Winter is Coming

It is true. Winter is once again coming to Mendoza. I guess you could say I am jumping the gun a bit on announcing winter because it is really just Fall. But Winter follows Fall, so I feel like I should go ahead and say Winter is coming - it is inevitable.

A couple of things about Fall and Winter in South America that have been true both years that we have been here. First, I spend all of the Summer (October through April) reminding everyone I know who lives north of Costa Rica that it is Summer where I am and Winter where they are. That joke is not nearly as funny when it is Winter here.

Second, inevitably someone from the U.S. will ask me a variation of the following question: “Isn’t it strange to have Christmas in June?” I was surprised last year when someone asked me this and more surprised when two people asked me this question this year (I thought I only knew one person who would come up with that question). So, just to dispel the myths that abound in the North. The day on which we celebrate Christmas does not change when you pass over the equator. Argentines use the exact same calendar (in Spanish of course) that we use in the U.S. It seems to me that someone would ask what it is like to celebrate Christmas when it is 95 degrees – that seems stranger to me. But, no one asked me that question.

Now that we have that clear – on to the topic of the Day: Fall. We have added some photos of the change of seasons in Mendoza – you can see them here. Pretty spectacular photos (I didn’t take them).