Okay, dies ist also schon der dritte Eintrag zum Thema "Kälte in Wisconsin". Aber hier ist es wirklich, wirklich, wirklich kalt. Während ich hier in der warmen Stube sitze und innigst hoffe, dass irgendjemand and der Uni so intelligent ist, die Abendkurse ausfallen zu lassen, damit ich nicht noch mal in die Kälte raus muss, habe ich diese Email vom International Student Service bekommen:
Dear international students,
We hope this email finds you warm and safe! We wanted to remind you thatthese extremely cold temperatures can be very dangerous. (...)
Frostbite can occur very quickly,sometimes in only 10 minutes, particularly in the type of cold weather we are currently experiencing.
How should I dress during cold weather?
* Wear layers of loose-fitting, lightweight, warm clothing. Trapped air between the layers will insulate you. Outer garments should be tightly woven, water repellent, and hooded.
* Wear a hat, because 40 percent of your body heat can be lost from your head.
* Cover your mouth to protect your lungs from extreme cold.
* Mittens, snug at the wrist, are better than gloves.
* Try to stay dry and out of the wind. For more cold weather safety tips, visit www.weather.com.
Please be safe and stay warm. (...)
Und hier noch ein paar Fotos vom kalten Madison:
Hier sieht man im Hintergrund das Kapitol und im Vordergrund Lake Menona.
Und weil der See ja zugefroren ist, sitzen die Enten, die da normalerweise fröhlich drauf rumplantschen verwirrt auf der Straße.
Selbst die aufgeplusterten Spatzen versuchen sich warm zu halten. Arme kleine Spätzchen!
7 Kommentare:
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!
Another way to stay warmer, come and study out west, at the pacific coast. Even better would be the south. How did you end up in Wisconsin? Did you have many choices of where to go to study? I love the photos, ducks on the sidewalk:) I had my surgery on my left hand today, the anaesthetist told me to come see her at the hospital tomorrow, she has German newspapers for me, now that I'll have some more time to read. I chat with lots of people and find many are very nice!
Oh, I hope the surgery went well and you'll be better soon.
Having time to read is really nice. Enjoy it!
Yep, nobody had told me how cold it can get in the winter, before I came here. But it is a really good school and I think I would have come anyway. Maybe I would have brought warmer clothes though...
Thank you, the surgery went well, the first little while I'm a bit incapacitated, having only one hand functional. I already used my bandaged hand for some assistance, it let me know real quick, it's not ready for much yet!
For you it must be much more difficult to get places, freezing cold and no car! Can you get rides from friends? At least you have that yummy coffee to look forward to:)
I'm sending you warm greetings and wishes for the fulfillment of your needs and dreams!
Hi Nachtwache,
I hope you relax a little more until you are fully recouperated. Sometimes it is just nice to get pampered by family.
Yep, for me it is not so much fun going shopping without a car in such cold weather. Nobody has really offered me a ride yet either, but I also did not expect that. I think the concept of friendship is quite here than in German (and maybe also Swiss) culture. It's okay, in the end, the coffee keeps me alive.
Hi Nici :), you know I come and visit. My family are more used to getting pampered, than doing it for me. My own fault, I can't sit still and just leave things.
Do you know some people well enough, that you can ask for a ride? Often people are a bit thoughtless and need to have the obvious pointed out to them. Otherwise, I hope you'll get a car or an early spring. It's great that you keep your sense of humor and can see the little blessings, like a yummy specialty coffee!
I know exactly what you mean by not being able to sit still and just leave things. I guess that is also the reason why I just have to go shopping even though the weather is so cold. It's an addiction. :o)
Well, to be fair, I have some very dear friends here. However there are just little everyday things like going grocery shopping. I am spoiled and I love my fresh fruit, milk and vegetables, so I have to go shopping once a week. And of course, I cannot expect anybody to give me a ride every week. Plus, many people I hang out with are male and some of them have their own families, so going grocery shopping with me is not exactly the first thing on their minds. And I can understand that. Maybe it is more of a male-female thingy than a cultural issue. Hmmm. I don't know.
But there is also a part that is definitely related to culture. For example, some people I know do volunteer work through certain organizations and help elderly people in their community with their mail, groceries or run errands for them. Volunteer work is great, honorable and a huge benefit to society. However, it seems strange to me that they overlook when a close friend of them needs help, but they make an effort and go out of their way to help out strangers. This is just very weird to me. It seems as if they don't really do it to help out others, but rather to gain some peace of mind, a good conscience and a perfect self-image - and this is not honorable at all. If you don't care about your friends in need, but help strangers just because it is organized help and valued in society, it is not Nächstenliebe, because you are mainly doing it for yourself. I experienced this with a couple of people I know in the US while I never had an experience like that in Europe, so I think this is a cultural phenomenon.
I agree completely! Many people on this continent seem superficial, nice and friendly, but not really genuine. We often had people say,"Oh, we have to get together", then we'd never hear from them again. I guess it is cultural. I have two close friends now, one got sick, she's bi-polar with skizo tendencies, it was brought on by stress from her son's teen years, we suffered together, the other, Shanon, I met at my job, her dad & stepmom attend the same church as us, she can appear prickly as a hedgehog, but if you gain her trust, she is the nicest, most giving person ever. I wrote about her on my blog, she'd do anything for family and friends. With her, you can't have a superficial connection, she's intense, funny, temperamental ( I calm her ).
What those people do with volunteering, getting a good image and a good feeling, is ultimately selfish.
:P Stay bundled up!
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