Its cold.
Everyone takes a sick pride in it too.
"So Nigel, is this your first Minnesota winter?"
well yes it is
"OH!" (sympathetic look) "well it hasn't really started yet, wait til March". People act like they're sorry that the uninitiated have to suffer so, but I suspect that subconsciously they are rejoicing that someone else now has to suffer like they have since childhood. Apparently by March, it'll still be -10 degrees C but all the snow will have gone a muddy black brown, much like everyone's mood.
Our area is very beautiful right now, but I forgot to take photos right after the snow. One Saturday a couple of weeks back we had seven inches. Liz and I went for a wander around the
neighbourhood on our way back from the cinema sometime past midnight. With all the roads covered in snow it was like wandering in a forest, with just tall trees and houses. All softly illuminated by a multitude of Christmas lights.Unfortunately I didn't capture that on film, but I did photograph the rather more gritty Minneapolis downtown where I work for Ameriprise Financial. Its going very well. My boss is from India so he understands me when I say things like 'Full Stop' (rather then Period) and helped me explain things delicately when a colleague asked if it was appropriate for her 12 year old to be using the word 'Bugger' (he'd been reading Harry Potter)
.Some people at work say they just want me to talk so they can hear my 'beautiful accent'. I can't help but feel slightly used. Seriously though, everyone is very friendly. Unfortunately this means my usual habit of politely ignoring people and pretending that I didn't see them so I don't have to think of something pointless to say doesn't really fly. I've discovered the best way to get myself out of this situation is to say something about how incredibly cold it is outside. This confirms me as a wimpy Brit and pleases everyone.
It's Christmas soon (you may have heard). Personally I've only just recovered from Thanksgiving, but maybe that's the point. A mini binge in readiness for the great Holiday binge. A kind of binge training. This is important because here it isn't just Christmas but Hanukkah and Kwanzaa too, so you really have to be prepared. As I mentioned the houses everywhere are completely decked out in lights, the wreathes on peoples doors are size of Saturn's rings. According to a colleague you can pay up to $1500 to have a professional team come around and add sparkle to your premises. He thought that was ridiculous until he almost broke his neck trying to hang lights from his garage roof. Weighing the $1500 against the potential health care costs it doesn't seem so silly.
Well that's all for now. We hope everyone has a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
