"Blizzard warning sends shivers" was the headline of one of the stories in the Holland Sentinel, the newspaper of my hometown of Holland, MI. The caption of the picture above is the following: A fierce storm moving across the Midwest dumped up to 8 inches of snow on parts of Michigan and knocked out power to at least 25,000 homes and businesses on Wednesday, even as the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids warned “the worst is yet to come.” There was also a lot of chatter on Facebook about the impending blizzard and many hopeful wishes (especially for teachers) about the predictions of a Snow Day. In my opinion, as a student, getting a Snow Day is one of the big perks about living in the nation's mitten and this week West Michiganders received two of them. To all of you at home, enjoy the Snow Days and stay warm and safe on the roads!

I miss the snow and the winter season but it gets cold here as well (though not nearly as cold as Holland and there probably won't be any snow). The main reason that I notice the cold here is because it is hard to get and stay warm. There is not heat in public buildings or in the university in general. Even the students don't have heat in their dorms which I find amazing. I asked them how they cope with this and they have many different methods. They all wear long underwear and many layers of clothing, they drink lots of hot water constantly, they stay in bed when they are in their rooms and they use hot water bottles when they sleep. To stay warm in class everyone wears their coats, scarves, hats and gloves with the finger tips cut off so they can still write. Some of them bring hot water or tea to class and I have had a few that bring their hot water bottles (covered in fuzzy animal covers of course) which they plug into the wall to keep them warm.
A few weeks ago I did a class on giving advice and the history of the "Dear Abby" column. The students anonymously wrote letters of their problems to another student in the class who answered it also anonymously. At the end of class, the students could search for their letter and see what suggestions and advice were given for their problem. Here is one problem and answer that one student wrote:

Dear Abby, My hands feel cold all the time. And the school avoid us using things which over 200W. Nothing makes me feel warmer. What should I do?

Do more sport may be the best chose. If possible, you can stay in your bed all day.

Needless to say, the lack of heating while teaching has been an adjustment and I also wear my jacket, scarf, mittens and hat during the entire class period as well as several layers of clothing and on really cold days long underwear, boots and two pairs of socks. When I am at home I camp out by my heater in my living room and read, work on the computer or get underneath my down comforter (a worthwhile investment here). A tiny consolation is that today I bought a ticket to Thailand for January 18. I am sure that any residual winter chills and shivers will be purged on the beach.

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