I have discovered a point of change over the immensely cold week we had in January. It is precisely at negative 15 degrees Celsius that a person’s outfit ceases to be a fashion statement and becomes battle armor. It is at this point of criticality that one abandons all notions of color matching and aesthetics, and reverts to an almost primal, shivering stance in the freezing white sheets of snow. This was my first great realization in the Galesburg cold.
In the final weeks of January, North America was surprised with a wave of cold and shiver-inducing snowstorms that did not leave Galesburg out. Temperatures dropped to absurd numbers, and the prospect of walking to class seemed akin to rafting against rapid waves. During this egregiously cold time, the cold taught me many things about how to survive it.
The first is one that I mentioned earlier, and the realization that settled in most intensely: clothing reverts to a utilitarian tool and not a fashion piece. I have mismatched jacket colors with hoodie designs and pants to a hilariously blasphemous degree, but I argue that the conditions called for it.
This is my first piece of advice: if you are not looking like an absolute fool, you are doing it wrong. Layering is Occam’s razor here. The idea that the simplest and most likely answer is the correct answer rings true here. I admit that it is as easy to forget as it is to determine. A hoodie and a jacket with some clothing underneath should keep you relatively safe from the winter chill.
Despite the spirited rebellion your hair may put up, having a warm hat or a beanie can also help to keep you warm and protected, and is a decision that I very much agree with. I consider extra points for the potential bravery of someone who wants to experiment with accessorizing in the cold: wearing a funny hat does not keep you warmer, but it does make the walk more fun.
In January’s coldest week, I cursed Pakistan a lot. My life there did not prepare me for this weather. One Saturday, my mother called me and updated me that the temperature in Lahore had dropped to seven degrees Celsius, and how the family there was freezing cold in these harsh conditions. At this time, I was walking home from a horribly timed meeting as the temperature felt like negative thirty-two degrees Celsius with the wind blowing full force.
Going to classes was a challenge. A chilly wind is the background for earlier classes in the morning, and the walk becomes a blinding reflection of the white sheets of snow covering the ground. During the winter break, I noticed that some of my friends staying over during the break had warmer rooms than I did, which prompted me to place a work order and have my heating fixed.
At first, I thought it was no big deal and had just taken the step as a precaution, but a subsequent visit would prove me wrong. I was assisted by two people who responded to the order, and it took them more than an hour to properly fix my heating, after some correspondence with a third person on the phone. Here, I learned my second lesson: do not be afraid to ask for help; there are people here who do just that.
By using the MyKnox app, I encourage you to get your heating fixed if it is not working properly. Staying in the cold for too long without proper heating can be dangerous, and it will almost certainly end in an annoying illness and sore throat. Make sure that the facilities in your room are functional, and if they are not, take steps to ensure that the machinery does what it is supposed to.
However, I did experience a different love for Pakistan during this cold storm. The herbal teas and chai that I had brought from Pakistan proved themselves to be worth every penny. This leads to my next piece of advice and realization: hot drinks are your friends. Experiment with new hot drinks, and use this time as an opportunity to expand your hot drink palate. Galesburg has many coffee shops and cafes that present themselves as perfect opportunities: places like Innkeeper’s, the Beanhive, and Orange Cup all offer great drinks.
The cold is not an excuse to stop having fun, but an invitation to find more ways to have fun. On your own, you can choose to enjoy the wide variety of great films and music of the past year, or to get started on an inevitably long-ignored watchlist, playlist, or even a reading list. Reading a book curled up in the warm, cozy heat of your room is a perfectly viable and encouraging usage of your time.
Personally, I reverted to the PlayStation to spend this time. The mandate of staying in due to the cold presents interesting opportunities to hold “FC26” tournaments. If you’re feeling nostalgic for 2016, grab another controller or two and play some online draft games in “Ultimate Team.” There are some great games out there, and making use of your preferred console is a great way to spend this time. If that does not work, there’s always an assignment you can start early, or one with a looming deadline that you need to work on.
There is some refuge in the collective experience against the cold. As a Pakistani who has never experienced such harsh winters, I am joined by fellow Pakistanis and some international students who are experiencing the same cold for the first time. In a very primal, almost tribal sort of way, I feel like we are all cavemen discovering the textile counterpart of fire to keep ourselves warm. All of us have had to adapt in many different ways.
The first and most glaring adaptation was updating our wardrobe. Fitting the closet with thicker, warmer clothes was a necessity. Puffer jackets and warmer hoodies are as necessary as water to a thirsty crow. Similarly, walking and travelling in the cold is another challenge. For those of us unfortunate enough to have to walk somewhere in the freezing cold, snow boots that resist the slipping ice and warmer socks are a must.
The cold requires us (those not familiar with living day-to-day in such cold) to learn and unlearn habits. Clothing preferences are just the tip of the iceberg. Taking care of your cars and motorized vehicles against damage due to the cold by letting the engine warm up before you step on the gas pedal is a new lesson in patience I’ve had to learn. Similarly, the prospect of being locked out of my room in the cold instilled in me a new caution and care for keeping my keys with me.
The experience is diverse and certainly harsh, but there is great refuge in the collective survival of us amateur Galesburg residents. I only feel for those unfortunate enough to be struck by the weather in great surprise. Here, I don’t mean a nice surprise, like a fresh batch of cookies in the oven that welcome you after a day back, or finding an extra slice of leftover pizza when needed, but like a surprise fire alarm that wakes you up at four in the morning, a few hours before early morning class at eight.
