Tuesday, January 13, 2009

"Winter"

A headline in the Bangkok Post reports that the current "Cold Snap" in Thailand claimed three more lives. Now, I don't know of anyone outside of this country who would term the record dip in temperature (59 degrees F; 15 C) a cold snap, but then the article continued on to note that the "harsh" weather, compliments of a cold front moving in from China, is to blame for the most recent deaths. Accompanying the article was a group of Thais huddled around a fire.

Just about everyone here had prepared for increasingly hot weather after the December reprieve, and it has been for those of us from northern U.S. and Canada, a welcome and refreshing change.

Students mirror the tropical attitude, arriving at school in parkas, walking ahead of western teachers in short sleeves. It's difficult to remember just how cold it is in temperate regions when surrounded by such a mindset, mild to hot weather is a constant, and the one jacket brought to Thailand finally comes from the closet. Interestingly, expats, even Canadians, use terms such as "cold" and "freezing" to describe their reaction to the unseasonably cool temperatures.

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