The schools here in Bihar were supposed to reopen today after a week of vacation. However, as our ever-enjoyable Times of India reports, "the biting cold has forced the government to extend closure of all public and private schools across the state till January 9." And what horrifying temperatures have prompted this closure? The forecast mentioned is a high of 60F, low of 44F. Don't you wish your governor declared an extra week of vacation across the whole state when the temperature dipped below 50F?
The article goes on to provide priceless quotes from the 'common man': "Only if we could afford and did not have to worry about winning the day's bread, we, too, would have preferred to stay in the comfort of our homes," and "It is bone-chilling, and you only cringe in utter discomfort." The journalism here is top-notch.
This unbearable cold has prompted all of our neighbors with dogs (there's about 6-7) to adorn their precious pooches with thick fleece sweaters. I literally have not seen a domesticated dog without a sweater for nearly a month. And everyone looks at us like we're crazy when we walk our pup without a sweater, and several have approached us and scolded us for not looking after our dog properly. Of course, I've never seen him shiver, but that doesn't seem to matter. I honestly thought that dog sweaters would be one of the last arrivals in canine care in Patna, after spaying/neutering, grooming, and dog parks. But alas.
A few weeks ago, I stopped by the vet, our one-stop shop for food, medicine and unreliable diagnoses. To my surprise, the tiny shop was packed full of people. Two yellow labs were lying on the two tables (wearing sweaters, of course), with IVs attached to their legs. When I asked the vet what he was treating them for, no joke, he said "cold." And there was no translation issue.
Now, to be fair, it does feel like the Bay Area in winter, and since our apartment has no heat, I've been wearing a sweatshirt and carrying around a blanket in the evening. And the cold is a serious issue for the many homeless people here. But honestly, an extra week of school vacation across the state for weather in the 50s? Sweaters on every dog in sight (and, as Jeff Weaver hysterically pointed out, canvas sacks on many of the goats)?
People just need to chill out...
Wow. There is no central heating here in Japan either, but people just suck it up and put on coats and sweaters. There are even special coffee tables people use in the winter that have blankets and a space heater underneath them. None of the school classrooms are heated, and yet the girls still wear skirts to school, and the boys in elementary school still wear shorts. Sure, it is not as cold as it was back in Mid-Atlantic America, but it is still around 40-50 degrees.
ReplyDeleteRead this NYT article about life in Mexico City for a good laugh: http://goo.gl/wE8Zn
Nice to have the vacation though.
Yes, I absolutely do wish that the government would cancel school every time the temperature dipped below 50degrees. I wouldn't have to work until March, maybe April!
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