Seasonal Confusion

Everything you learned in science class: forget about it.  Generally, we consider autumn (in the southern hemisphere) and spring (in the northern hemisphere) to begin on or around March 21 – the vernal or autumnal equinoxes.  But not here.  General consensus in Australia is that autumn begins on March 1 and ends on May 31, with winter commencing on June 1.

Ok, so maybe the weather patterns are a bit different here and it makes more sense to do it that way?  Maybe.  But not so far this year.  We are now in late April, which by Aussie rules means we are over half way through autumn and winter is just five short weeks away.  But it doesn’t feel like autumn to me.  Do you know why?  I’ll tell you why with a play by play of my week.

Monday.  Monday Oscar and I went to Maroubra Beach.  It was hot.  It was clear.  We soaked up the sun and ate some schnitzel.  Yummy.

Tuesday.  Tuesday I went for what turned out to be a nearly 5 hour walk.  I walked from my home to Bondi Junction where I met Kathryn.  Then we walked to Bondi Beach and up North Bondi a bit.  Then back.  When I got back, I was sweaty and gross.  Not very autumnal if you ask me.

Wednesday.  Wednesday I went over to Coogee Beach- got some color, read a book, drank a Coke, watched the topless men walking around.  Yummy.

Thursday.  Kangaroos!  Thursday was zoo day.  Kathryn and I took the ferry over to the Taronga Zoo.  Saw some kangaroos, koalas, emus, and all of the other weird Aussie animals which most Americans think are science-fiction.  More details to follow in a later blog post.

Friday.  That’s yesterday for me.  Oscar and I had brunch at the coffee shop with the really cute baristas.  Then we hopped over to Tamarama Beach (lovingly referred to as Glamarama because of the high proportion of homosexuals there).  It was hot.  It was sunny.  In fact, it was too hot and too sunny.  We didn’t last two hours.  It was too much.  How is this autumn?

Did I mention I was wearing shorts (or board shorts) and flip-flops for most of this?  I think the Aussies are a bit confused about how seasons work.

Also, that whole groundhog thing in the States:  that’s just as stupid.