciate tradition and history that is nearly nonexistent in the US. I am comfortable with and fond of the people, in their good moments and bad, and this really does feel like a second home.
This said, I honestly cannot stand the autumn here. Due to my starry-eyes when I first got here, I said Strana was beautiful, but it was really just novelty speaking. I was in awe of Stranian spring-- it begins in late February and continues into May, something we do not have at home in New York-- but to be perfectly honest, I would trade one these springs for a good New England Fall in a heartbeat. At home, fall is brisk, not dank, and the sun doesn't disappear for days on end. Natural light illuminates the changing color of the leaves, which is what brings New Yorkers out in droves to the Hudson Valley (or to Connecticut, both are popular weekend destinations). Fall is probably my favorite season at home. Here, on the other hand, fall is a season of despondency; the aroma of autumn is the smoke of a trashfire. I think the best way to sum up my emotional response to the end of summer is a quotation from "Clouds of Witness" by Dorothy L. Sayers:
“With that instinct which prompts one, when depressed, to wallow in every circumstance of gloom, Peter leaned sadly upon the hurdles and abandoned himself to a variety of shallow considerations upon (1) The vanity of human wishes; (2) Mutability; (3) First love; (4) The decay of idealism; (5) The aftermath of the Great War; (6) Birth-control; and (7) The fallacy of free will. That was his nadir, however.”
So, as I was saying, the weather continues charming.
***
Additionally, the concert on Friday was sweet. Even without Freddie Mercury, due to his unfortunate demise, it was awesome.
This said, I honestly cannot stand the autumn here. Due to my starry-eyes when I first got here, I said Strana was beautiful, but it was really just novelty speaking. I was in awe of Stranian spring-- it begins in late February and continues into May, something we do not have at home in New York-- but to be perfectly honest, I would trade one these springs for a good New England Fall in a heartbeat. At home, fall is brisk, not dank, and the sun doesn't disappear for days on end. Natural light illuminates the changing color of the leaves, which is what brings New Yorkers out in droves to the Hudson Valley (or to Connecticut, both are popular weekend destinations). Fall is probably my favorite season at home. Here, on the other hand, fall is a season of despondency; the aroma of autumn is the smoke of a trashfire. I think the best way to sum up my emotional response to the end of summer is a quotation from "Clouds of Witness" by Dorothy L. Sayers:
“With that instinct which prompts one, when depressed, to wallow in every circumstance of gloom, Peter leaned sadly upon the hurdles and abandoned himself to a variety of shallow considerations upon (1) The vanity of human wishes; (2) Mutability; (3) First love; (4) The decay of idealism; (5) The aftermath of the Great War; (6) Birth-control; and (7) The fallacy of free will. That was his nadir, however.”
So, as I was saying, the weather continues charming.
***
Additionally, the concert on Friday was sweet. Even without Freddie Mercury, due to his unfortunate demise, it was awesome.
posted by Life Called | 8:53 AM
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