Seasons

            One interesting aspect of life in the mountains of Central Asia is seasons. Now, I know, seasons are pretty common to the human experience. The earth isn’t straight on its axis, so any location on the planet is going to experience regular changes in temperature and climate on a yearly basis. But much of the modern world has relegated seasons to a small part of life that really changes very little on a day to day basis. We live and work in air conditioned and heated buildings, import foods grown far afield or in greenhouses, and do most of our entertainment and recreation ensconced safely in buildings that shield us from all but the most extreme weather. Sure, the trip from the car door to other doors is more or less pleasant based on if it is winter or summer, but for the most part even a wardrobe hardly needs to change more than one or two layers.

            Here seasons matter. We live life in something of a rhythm we are just not used to in the US. We open the windows in the late spring, turn on the a/c in summer on hot days, close the windows again in the fall, and turn on the heaters in the winter. We eat cherries, strawberries, apricots, apples, lemons, peaches, and pears based on when they ripen in our yard or show up in the bazaar.

Even our work takes a yearly rhythm in a season. Spring is when we work to start up and inspect all the projects of the coming year, hearing about the damage and disaster from the winter. In the summer we work full days and travel up and down all the valleys, implementing projects, delivering materials, spending nights and days out on the road. In the fall we scramble to finish up each project before it is too cold to continue, spend a little leftover money on small repairs in villages, and start a list for next year. In the winter we pause, except for a few disaster responses we get to rest a bit and take stock of what we have done in the previous year and what our next year is going to look like.            

There is something reassuring and peaceful in a seasonal life. Strawberries are pretty special when they come in, a reason for celebrating even. Winter is a lot more enjoyable when you can remember how tough travel and visiting can be when it’s really hot, summer is more fun when you enjoy turning off the heaters in the house and opening up the windows. Work changes from season to season, keeping boredom at bay. Even our leisure and recreation changes from season to season, moving indoors when it’s cold and back outside when it warms up.

Now, we are just as eager as anyone else to take advantage of a/c and central heat when we get back to the US. We enjoy an indoor pool (or waterpark) as much as the next family in January and look forward to any Western grocery store where fruit is a year-round advantage, but there is something enjoyable in the coming and going of seasons and the pattern of life overseas. At least we will keep saying this to ourselves until our next trip to Great Wolf Lodge.