When I was in seventh standard I had a Russian pen friend. We corresponded infrequently mainly due to the fact that e-mail was unknown and snail mail took ages to reach each other. Nargiza used to tell me about her hobbies, which included skiing, and ice-skating and I replied that I have never seen snow in my life. Came her reply after a few months “Look into your refrigerator…that’s what snow looks likeâ€. At that time I laughed “ May be that’s the only way I could ever see snow. Was I ever wrong…..
Now I am in Philly and this year the winter had been unusually harsh. The temperature here has been consistently below zero for the past few weeks. Its cold and windy and it snows most of the times. All the people on the road are bundled up and “Isn’t it really cold today†is a common starting point for most conversations.
A few things I have learnt with my tryst with snowfall.
· It sounds amazing but it IS warmer when it is snowing than when it is not.
· You have unusual problems when it snows: Last week , there was about 8 inches of snowfall. I came out of the apartment early morning trying to make my way to my regular bus stop and. …and I could not find the way. The whole ground as well as the walk ways was covered by a 4 inch thick layer of snow. I stood there trying to remember how the walkway turns so that I would not step off the walkway into muddy ground.
· Snow looks beautiful. You can walk for a mile in the snow, curse it as you shudder in your jacket, moan about the cold or be irritated by slippery roads but once you get into a building and pause to look back at the snow covered grounds and you are struck again by its pristine beauty.
· Snow is fine. But melted snow +mud=brown slippery slush is definitely out.
· You begin to really appreciate warm weather. Last week it was 4 degree Celsius and we were all smiles at “Oh it’s a wonderful day today…â€
· Never miss a bus on a snowy day.
· Snow looks best in the refrigerator. It can be allowed outside perhaps once a year.
