Three Day Weekend

The weather in Athens is whacked out. Last Friday, Kate and I went to the market wearing thin cotton shirts and no jackets. Spring was unmistakably in the air. Or so we thought. Today, one week later, I am home from school on a snow day. The snow started last night around 6pm and fell quickly, coating the trees, grass and even the streets with thick, wet snow. By 9pm, it seemed to have stopped, but a couple of inches had already accumulated. In outlying areas, the snow was at least a foot deep. Athens is set in a valley surrounded by mountains, so when the center gets snow, the rest of the area is in deep trouble. Despina was out tutoring a family that lives on the outskirts on the city and ended up stuck at their house. No cabs would come pick her up, traffic was horrendous, and the snow was still falling. Around midnight, she finally made it home. Thank goodness. She would have been stuck there all weekend if not. Sometime during the night, the snow began again, and it’s still coming down. I didn’t get this much snow the whole time I lived in Germany. I don’t know what is going on, and the people who live here seem even more confused than I am. The news is showing nothing but the snow. Everything is closed – schools, businesses, the airport, and even the National Road. People are needing snow chains to travel even the main roads, and some people were stuck out on the roads all night. This city is not at all prepared for this kind of weather. Not that I can say that this city is actually prepared for much of anything. But definitely not an accumulation of snow. It’s kind of pretty to look out the window and see the lemons hanging on the tree in our front yard capped with snow, and I’m more than thankful that it happened on a Friday and I didn’t have to go to the elementary school. (Trust me, I was standing on the porch last night begging loudly for God to let it keep snowing enough to cancel school). But I really hope it stops soon. This wasn’t the weather I signed up for when I decided to come to Athens for the year. And not having any hot water and having all six of us stuck in the house with nothing to do really isn’t all that exciting. I’ll try not to worry about that for now though. I’ll just be thankful that I’m not dealing with small snotty children and keep my fingers crossed that the whacked out weather patterns continue and tomorrow it’s 75 degrees and sunny.