8 ms·
This is very funny for someone who lives in Minnesota. My wife grew up in Taiwan, and didn't see snow for the first time until she was twenty-one years old. Whe
by tokenadult 14y ago
This is very funny for someone who lives in Minnesota. My wife grew up in Taiwan, and didn't see snow for the first time until she was twenty-one years old. When we moved to Minnesota a year after we were married over in Taiwan, she then got BIG TIME acquainted with snow, as we moved in February (about twenty-eight years ago today, now that I think of it).
Our four children all pile outside in Minnesota winter weather with very minimal clothing on--indoor wear even when there is snow on the ground, and light jackets even when the temperature is well below freezing. My wife spent years being horrified at seeing her half-Taiwanese children going out lightly dressed in temperatures that were unimaginable to her when she was growing up, while I just smiled and said, "Our children are just reflecting their Norwegian ancestry." Today we've all learned to deal with the cold.
My wife and I had a very enjoyable walk to the public library (one mile out, one mile back) yesterday, and I reflected that she has proved her adaptability by living so much of her life in weather that she never experienced at all in childhood. Personally, my second stay in Taiwan (1998-2001) seems to have permanently reset my body's thermostat, so much so that I NEVER feel hot anywhere in the United States, but now feel cold from time to time during winter in Minnesota. I'm probably more adapted to Taipei's semitropical climate now. But whatever the weather trade-offs, it's a delight to be outdoors, and I encourage our children and myself to get out of the house every day, in all seasons, wherever we live. When we do that, we have the children WITH us, because we want them to experience the different sights and sounds as we are on the move. I have not tried what the interesting submitted article specifically mentions, leaving a baby carriage (pram) outdoors while the baby is immobile. That sounds a bit radical to me, but apparently it works in its cultural context.
- b0o 14y agoWhen I go to Taiwan in the winter, everyone's wearing thick coats, and its only about 50-70F, that's perfect weather in California, and there I was just in shorts and a t-shirt. I stopped and conformed to wearing at least a jacket after I kept getting odd looks everywhere I went, also my grandma kept yelling at me to wear more than just shorts. But I'd probably die in minnesota.
- Retric 14y agoI remember once as a kid trying to setup a sprinkler to ice a hill at ~(-15c/5f). I spent around 45 minutes puttering around out there in what was soon a wet shirt and long pants. I would then warm up for a while inside and then try again. PS: Next day, I wanted to try again, but the hose ended up freasing that night. I remember my Mom being less than pleased with the idea I did not want to ware a jacket because it was just going to get wet.
- matwood 14y agoWhat's the humidity like in Minnesota? When I lived in CO (very dry) it had to get very cold before it felt cold as opposed to living the south where humid 50Fs feels really cold.
- michael_h 14y agoI would assume that humidity in the 'land of 10000 lakes' is fairly high. EDIT: ~76% for February: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/online/ccd/avgrh.html http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/online/ccd/avgrh.html
- obviouslygreen 14y agoYes, the humidity here is usually high. It makes the summers feel warmer than they otherwise would and the winters colder (though the wind definitely plays a part in the latter as well).
- dasil003 14y agoThe summers can get miserable, but the winters are pretty dry actually because when temperatures drop so low it takes the excess moisture out of the air. It doesn't feel anything like a Seattle or London piercing cold at similar temperatures. Of course that's a bit like Phoenix residents saying "yeah, it's 115°, but it's a dry heat"
- LargeWu 14y agoIt's not the humidity in Minnesota and upper plains winters that gets you, it's the wind. 15-20 degrees is chilly, but perfectly manageable. However, add a stiff breeze to that and it becomes truly cold. Add wind to <0 F temps and it becomes downright dangerous. It quickly moves beyond feeling cold to feeling pain, like sharp needles being poked into your skin.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- lifeisstillgood 14y agoFresh air is absolutely the vital glue for a happy life. Teaching our kids to just go for a walk each day is probably worth two MBAs in life success and happiness
- dhughes 14y agoA co-worker of mine and his wife adopted a baby from China, he said when he and other western people went there, and occasional trips back there, they were shocked at the heat! Not the outside temperature but inside he said anywhere they went whether inside a bus or a hotel it was boiling hot all the time, thermostats set at 25C or even 30C!
- olalonde 14y agoUh!? Your friend probably hasn't been to southern China. Heating is rather uncommon in Guangdong or Guangxi for example, even inside apartments or restaurants. I recently traveled to Guilin (Guangxi) and usually had to keep my winter jacket on when eating in restaurants. My Shenzhen apartment doesn't have heating as well so when it gets close to 0, better have warm clothes.
- dhughes 14y agoI figured it would be the other way around people in the south art of China, which I think is where my co-worker went, would be hot so people would be accustomed to heat. My cousin married a guy from Australia and it was funny to see the reaction to certain temperatures. My cousin is used to winters here which get to about -25C but in Australia (Canberra I think it was) she said people wore winter coats when it was +20C, to them it was bitterly cold she said. It makes sense that you acclimatize to a warm climate I wish I could live someplace warm :(