New immigrant’s first winter experience
By Bridget Ivery, Contributor
In August of 2017, Florida woman Bridget Ivery moved to the frozen wastes of the Lower Mainland, only to discover that things can actually be cold. When she first stepped outside on a November day, she found that the ground was covered in strange white crystals: What locals called “Snow.” Frightened but intrigued by the sudden change in circumstances, Ivery left the safety of her house to explore.
“The air hurt my face,” Ivery recalls. “My breath was forming little clouds in front of my face. I had seen this in movies, like the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park, but never thought it could happen for real. I thought it was an effect!”
She was soon shaking uncontrollably, not understanding her reaction to the cold. “What is this? I’ve never felt this way in my life. Where has the sun gone?” Indeed, the sun had been blanketed in low-hanging grey clouds and was now hidden from view. Her nose began to run and small icicles formed on the tip.
Despite these difficulties, Ivery went out to touch the snow. “It’s like that stuff we put in our drinks, ice, but shredded? The world is covered in Italian ice now?” She tried tasting some, and found it cold and flavorless. “Not Italian ice, just… ice? Weird.”
Ivery then turned her attention to the trees. “Why have they all turned funny colors? Some look dead. Is it acid rain? Should I not have eaten that ice stuff?” Of course, the trees had been changing colors for fall, and some had lost all their leaves in preparation for winter, something that, apparently, does not occur in Florida.
“The Christmas trees seem okay,” she remarked, noticing the pines. “Is this where Christmas comes from? It all looks like a Christmas card.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever be warm again,” Ivery said in her final statement to the Other Press. “At least I don’t have to worry about a hurricane knocking my house down again.”
We declined to take the time to explain earthquakes to her.
