(Explanation of how cold it is from an email I sent home)
Being back home was nice but much colder than where we had spent the last week and a half. I have an example that may give you an idea of what the cold is like here, because it is not like when it is cold in the States. Just imagine a very cold morning where you live and being in a big hurry. Your car is outside in the driveway and you are late so you don�t have time to warm it up before you get in. That first five or so minutes that you are driving are really cold and really suck, right? Well imagine that but it being all day long. In my house it is really cold cause I have never been a firm believer in having much heat in the house. But I usually have it tolerable (for me, but my site mates who are from California don�t seem to think it is too tolerable) but when you leave it is really cold and we usually have a nice frosty wind coming off the lake and down from the mountains. And here is the part that is a lot different from the States. When we go inside somewhere, anywhere, it is still cold. Places we go to buy food and stuff are freezing, schools are freezing, my office is super freezing, and most people�s houses that we visit are freezing. Even the mayor�s office yesterday was freezing. I don�t want to sound like I am griping though. I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to come here, and I have a way of taking these types of things in stride, but many volunteers are having a really hard time with it (especially my site mates).
