Just Going Out For a Minute...
Just Going Out For a Minute…

It’s been very cold since we arrived last Sunday—yes, even for Canada. For the past few days, temperatures have been hovering around -25°C, -40°C with the windchill.

Fucking cold, eh.

If you’ve never experienced this kind of weather, let me explains how it feels. First, you step out. You take a deep breath and think “that’s not so bad.” Then, within sixty seconds, you lose whatever body heat you had stored. Your hands are burning, your joints get stiff, any exposed skin feels painful, your nostrils stick together every breath you take.

It’s unbearable.

I went out wearing a pair of socks, leggings and a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, a sweater, my jacket, a hat, my hood, a scarf covering my face and gloves and I still couldn’t last more than ten minutes in the cold.

There isn’t much to do when it’s that cold. Frankly, you just don’t want to go out. Even driving isn’t fun because you have to warm up the car, roads aren’t great and you freeze to death walking from the parking lot to whatever place you’re going to.

Repairing the damages this kind of weather does to your body is a necessity. My hands are dry and the skin is chapped and cracked. I spend my time putting hand cream and Vaseline at night. I put on moisturizing cream all over my body after my shower, and I switched to a richer face cream. I never go out without my stick of Burt’s Bee lip balm. And that’s the bare minimum. Honestly, I think the Canadian government should give all citizens a “surviving winter” allowance for beauty products.

Fun fact#1: The Rideau Canal is open for skating but I only spotted one brave soul on the ice. No kidding.

Fun fact#2: We are expecting a lot of snow this Sunday.

O Canada. I love you, but warm up. Seriously.

Cold!
Cold!
Visited 51 times, 1 visit(s) today

33 Comments

  1. Katharina January 4, 2014 at 12:04 pm

    I just got goosebumps just reading about it… cover yourself up! brrrr!

    Reply
    1. Zhu January 4, 2014 at 10:33 pm

      I’m way past the goosebumps stage 😆

      Reply
  2. Cynthia January 4, 2014 at 1:39 pm

    Hopefully it won’t last too long!

    Reply
    1. Zhu January 4, 2014 at 10:33 pm

      *Crossing fingers*

      Reply
  3. Holly Nelson January 4, 2014 at 6:06 pm

    Gah – I hate it. Your eyes water and then freeze, the snot in your sinus freezes and gives you a brain freeze. So terrible!! I am not looking forwards to it, but at least it won’t be as bad in Ontario than you!

    Reply
    1. Zhu January 4, 2014 at 10:33 pm

      Yes! And then you have to blow your nose each time you step in and if feels gross!

      Reply
  4. Christiane January 4, 2014 at 6:22 pm

    Whoa !!! I saw the storm warning on the news. Sucks 🙁

    Reply
    1. Zhu January 4, 2014 at 10:33 pm

      Yep 🙁

      Reply
  5. Sudarshan January 5, 2014 at 5:59 am

    I can only guess how cold it must be. The lowest temperature I’ve been in is -1 Celsius!

    Reply
    1. Zhu January 5, 2014 at 9:16 pm

      Lucky you… 1C would be spring for me now 😆

      Reply
  6. La Madame January 5, 2014 at 1:08 pm

    J’ai bien fait de partir il y a presque 13 ans! 😀 Bon courage Zhu! 🙂

    Reply
    1. Zhu January 5, 2014 at 9:16 pm

      Merci!

      Reply
  7. Dennation January 5, 2014 at 5:34 pm

    This will make you laugh: when I was still living in Ottawa my hands were so dry during the winter that I used to put globs of Vaseline on my hands before going to bed. Then I would put finger gloves on (being careful to not disturb the Vaseline) and sleep like that. Nothing else worked as well as those gloves did!

    Reply
    1. Zhu January 5, 2014 at 9:17 pm

      OMG, this is exactly what I have been doing for a week! Indeed, my hands feels much better, although my sheets smell of Vaseline 😆

      Reply
  8. Klaus January 5, 2014 at 7:26 pm

    Sorry for being off-topic, but I totally like that picture, it’s cute 🙂 (and I’m not talking about the one with the weather map).

    Reply
    1. Zhu January 5, 2014 at 9:17 pm

      Thank you! I didn’t feel so sexy though 😆

      Reply
  9. khengsiong January 5, 2014 at 8:21 pm

    We talk about global warming, yet it is so cold in Norther America at this time. That’s weird.

