Some say there are only two seasons in Canada: winter and construction season. Personally, I hate the former. Last year, the first snowfall came in late December and lasted until late May—a little too long for my taste.
Don’t get me wrong—I play the Michael Bublé Christmas album on repeat from December 1 to December 31—I just despise everything that takes place outside of my whimsical Christmas mood. That includes the six months of snow, public transportation difficulties, wind chill, salt, and slush that I have to endure.
Snow might be beautiful and fun to play with, but it’s huge trouble if you’re trying to do something productive.
“The snow is beautiful but cities only look like wonderlands for five minutes before becoming covered in slush and dirty water. The salt and sand sprinkled on the ground gets onto your shoes and ruins them, then ends up being dragged into your house,” says Karina Babeiko, a second-year professional writing and communications student.
The transit schedule essentially has no meaning after the first big snowfall. Traffic spans multiple intersections and everyone’s schedule is set back a few hours. But for those of us who work and have school, we need to get up earlier and leave earlier and live on the edge of the minute hand.
“It hinders mobility,” says Dario Delgado, a second-year philosophy major. “But I’d rather freeze than melt; therefore, the cold is something I prefer.” Though that is a legitimate reason for liking the cold, freezing is more likely than melting when 10 C weather becomes -30 C with wind chill.
Personally, I’m a cautious optimist when it comes to winter weather. That is to say, I wear light jackets when I think it might be relatively nice out, but I also wear four pairs of socks just in case. Others live more dangerously than I. “I like wearing sweaters and stuff too, so that’s even more reason to like it,” says Delgado.
Unfortunately, most of the time it takes two sweaters and a jacket to not freeze during a Canadian winter. And there’s no guarantee that you won’t be taking one of those three things off during a bus ride.
“Rush-hour buses and trams are bad enough without everyone in bulky jackets sweating and breathing heavily onto everyone else,” says Babeiko.
I may sound cynical, but I do have a special place in my heart for home-cooked cider, the smell of pine trees, and warm sweaters—but not when I’m sweating for 40 minutes in sub-zero weather hoping I can be lucky enough to be home before 2:00 p.m., when it gets dark.
