11: cold

I'm not sure why it feels so very cold to me here in the Mitten. My roommates in Gone West keep the heat on 55 degrees - I get to turn it up to 60 for my shower - and while that is cold, it doesn't feel unbearable.

 

But here, for some reason, when it is 66 degrees in a house, I am downright freezing. Freezing. As in, give me a blanket and a comforter and I will sit on the couch in a huddle.

 

I think it's the outside walls. My parents' house is not so bad for this, because it is reasonably new and efficient and the walls are not icy to the touch, but in an older house, I literally start shivering. INSIDE THE HOUSE.

 

This leads me to something I have thought about many times in the last few years: how entirely different one's wardrobe is, depending on where you live.

 

I've been spoiled, in the last few years, living in a place that doesn't get that cold and where I have a car.

 

I don't need the snowboots I need in the Mitten. I don't need the many thick layers. I don't even have a good warm winter coat.

 

On the other hand, it rains, and so I have many pairs of waterproofed leather boots. I have lots of cardigan sweaters for work. I have sweatertights. I have varying levels of rain gear.

 

When I lived in Rwanda, I didn't have any of that. I had skirts and trousers for the day. I had a light raincoat. I had a fleece for evening. Other than running shoes, I had almost no close-toed shoes.

 

But right now, I live in a place where it rains and it doesn't get that cold. And I kind of forgot, coming to the Mitten, that it would be so very cold. I need to re-think the clothes I bring with me when I come here, and maybe I need to buy some warmer ones.