Zurich - Autumn

Autumn Sky

Autumn seems to have arrived very quickly this year; usually there’s a bit of a transition, but this time we seem to have gone straight from summer to autumn. We haven’t been given a chance to get our heads round the change.

I’m slowly adapting back to the rain. On the first downpour each year that I’m in Zurich, I’m always taken aback at just how wet I get. I exit the bus or tram, the rain drenches me immediately, my sopping skirt sucks itself to my legs and I feel like I’m barely wearing anything at all. How did that happen? Now, I’m just back to that state of resignation that this is just how it is for the next few months.

I’ve swapped back from dresses into trousers and am returning to that state of annoyance at all the effort it takes to dress in the morning and to wear all these clothes. I’m so used to life in Egypt where I just pull a light and loose dress quickly over my head and that’s it. Now, if I want to go swimming, it’s a right hassle with all these items (socks/tights, jeans, heavy shoes, t-shirt, cardigan, coat…). I swear it all takes a lot longer.

To my surprise, I’m now using a duvet on my bed. Last winter the flat was too hot because I couldn’t turn the heating down (that’s been sorted now), so I just used the bedspread. Then, this summer, I also needed only the bedspread because the nights were fairly warm (not hot like in Egypt, though, although I did miss having the air conditioning that I have in my flat in Egypt).

The open air swimming pools closed for the season this weekend, which also to me signifies the end of summer.

I’m suddenly getting mosquito bites for some strange reason. I think I must have one trapped in my flat that is using me as its sole feeding ground. I have all my mosquito repellent in Egypt – I’m not used to needing it here.

But along with this sense of a shift, I also feel the anticipation of events starting up in Zurich. Zurich is pretty good for having lots of things to do, but now that autumn is settling in, we have indoor events such as the Film Festival at the end of September / beginning of October, Cirque de Soleil is performing, the Blue Man Group are here, so are some dance events (I went to see Pearls of Ballet just the other week by the Singapore Dance Group). So, although outdoor options are dwindling, indoor activities are ramping up to see in the time between now and the ski season.

It’s this choice of cultural events that I miss in Egypt, but I guess a large part of that is due to the poverty in Egypt where most people are more concerned about finding money to eat rather than spending their precious resources on luxuries. I am lucky to live the life that I do.