In Spain, 31 August is still summer in every sense of the word. The heat, the beach, the beach bars still open, people reluctant to go back. For many, ‘la rentrée’ is a word associated with 10 September at the very earliest. The rhythm of August in Spain is a world of its own: everything is slower, later, longer.
Here in Switzerland, things haven’t been like that for weeks now. Children have been back at school for weeks in many cantons. Public transport was back to being crowded in August. The days are already noticeably shorter. There’s a feeling that autumn is on its way even before autumn has truly arrived. The country is back to running at full speed, and anyone keeping an eye on the clock, the letterbox or their work diary can tell.
What’s hardest to get used to, at least in the first few years, is that in Switzerland the end of summer isn’t a lingering state of mind. It’s a specific date. On Monday, you’re back. And if you haven’t returned, it’s everyone else who makes you feel out of step: the neighbour who’s already back in work mode, the doctor who already has appointments available in September, the supermarket that’s already put the fondues on display.
Spending years here teaches you to come to terms with that. But on a certain 31 August, whilst you check your mobile and see that it’s still 35 degrees back home and people are still at the beach, a smile you can’t quite explain slips across your face.