Opinion: Growing Up In Kenya Really Does Not Prepare You For Chicago’s Deep Freeze
Esther Ngumbi, who now lives in Chicago, gets a taste of the big chill. She grew up in Kenya, where 60 degrees was about as cold as it got.Alex Mutiso
Opinion: Growing Up In Kenya Really Does Not Prepare You For Chicago’s Deep Freeze
On Tuesday night, the state of Illinois where I live, and many surrounding states, were bracing for bone-chilling temperatures as low as minus 23 degrees with a wind chill temperature of around minus 40.
Having grown up in Kenya, where the 60s is as low as it usually goes, I was worried about how I’d cope. So were my family and friends back home. They could not fathom how I would make it through the cold — or if I would even make it at all. And they were extremely curious about what that extreme cold would feel like.
My dad, as all fathers like to do, wanted to give me advice. But he was at a loss. I chuckled as he said, “I can only tell you how to behave when you get extreme heat — to go under tree shade. But I am afraid what you are about to experience tomorrow is something I do not know or cannot wrap my mind around. I am sorry my daughter, I cannot be of help.”READ MORE
Source: https://www.npr.org/
