Being freshly relocated here to Minnesota from the South has been quite an adjustment. Most of the people that I have talked to about my previous location go straight to the conversation of, other than my accent, the weather.
I'm used to lows of 30 degrees, and summer highs of 100. Sure, I can handle sweltering temperatures no problem, but the ominous threat of incoming Arctic conditions seems to be more difficult to deal with than anything else in the process of relocation. Previously, school would be cancelled for a week straight if there was even a threat of snowfall. I've learned that will no longer be the case.
Warnings of torrential snow and sub-zero temperatures are given as if the general populace is doing me a favor of giving information about local weather patterns. In reality, they're intimidating me.
To my understanding, as soon as winter starts in southeastern Minnesota, everything freezes over and the temperatures instantly drop drastically. I'm starting to worry that my current wardrobe won't be warm enough in the glacial climate.
However, I've realized that what people see as the biggest adjustment is completely out of my control. I can control how I meet friends, or finding the best local restaurants, but I can't control what the weather decides to do. All it comes down to is acceptance. I was used to my previous environment, so all the seasons presented themselves naturally. I had realistic expectations that would be fulfilled.
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Now, as we are slowly easing into the winter season, I have no idea what to expect, and that's frightening. I hear how much everyone dreads the cold, and I don't know how chilly these temperatures actually are. I can assure you our definitions of "cold" do not match up.
In addition, a normal snowy day here seems to be a total of 12 inches. I've only seen a maximum of 8 inches of snow at once. All I can do now is experience my first Minnesota winter and learn to live in it.
Check in with me around mid-January to make sure I haven't frozen over.
