The winters

Yeah, so I've been slacking off quite a bit on posting. Got busy with coursework.

Where I'm from, the weather is mild and the air is moist, due to being near the sea. It rains a lot, which bothers some people who live there. It snows maybe twice during the winter and if it gets down to 15 degrees F, that's considered SO COLD.

Where I've moved to (the Great Frozen Northland of Minnesota), the air is bone-dry in winter. In summer, it is the opposite. This is due to the plethora of lakes present here. In winter, they're all frozen and a chill wind comes down from (blame) Canada. In summer, they're liquid and grow algae and let their moisture evaporate into the air, making it quite humid.

The winters, OH, the winters! It is not unusual to see -20, and that is WITHOUT the windchill factor. With windchill, -30 is possible. If you've never experienced this kind of cold, it's really hard to understand just how it feels. My first winter here was eye-opening (and bone chilling), and my second winter was still shocking.

One evening I was leaving my night class and the wind was freezing and blowing. I tromped across the snow-covered parking lot to my car, my eyes nearly shut against the cold. Particles of hard, frozen snow (the snow is lightweight here and blows around, not like WA where it stays on the ground) were pelting my face like BBs. I learned to not have my mouth open, or icy cold wind would blow straight down my throat, making my lungs tighten uncomfortably. I learned to jam an unflattering knit cap upon my head before stepping outside. I realized that unless I wanted my hands to look like an elephant's skin, I needed to start wearing gloves before venturing out. I bought a humidifier to counteract the horridly dry air that comes in through the heating system. These are things I never had to think about before moving here.

I'd rather have the rain.