    Reply
    1. Zhu January 5, 2014 at 9:17 pm

      I’m praying for global warming these days! 😆

      Reply
    2. Lily January 6, 2014 at 2:48 pm

      Global warming is what you notice when you take into account the temperature everywhere on the planet, and it’s pretty bad.

      Reply
      1. Zhu January 6, 2014 at 8:56 pm

        It was just a bad joke 😉

        Reply
  10. Charmaine March 8, 2014 at 8:37 am

    Welcome to Canada! This depicts the Canadian temperature indeed.

    Reply
    1. Zhu March 8, 2014 at 1:42 pm

      Yep 🙁 This winter is long and cold!

      Reply
  11. Ouch-Canada March 13, 2014 at 10:05 am

    where should I start with Canada.
    I have left canada some 12 years ago, and apart from an expired canadian passport have nothing to do with that frozen land. and I am happy with my choice, this winter being a very good reminder.
    south is warmer and definitely much better. although I mention that I am canadian when visiting canada on a us passport I get hassled as to where is my canadian passport. Always remind them that I dont need to have a canadian passport to enter, as I am canadian citizen, and since i live in the states and have no whatsoever intention to go to live in the Arctics(rephrase that … Canada) my us passport should be sufficient for the rest of the world.
    horrible weather is the least of your problem. care insurance 5 fold of what I pay in a year, terrible sale taxes which bump the prices 3-4 times compared to the states, gasoline prices much more expensive.
    Caped earnings in canada due to the fact that that economy cant support big salaries like here in the states where in financial securities salaries over 100K are common.
    It kills me the real estate market in toronto where prices for the frozen land have skyrocketed. what kind of people claim property in the arctic , at prices that one can see only in NYC?!
    Miss sorry but you are in the wrong place. enjoy the winter (and the hot summer).
    thank you for the nice screenshot of the temps in canada. it is making the round of the internet as we actually speak 🙂

    Reply
    1. Zhu March 13, 2014 at 11:43 am

      So, you are living in the US now? As much as I like this country as a traveler, I wouldn’t see myself living there and becoming American for many reasons. Yes, the weather is… brutal in Canada. But it’s the same in some parts of the US as well, and I don’t mean just Alaska! 😆 Overall, I think I fit the Canadian society better 🙂

      Reply
  12. Torsten April 19, 2014 at 2:08 am

    Now that is too darn COLD! Gotta love livin’ in California 😉

    Great post – just followed you on Twitter so hope to see you there sometime!

    Reply
    1. Zhu April 19, 2014 at 9:48 pm

      Nice to meet you!

      trust me, I would about escaping somewhere warmer many times last winter 🙂

      Reply
  13. Gagan December 25, 2014 at 10:58 pm

    Oh my!

    I’m shivering in Delhi at 6°C and I’m scared (literally) to even think about a -40°C.

    Reply
    1. Zhu December 26, 2014 at 8:44 pm

      This was last winter, it was unusually cold then, even for Canada. These last few days have been warm actually, same temperature as in Delhi, about 5C during the day as well! I had no idea it could get so cold in India actually. Note that we have great heating systems everywhere, so you will never be cold indoors.

      Reply
      1. Gagan December 27, 2014 at 1:02 am

        Well in Delhi it can drop down to 1C once or twice during the winter, a couple of years ago it had dipped down to 0C as well; else winters pass by between 8 – 12 C as the minimum of the day; however if you climb up north of India you will find some below 0C places as well (some of these preferred a lot by backpackers)

        Reply
        1. Zhu December 28, 2014 at 10:51 pm

          I had no idea!

          Reply
  14. Rose January 19, 2015 at 9:07 am

    I came across your blog recently while searching on how to survive Canadian winters! Its really informative and at the same time a bit scary for a person like me who is from tropical climate zone and soon to be living in Canada!!…I hope to survive Saskatoon winters which I found out are really extreme..anyway I liked your blog! looking forward to many more interesting articles 🙂

    Reply
    1. Zhu January 19, 2015 at 8:03 pm

      Well, the good side is, Canadian winters are unique and fascinating at first because it’s so new! But yes, sometime it’s hard. Welcome to Canada… where are you settling?

      Reply

Leave A Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *