For out-of-state University of Idaho students, especially ones from warmer states like California or Florida, adjusting to the cold can be a challenge.
I was born and raised in Florida, which means I have a very different opinion on the definition of cold. This thirty degree weather we”ve been having in Moscow lately? It”s not just cold, it”s freezing to a Florida native.
In Florida, people would break out heavy winter coats when the temperature reaches the low “60s, so I don”t know many people from back home who would be able to brace Moscow”s end-of-fall, beginning-of-winter weather.
Alex Brizee
I didn”t know how I was going to adjust to the different climate and the idea of actually having seasons when I first moved to Moscow.
However, I”ve actually adjusted quite well and without breaking out my fur cargo jacket, too.
Although the cold and snow might be overwhelming to some students, there is one ultimate trick to adjusting to this chilled climate.
In order to adjust to the cold, you first need to adjust your attitude. When I told my friends back home about the recent snowfall we had, they were just as amazed as I was. Even though I”ve only seen snow about four or five times in my life, getting to experience the first snowfall of the year in Moscow was magical to me. I felt like I was in a winter wonderland.
Having a positive attitude toward the cold and embracing the beautiful elements of living in a place where the seasons actually change helps immensely. Taking a moment to appreciate the beauty of snow does a lot more good than complaining about how wet and gray the sky is all of the time.
My friends who have experienced their fair share of cold winters warm me that my love for snow will wear off when winter really starts and I have to walk to class in large amounts of snowfall, but I don”t think that will be the case.
As someone who has never experienced an actual winter, I cannot wait to see more snow.
A positive attitude can turn someone who grew up in a warm climate into someone who learns to love the cold and the snow, even after months of it.
I still haven”t become used to seeing students walk around campus wearing short skirts or Chaco”s when it”s 40 degrees outside – the truth about weather is that different regions just have different ideas of what it means to be cold.
Florida”s summers, for example, are just as bad as Idaho”s winters.
Seasons in Florida really do not exist. All we have is summer – an excruciatingly hot and humid summer.
When I first moved to Idaho this summer and spent some time in Twin Falls, everyone was talking about how hot of a summer the were having. I wanted to laugh at the idea that they thought it was hot out. If you can wear jeans and you aren”t sweating the second you walk outside, then it really isn”t a hot summer.
Every region has their particular weather and their idea of what hot or cold really means, but that doesn”t mean the way you define cold, or the way you feel about the cold, can”t change.
As a new Idahoan, I”m starting to learn that the ideal climate is all about balance, and that when it comes to how you feel about the weather, it”s all about perception.
Alex Brizee can be reached at [email protected]