Zen: On Boston weather
2-3-14
And yet, another snow day. This winter has been a harsh one, especially from a Southern Californian's perspective.
When I first got to school in the fall of 2012, a lot of people asked me why in the world I left the land of eternal sunshine to suffer my next six years in Boston's gloomy winters and sweltering summers. I laughed it off, saying that it would be nice to experience real seasons for once -- to watch the leaves change color, see snow falling for the first time, make my first snowman.
And it was nice at first. Boston's fall weather is comparable to California's -- 60-70 degrees, pleasant breezes, and plenty of sunshine. However, this lasts only about two weeks, and everything goes downhill from there.
The first thing that really surprised me about Boston weather was the wind, which is relentless especially in the winter. If it's sunny, it's windy. If it's cloudy, it's windy. If it's raining, it's windy. Basically, it's almost always windy, and if you have long hair like I do, it's also always annoying.
Another thing that surprised me about the weather was the snow. Before coming to Boston, I'd only seen snow once or twice before during family vacations. On the first night of snow during my freshman year (on a rare windless night), I discovered that looking directly at the sky is a bad idea. Snow covers all horizontal surfaces, and it makes no exception for your eyes if you happen to be staring straight up. Despite this minor setback, I still enjoyed watching the snow form unblemished white sheets on every street, tree, table, and bench around campus. Fresh snow feels exactly like it looks -- soft, fluffy, and weightless. I still can't resist running my hands through new snowbanks when I see them.
Living in Boston has really skewed my sense of weather. Nowadays, I'm ecstatic when the temperature rises above freezing or when winds drop below 10 mph. And while the snow is nice on the first day it falls, it ends up as dirty piles of hard ice over the next few days. The nice thing about snow, though, is that it brings the possibility of canceled classes.
Here's to hoping.
--Zen
