{"id":26554,"date":"2015-11-24T08:36:08","date_gmt":"2015-11-24T13:36:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/?p=26554"},"modified":"2015-11-24T08:36:08","modified_gmt":"2015-11-24T13:36:08","slug":"winter-101","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2015\/11\/24\/winter-101\/","title":{"rendered":"Winter 101"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guys, it\u2019s almost that time of year again.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

You\u2019re probably thinking:<\/p>\r\n

\u2018Oh, it\u2019s almost finals season!\u2019 or\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\r\n

\u2018Oh, it\u2019s almost Christmas!' or\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\r\n

\u2018Ooh, it\u2019s almost the holidays!\u2019\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\r\n

Me: \u2018Oh god\u2026.it\u2019s almost winter.\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"12282909_10208132160332680_767482082_n\"<\/a>
single digit temperatures. it's official.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

And guess what I woke up to on Sunday morning?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"THAT'S<\/a>
THAT'S RIGHT, \u00a0HAIL IN MY BACKYARD<\/strong>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

Here\u2019s the reason behind my less-than-enthusiastic response to the upcoming season:<\/p>\r\n

I didn\u2019t grow up in Canada. The \u201cwinter\u201d temperatures I experienced for the last nineteen years in Karachi only ever went down to around 19\u00b0 C in the mornings, only to jump back up to a warm 25\u00b0 C\u00a0come afternoon. Temperatures have never<\/em>, in all the city\u2019s history, dipped into the negatives. So you can see just how wholly unprepared I was for the piles of snow, ice and bitingly cold winds Jack Frost unleashes on Canada every winter.<\/p>\r\n

First-year international students, if this is your first winter in Canada, here\u2019s a few things I found handy when trying to acclimatize to the weather:<\/p>\r\n\r\n

    \r\n\t
  1. Knowledge is power<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

    Warning: when it comes to winter, you may have to tweak your expectations just a tiny little bit. As much as we all wish winter was just cute sweaters and hot chocolate and pretty blankets of snow, the reality is, things can get ugly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n

    \"expectation\"<\/a>
    expectation \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 source:\u00a0http:\/\/tiredofcarryon.tumblr.com\/post\/68657917677\/snow<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n
    \"reality.<\/a>
    reality.
    Photo Credit: Darren Calabrese,National Post.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

    So you always want to be two steps ahead. Investing in a good winter jacket<\/a> and boots is key. I know they can be pricey but believe me, you\u2019ll need them. If you\u2019re thinking of purchasing winter gear when you go back home for the holidays, unless you live somewhere that gets as cold as Toronto, it\u2019s probably not worth it. I bought a \u2018winter coat\u2019 from home thinking it seemed warm enough to last me until snowfall began. It barely lasted through October\u2019s light chill.<\/p>\r\n

    Buy the heavy padded jacket. You\u2019ll thank me later. Once that\u2019s done, it\u2019s always good to layer up<\/a> just in case you feel extra cold. Take it from the girl who wore five layers of clothing the first time it got to -1 degrees. Some more of my winter essentials include:<\/p>\r\n

    a giant scarf to protect my face from the wind,<\/p>\r\n

    an abundance of tissues tucked away in pockets for the inevitable drippy nose I get after being exposed to the cold,<\/p>\r\n

    and onesies. Upon my arrival in Canada I was introduced to the concept of onesies, a piece of clothing I had thought was strictly reserved for tiny humans but... apparently not! My fleece-lined onesie has hands-down been the cosiest thing I have ever owned and has been instrumental in keeping me warm on those chilly winter nights.<\/p>\r\n

    \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 2. Watch out for\u2026.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

    WINDCHILL<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

    One of the many ways in which Mother Nature enjoys messing with us during the winter is windchill. Your iPhone tells you it\u2019s -25 degrees? Guess what? With windchill, it feels like -40 degrees. This magical \u2018windchill\u2019 is the \"<\/span>effective lowering of the air temperature caused by the wind\u201d\u00a0and basically means that because it\u2019s windy out, you\u2019re going to feel a lot colder than the predicted temperature is showing. So I like to make it a habit to check the temperature (windchill numbers and all) first thing in the morning so I know to dress appropriately).<\/p>\r\n

    BLACK ICE<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

    A thin coating of transparent ice on roads and pavements turns these surfaces into Potential Slip Zones for even the most graceful of walkers. I\u2019m told that one should adopt a certain gait to avoid slipping on the ice- basically, walk like a penguin.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n

    \"source:<\/a>
    source: Tablet Infographics
    http:\/\/tabletinfographics.squarespace.com\/gallery\/how-to-walk-on-ice\/13240590<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

    3. Staying active<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

    Beds suddenly seem ten times more inviting when it\u2019s cold outside but spending all day holed up in my room is never good for my mental and physical health. As much as I hate the wind, I\u2019ll sometimes take a short jog or walk outside to wake me up and get my blood flowing.<\/p>\r\n

    4. Have fun!<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

    Don\u2019t see winter as a scary monster that only wants to freeze your fingers off and laugh as you slip on the ice. There\u2019s lots of ways to have fun even when's it's cold outside- \u00a0(campus-wide snowball fights<\/a> being one of them)<\/p>\r\n

    There's also loads of fun things to do indoors- swimming in U of T's heated indoor pools, checking out Toronto's museums, indoor greenhouses, free movies, concerts and of course, game nights galore.<\/p>\r\n

    Also stay tuned for UTSU's annual Winter Week of Welcome!<\/a><\/p>\r\n

    Stay warm, U of T!<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Guys, it\u2019s almost that time of year again.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

    You\u2019re probably thinking:<\/p>\r\n

    \u2018Oh, it\u2019s almost finals season!\u2019 or\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\r\n

    \u2018Oh, it\u2019s almost Christmas!' or\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\r\n

    \u2018Ooh, it\u2019s almost the holidays!\u2019\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\r\n

    Me: \u2018Oh god\u2026.it\u2019s almost winter.\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n

    \"12282909_10208132160332680_767482082_n\"<\/a>
    single digit temperatures. it's official.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

    <\/p>

    Continue reading “Winter 101”<\/span>…<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"author":256,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1758,1,58],"tags":[1946,2191,15735,6487,1855,15734],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26554"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/256"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26554"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26554\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26590,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26554\/revisions\/26590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}