Locals have laughed when us travellers have mentioned or grumbled or cried over the cold outside. “This isn’t cold” as the first snow fell. “This isn’t cold” when the temperatures nearly hit -20. Today, I came home and asked the Alberta girl I live with “Is this Cold?” Yes, she agreed, this is cold.
Tonight, it is -29 in Banff. The ski lifts at Sunshine are closed. The door to our store has finally been left closed, surely to the delight of the environmentalists. Few people wandered the streets and our customers were hotel guests escaping cabin fever for a few hours.
My nose hairs froze and I breathed through my mouth with my filter as a scarf. My eyelashes froze and my eyes teared up. Every part of my body was covered, barr a narrow gap to see out of. Vanity is hiding under the bedcovers. I’m wearing my ski gear to work.
The pipes haven’t burst and the roads are still fine. The schools are opened and we will be at work again tomorrow. This is life here. Go Canada.
Waking Up In Canada 