It’s bloody freezing!

Lire l’original en français

This morning, sitting on the white couch, I was savouring each and every ray of sunshine heating my skin through the old windows of the veranda. The jungle of plants and surf boards hanging from the ceiling seemed to enjoy absorbing this new heat as much as I did: everything was glittering with a myriad lights under the heat. I wanted to stay put forever, stay there roasting and stop time …

It’s only 3:00 p.m. and I find myself inside, wearing my coat, tuque and scarf. Despite my huge slippers and hot tea cup, my nose, hands and arms are frozen. The big palm trees only three feet away from me in the back yard seem to poke fun at my hypothermia. I hear them say, just like their Australian human counterparts: “Come on Canadian girl, you should be used to the cold!”.

BUT IT’S ONLY BECAUSE WE HAVE CENTRAL HEAT, BUGGER!

It started to be “bloody freezing” around March 10, which means autumn when we live down under from Québec. It was then justifiable because we were sleeping in the car, i.e. almost outside. When we arrived in Melbourne, we realised it was almost preferable to live in a car rather than a house. Here, the ground doesn’t freeze, so people don’t have adequate heating systems. Even worse than that: if someone earns less than $100,000 yearly he or she is condemned to freeze behind the old walls of his or her house. OK, I draw a long bow here, but for the last three months, we froze during more days than all the days we froze in the past (even taking into account the failing fireplace at the White Mountains…) When we arrived in Sydney last October, Julie, my resident friend, told us she had just spent the coldest winter of her life. I totally did not believe her! Come on… palm trees, year round surfers. But she was absolutely right!

So the weather is fair outside, but we live inside, all bundled up, and we prepare hot-water bottles to heat the bed… Oh well, I like the unexpected!

We are now back in Manly, Sydney, and it’s so good to join our precious friends. It’s really unique to go back somewhere seven months later and feel as if we never left. Especially in a place where we stayed only a few days! Back to square one, I fully realise my Australian adaptation: I recognise words, traffic regulations elements, birds, food, people’s habits that seemed so out of the ordinary to me at first (out of the ordinary I wished for, of course) and I realise they all became part of my daily life. It’s only the cold I’m having more trouble getting used to!

See HIS View
See His and Hers Pictures
See His and Hers Videos