It's Cold!

I've been dreading the winters here, being a California girl who is used to centrally heated homes. So now that it's the middle of winter, what's it like? Here's the scoop, from two different perspectives:

The Dramatic Perspective
It's freezing! When the alarm goes off in the morning, it's pitch black (no Daylight Savings here). We drag ourselves out from under our warm duvet onto a cold tile floor in a room that is 56 degrees Fahrenheit (13 Celcius). The initial shock of taking off warm pajamas is heart-stopping. I fish my contact lenses out of two small Arctic Seas - the shock to my eyeballs wakes me up more than a double espresso. Speaking of coffee, in this weather my coffee is cold after five minutes of sitting on the table. I wear my coat and my scarf indoors. My fingers are stiff and don't want to type. All I can think about is getting back under my warm blanket.

The Balanced Perspective
The sun does come out during the day, and warms things up to about 61 degrees or so (16 Celcius). Outdoors is warmer than indoors by midday. Compared to those who live out in the townships, those who don't have warm coats or warm bedding, I really can't complain. One can live without central heat, and outdoors, the winters in California are colder by comparison. Plus, the fact that the sun shines nearly every day is a bonus over those foggy, grey California winters. So..... is wearing a coat indoors really so bad? No, man.... I LOVE South Africa!