Blog Post 5.
Autumn does not exist here. As I start each morning with a run, the temperature creeps into the high 70’s F (mid-upper 20’s C). Tropical light reflects off the ocean. The leaves turn their always-green faces to the sun. This can be a very lovely routine.
And yet, this blog post is entitled “autumn doesn’t exist here” instead of “always summer” or “sunny and 75”. I’ve noticed the absence of what I now know objectively to be my favorite season. Apparently, Fall means more than butternut squash (though butternut squash is arguably one of its most important assets).
The absence of Autumn is something I did not expect to a) notice or, b) impact my life in any negative way whatsoever while in Cádiz. A minor oversight. I never knew that Fall is something very important to me. That skipping out on it would leave me feeling slightly… disoriented. I’m totally fine, I really am. But I will say that today I bought a pair of burnt-yellow espadrilles to get a break from open-toed sandals without suffocating my feet. These I wore with a Thanksgiving-colored (I think I made that color up but you probably know what I mean- somewhere between red and orange) skirt. In this, my most autumnal outfit, I searched for fallen leaves amidst the arrays of Bird-of-paradise, Bougainvillea and Hibiscus in el Parque Genovés. I daydreamed of wearing a sweater; of feeling those first crisp whispers of winter that invite you to eat soup or read a book outside, watching the leaves kiss summer goodbye.
I think I like Fall because it represents change. It is change. I’m bored easily and struggle to maintain routines so I like change and I seek it out in my own life. In a very literal way, Autumn is an environmental and abundant manifestation of my proclivity for perpetual metamorphosis.
I’m not complaining about the climate in Cádiz. It is surely something I am fortunate to experience and enjoy very much each day. However, if you stare at a Bird-of-paradise long enough and it remains static, it begins to lose its meaning.
Supposedly it will cool off here as each day joins its brethren in the past. We may even see some days get down into the high 50’s F (mid-teens C) by the end of December! That’s when my host Mamá whips out the Ugg boots.
I’m so thankful to be living this. To be able to temporarily experience the absence of something and recognize that such an absence is impacting me, and how it is doing so, is a real treat in learning about who I am and what I want in life.
By the way, I did find about six browning leaves on the ground at the park today. These I gently scooped up, made into a little pile and ceremoniously crunched with my left espadrille.
Happy Fall.
Kulani Sol 