Of Lambs and Lions

UC3M, Leganés, Spain

¡Bienvenido al marzo! Traditionally (in my part of Canada at least) people would say that if March came in like a lion it would go out like a lamb, and that the converse was also true. Of course, this is a saying from a place where lion-esque days are fairly common in March (and like 8 or 9 others months as well). For those unfamiliar with this saying, lamb indicates a nice day in terms of the weather, and lion therefore is a bad weather day. I noted a couple years ago that March came in like a lion, however, I failed to mention anything about how the end of March turned out… obviously by that point, I didn’t care.

Here in Spain it is a bit of a different story. Pretty much everyday is a lamb by Canadian standards for March. In fact, I’m fairly resolved that winter here is pretty much over and these ~20°C days are going to continue to warm up to the point where I’m going to get pissed off that I left most of my shorts back in Canada. It’s at that point where it is too warm in the sun to wear a jacket, but too cool in the shade (with the breeze) to really go that long in a t-shirt. It’s a period that I’m used to experiencing in May at home… only there nature usually gets the last laugh with a late-in-the-season snow storm just for fun.

Of course, the lamb and lion concept could be applied to other aspects of one’s life. Say happiness, stress, financial standing, etc. I know that today, I am feeling pretty good, not that stressed, and while rent is due, not burdened for money. I may be singing a different tune on the 31st however. Thankfully at that point, for better or for worse, my presentation and my thesis will be over. So while, the days leading up to the 31st will likely be some of the most stressful days in my life, by the end of the month I will likely have entered a euphoric, trance-like stupor. Since we have already received our last scholarship installment, the money has only one direction to go in, so that may be a concern at that point. But I do hope that the weather holds, because that is also the day/night I am flying back to the UK. Leaving Spain for an unspecified amount of time. Unless I come back after graduation for a visit, which is a possibility, it may be quite a while before I’m back here. Any way you slice it, this will be an interesting month. And by interesting I of course mean exquisitely stressful.

Written by Colin Bate