First Chill

Remember when a few posts ago I was raving about the nice weather we’ve been having in Shanghai? Up until today (Monday) we’ve had glorious fall weather; just cool enough for a light jacket over a t-shirt. This all came to an abrupt end overnight. We woke up to see cold winds blowing through the trees. The sun was shining still, but as we took our first steps out the doors we knew that this was the first signs of winter. I pulled out a thick jacket and scarf. Time to also bring out the sweaters and turtlenecks and extra blankets and extra layers of everything.

It dropped to the mid 40s today and averaged 57F. And for Shanghai winters, this is considered warm! During the dead of winter it is not unusual for it to drop a few degrees below freezing for a few days at a time. Yes, call me a weather weakling. But hey, that first shock of cold is always surprising and a little unwanted.

It’s still hard to remember back to last winter in Shanghai. I remember it being cold, but it’s been so long of it not being cold that it will be like experiencing it all anew again. For now in the first few days of winter, even though it’s cold, as long as I layer up I can become warm. Later when it gets really cold, no matter how I layer up my clothes I will never feel warm. Even if I take a shower with the water turned to the hottest setting I will never feel warm.

Oh, and here’s the kicker. Most China buildings/houses aren’t insulated. The walls are just pure cement. My apartment included, and it’s considered a newer building.