I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day. ~Elwyn Brooks White
From August to the beginning of September, it is the main holiday season here in Spain. Tourists flood into the country and populate the beaches with their white torsos and swiftly turn into crispy prawns and rosy tomatoes. Many businesses close, civil servants take leave and the judicial system grinds to a holt. The radio DJs leave listeners with a rivetting playlist of 10 songs, which are played over and over and over again, while they disappear on holiday. Past series and movies are played throughout the day on television, so if you missed the first season of "Friends", don't worry because it'll be back on in no time, when they've played through all of the 10 seasons and start again at Season 1 Episode 1. For the third time. This month.
My "foreigner" status must be as obvious as a teabag amongt coffee beans at this time of year. While all the locals are on cruise-control, holiday mode, I'm itching to get productive. Having already been on holiday since the end of June, I've almost forgotten what my profession is and I'm raring to go and get back into "normal" life. Although I would usually class myself as a balanced Type AB personality, this is when my Type A personality shines through. So I try to resist the snail pace at which everything is done in this heat and get busy.
For the third year running, after a few days of making a huge effort to get moving again, I succumb to the reality that this is never going to happen. Nothing productive will be achieved and will only get frustrated. I look down my street and while all my neighbours' cars are parked outside their houses, indicating that they are home, there is no one in sight. No children screaming, no pools splashing, no sunbathers in the garden, no cyclists or joggers. The blinds are all drawn down in their houses and only a small, open crack at the bottom of the window indicates any life behind those shutters. Every year I ask myself the same question: What do they do all day indoors??
At about 6pm, the heat relents and a fractionally cooler spell begins. All of a sudden, there's the noise of blinds being opened, car engines starting as people drive off into town or to the beach, children playing games with their friends and the chatter of village gossip as people stand out in the street. They tomar un fresco or get some fresh air, which they must need having been cooped up all day! Now that they have relaxed and avoided the heat, they are ready to go out and enjoy themselves, socialise, exercise, eat and drink.
This foreigner clearly has a lot to learn from these wise locals. Here is a nation of people who saber vivir - they know how to live . They generally live long and healthy lives and I´m sure high blood pressure is not as common as those from higher-paced worlds. So perhaps it's time for me to take a leaf from their book. To listen to nature and act according to the season. If it' too hot, keep the house cool, pick up a book, grab a drink and sit in the shade of a tree in the garden and just enjoy life. Soon, autumn will be here and summer will be a distant dream. ¡Viva la vida!
