MENSTRUAL MOTHER NATURE

Yes, it’s the month of April, that month where the flowers begin to bloom, birds chirp in the sky, the season that brings daylight and warming temperatures-spring but the question that we all want to know is: when will you finally settle down?

One minute it feels like 40 degrees, the next, pouring with rain and this constant flip-of-a-coin weather, reminded me of a song. I highly recommend you take a listen to “Hot N Cold” by Katy Perry in order to fully understand where I am going with this.

As a 1st year student stepping into this new environment, I have never experienced such a bipolar place in my life. I’m sure all of you have opened up your curtains and gazed outside into a beautiful clear-blue sky.

Thoughts of “what am I going to wear today?” rush through your mind. You choose a snazzy outfit, try it on, walk out and by the time you get from your room to your exit it’s as if time has quickly accelerated, bringing dark thunderclouds, pumping cold air and…it begins to rain.

Now I’m not saying that rain is particularly a bad thing, I mean I’ve seen people run at the opportunity to get soaked by this substance and many areas in Africa pray for rain almost every day in times of need, but please, Mother Nature, at least give us some time to plan for these things.

“It’s really annoying because you leave res in the morning with warm clothes and all of a sudden it gets extremely hot and feels like you might pass out from walking up the hill in the heat” said Samantha Ross-an English and Drama student.

According to the Grahamstown weather report, the next few days will still be a roller-coaster of changes. This week coming up looks like the end to Mother Nature’s worries since temperatures will be rising from 18 to 29 degrees from Wednesday onwards. But what goes up-must always come down.

The weather seems to be the topic on everyone’s mind and from every angle of Rhodes you will always hear a person mention something about their frustration towards it, “it’s irritating and frustrating when I have to be prepared for four seasons in one. It changes and swings all the time” said Jess Van Vuuren-a Bjourn student.

Even groups form in the middle of a room or in the cafeteria to complain. So now it seems that the topic of “weather” doesn’t always have to aid you in awkward moments but can be a great way to engage in debate, compliment someone’s style, make new friends and let out some steam.

Wow, Grahamstown is really a place where leaders learn, not just studious but life skills as well.

The best part about this situation is seeing what people actually do decide to wear once they leave the building. So far I’ve witnessed strange but stylish outfits, ranging from shorts and a T-shirt with a lady-bird umbrella to fur boots, a strappy-top to slip slops with a beanie.

Prof I. Meiklejohn, the head of the Geography department, had a lot of explaining to do when I approached him, in the evening, asking for an explanation to this weather madness.

“The first point is because we are right on the southern part of the country. It is here, at the bottom of South Africa where we get all the frontal systems that come through which is why we receive a lot of cold fronts. The second point is a key thing since Grahamstown sits in a little area where we are at the intersection between where the summer and winter rain systems lie so in a sense our climate is very variable since we are affected by both.”

I’m sure you’re all heard of the term, Climate change, which can be described as a change in various patterns, largely brought upon by increased levels of carbon dioxide, but this constant change made me think about the way in which our world is transforming all the time.

Even coming to a university town is a change in itself and all around, it seems as if time is just rushing by too fast. Before you know it winter will be over and that heat wave will be forever shining down and making us feel as if we are melting.

“There’s nothing we can do” said Prof I.Meiklejohn “just appreciate the long summer days, we only have two minutes less sunshine than Cape Town.”