Coping With The Weather?

While I was watching my British news show, the reporter said in a flustered voice, “England has had flurries of snow all night!” My Mum told me it stopped after around 12 hours. As she said this, I couldn’t help but scowl while looking out of the window at the snow I have walked through for the past two weeks. I said to them, “yeah, still very snowy here in New York!”

While many of you may think of me as an old, scrawny Michael Caine, who says “Bah! Humbug!” you are wrong. In fact, I love the snow. The snowball fights, the crisp crunch of newly laid snow; it’s great. And the first and second day of snow even made the ‘exotic’ town of Hicksville a sight for sore eyes. However, this freeze and constant flurry of snow is now at the stage of ice and ‘slusk’ (like many of our Scandinavian friends may say), which are beginning to make the long walk home and through campus a very stressful voyage.

I am not alone. Ian Jonson, a freshman Undecided major from Sweden, hasn’t stopped complaining ever since the melting of snow began.

“I hate when the snow melts, slusk just gets everywhere!” Jonson said. For the first time, I would probably agree with a Swede!

Being an international student from England, I am not used to the severity of the snow here in New York, or the briskness of the cold. It’s nuts! I guess the Swedes and the overwhelming number of Norwegians are all used to this (because they live in igloos and have coats made out of yetis, right?). But, overseas students from China, India, South America, and also England, are at a disadvantage. While they are still settling in with the move from home, and not having their friends and parents nearby, they are compelled to join forces with the winter freeze of New York. It can really make you feel homesick.

So, how do we deal with our first snowy and arctic weather experience here in N.Y.? Well, a pair of boots. These are essential: great in the snow to get through it safely, as well as having the grip to sustain the killer instinct of ice, preventing an embarrassing and frankly dangerous fall; obviously a bear- like coat, which keeps the warmth in; a bobble hat is also very useful in this penetrating subzero weather. Another thing that has become an excellent addition to my ‘winter collection’ is a snood! All of the Scandinavians — which I claim are my friends but who probably can’t stand the sight of me — have these amazing cold repellent garments. I definitely recommend a snood**! And, of course, although Valentine’s Day has passed, you can always get a companion who likes to cuddle and use them as warmth!