Spanish views from a small town

As September draws to a close, so does my month-long vacation. I give classes all year except Christmas, Holy Week, the last week of June, and the month of September. All year I await an entire month of being able to get things done in the morning AND in the afternoon. Normally, my afternoons are spent in classes, and all errands have to be taken care of in the morning, as well as housework.  So, when I wake up on a September morning, I think about what I need and want to do that day. First of all, breakfast. Then, Facebook. Then, writing when I feel I have something to say. By that time I need to fly to the grocery store if I need an ingredient for lunch, and then I have to make some food. I'll leave the housework for the afternoon. During lunch I think about what I want and need to do in the afternoon. If it's a sunny day, I think about painting with pastels. I also think about reading some more. Perhaps I might go for a drive. Put clothes out to dry in the sun, or hope t...

Housework. Some people are allergic to it. I know I am. But there's allergies and there's allergies. My allergy refers to non-essential cleaning, such as dust, windows, etc. Putting things away is also not my forte. Plates, pots and pans, clothes, and other things and areas are kept rather clean. I don't accumulate five bags of trash, for instance, before taking it outside. But then there are the allergies to housework that belong to college students. I assume many students are the same. Different people living in rented apartments. Classes, study, parties, errands. Then there's probably the eternal, "It was your turn today." "No, my turn is on Tuesdays." "But I exchanged with you last Tuesday because Wednesday was impossble." "I don't have a signed contract mentioning that." And so on. In the end, when you walk into a student apartment, the first thing you notice is the smell. You are forced to ask, "When was the last ...