I am aware that the majority of people who read this are British, and I am therefore very hesitant to even hint at not having liked winter, because I have little to complain about temperature-wise or precipitation-wise or sunshine-wise compared to you people in Britain. However, winter is the worst time of year wherever you are, and the really key difference between there and here is that this is a country designed around a hot climate. They have such good weather for a decent chunk of the year that during the winter months they stay in and wait for it to finish. Every cafe and bar has outside seating, which is little used from November to March, making a massive difference to how the town feels. Nights out are quiet and subdued, and are finished way before dawn. Italian shops are closed for the pausa, a break in the middle of the day, from 13.00 till about 16.30 - sensible in the summer when the heat is unbearable in the middle of the day, but in the winter is takes away the most useful part of the day. I work in the mornings, so more often than not I’d have to go to the supermarket in the dark. They all sound like such little things, but you know how they accumulate, and a few months into winter you just think FOR GOODNESS SAKE ENOUGH!!!
Winter was tough. We got some sunny days that I know didn’t reach Britain, and they helped immensely with the sanity. However, this town is already small, and when it goes into its winter hibernation it’s not a fun place to be. This culture is lacking the British steadfastness - we don’t stop what we’re doing so intensely as they do, clearly because we Brits don’t have the promise of better weather round the corner. It is also lacking in the cosyness - the log fires, the cosy cafes with cups of tea. The strong point of the country is its many good months; the rest are better best forgotten.
However, it is getting better at a very pleasing rate. We had a whole load of false starts to spring triggered by a combination of a sunny day and desperation for spring to arrive. The clocks changed while I was away for Easter, and the long days, combined with a noticeable increase in temperature, has really made a difference. The gelato places are opening up again and people are sitting outside them. Today I did two loads of washing because the first one dried quickly in the heat of the sun for the first time since October, and I’ve had the window open all day. At the weekend, we had our first good long night out of 2013. We’re really within touching distance of beach weather.
It helps, of course, that I am refreshed from my visit home and then my mum’s visit here: seeing all the people I need to see tops up my wellbeing for a while, but Modica also feels better than those long winter months.
My plans are not set yet, but I have been reliably informed that life here continues to get better from now on, so I’m thinking I do need to stay for at least a bit of the summer, which means coming home at the beginning of June has a question mark over it.
It’s strange to be in my last 6 weeks of teaching. It only feels like a short amount of time when I think I’m actually only going to see each of my classes another 5 or 6 times. I have been very very lucky with my job. At the end of the day it’s still a job, with all of its bad days and bad weeks and ‘oh please not today’ early mornings, but I know I couldn’t really have had a much nicer thing to get out of bed for in the morning, and even now the novelty’s worn off, my favourite part of the day is often in my classroom.
So, I was expecting the after-Easter post to be talking about entering my last stage of my year abroad, but as it is I’m not sure. It’s more of an ‘oh, this is nice!’ post. The next few months are uncertain, but I’m pretty content as I am at the moment.
