I inevitably fall into a bit of a down period during the summer months in Chile. I really hate summers here because it's so hot and there's no rain. That, added to the fact that I'm still reliving my wonderful trip back in Virginia, makes this time the hardest one to be living in the southern hemisphere.
What does help me get me through these months is after work beers and weekly trips to the produce market to get gorgeous fruit and vegetables to cook. I also took it up a notch this year and joined a gym and got a personal trainer to make sure I stay busy until Fall.
I won't be too much of a downer here because once we get the first rain here and I get a whiff of Autumn air, I'll be rejuvenated. There's something so wonderful about Fall to me. Harvest time is the most wonderful time, in my opinion. I haven't experienced a Virginia fall in four years and I'm going a little bit crazy without it, but I make do with Chilean Fall. This year will be so much better because my job mandates trips to the winery to be a part of the grape harvest (sucks, I know!).
Just being around the changing leaves and the night smell will make me giddy and energized and excited about what's to come.
I remember when I was in high school and my English teacher was going over possible college application essay topics and one was choosing your favorite word. Mine was then and most likely always will be harvest. There is nothing that makes me feel more comfortable and at home than that word. It makes me think of Virginia Falls and annual trips to the Farm Aid concert and horses and apples and orange-colored leaves and just pure happiness.
So, amidst this wretched heat, I am comforted by the thought of Autumn, which of course makes me think of one of my two favorite Canadian musicians, Neil Young:
