12.07.11

Why Latvians are cold abroad?

So let's make it clear once for all. It is simple - Latvians are never cold in Latvia, only when going abroad (including to Western and Southern Europe). And somehow foreigners seem not to understand this simple truth.

So let me explain you. For us in Latvia it does not feel cold at all. We are used to that, the cold has been there for years and we have proper clothing for winter if you were wondering about -20 degrees. In fact, I remember coming to Latvia from Belgium in Feb 2010 and saying it is too warm with my winter coat!

However, things change when we go abroad. When I used to live in Malta, I was freezing in their winter when it was around +10. Despite the warm degrees, it was always windy and rainy, and I was not prepared for that. It felt colder than in Latvia, and I was forced to wear a jacket, gloves and a scarf even in March!

Now in the Netherlands I am rarely satisfied about the weather - it is either too cold (97% of cases) or too hot (above +25 degrees, 3% of cases). Luckily the last few weeks have been fine, or maybe I am simply used to that by now.

Back home I never had air-conditioning either at home or in the office. I had central heating with only one option - turned on (no "turned off" or "regulated heating" or whatsoever) for 4-5 months per year. If it was too hot (and mostly it was), I was opening windows or wearing short sleeves inside. Yes, it was not a modern house, but built in 1920ies.
At my dad and my grandma's houses there were two options - either there is heating or there is not. A bit better, but no choice to regulate it.

To sum up, we are cold when going abroad - unless it's hot summer and then it's too hot for us. The only good and predictable weather is in Latvia :)

P.S. Of course, I am generalising. As always. But just to help you understand the point why the only people in the multi-cultural environment complaining about cold office today were two Latvians :)

4 komentāri:

  1. Just to remind you of one more peculiar thing - it's like sauna effect: Latvians are used to bitter cold, yet when it comes down to humidity levels (which would be higher in e.g. the Netherlands) then even -7 feels much colder. When Latvians go to w-Europe, they judge temperatures as they would at home and it might fail in certain occasions.

    AtbildētDzēst
  2. Indeed, thanks for adding this detail! That also explains why in Malta it felt so cold all the time.

    AtbildētDzēst
  3. Completely agree about the weather in Holland - I'm freezing since I moved here (so far just 4 months) :D Although I didn't have any problems adopting while living in Iceland or California!

    AtbildētDzēst
  4. Ha, truth if there ever was one!

    AtbildētDzēst