Intertwining My Fingers With The North Wind

Intertwining my fingers with the North wind was not one of my sanest moments but I am getting ahead of myself. Let me rewind a bit and tell you about how I got into this situation in the first place!

I was but a child when I heard my aunts and cousins tell me about snow. I dreamed of a white Canadian Christmas. If you’ve heard of Goa (a small state on the coast of India), you will know that it is a tropical paradise. It isn’t a place where snow is seen. I must have been around 5 years old when my Dad told me that many years ago Goa had once had hail. No big guesses… I spent the rest of my life waiting to see hail in Goa. Luck however did not favor me!

It took me a while before I decided that enough was enough! I would see snow no matter what and what better way to ensure that I see snow than to go to the Arctic? With Shawn working in Siberia Russia seemed liked the most obvious bet. That’s how I left the warmth of the Indian sun and met the cold frigid fingers of the North wind and he became closely acquainted with mine!

MY FINGERS MEET THE COLD WINDS OF THE NORTH

This is the first time I stepped out in snow! This however was in the morning not at night.

It was late at night as I stepped out of the airport. It took the cab under 5 minutes to reach us. This particular Goan novice did not know that she had to wear her gloves at -23^oC. That’s how my fingers first got acquainted with the cold winds of the North. They sure as hell didn’t like the company but the North wind was so surprised to see bare flesh that it seized the moment and embraced them! They say first impressions stay with you forever… Well this was one of them!

THE ROMANCE CONTINUES

I was so happy at this point in time but I soon realized the importance of pockets!

There wasn’t much that I could see in the darkness of the night. That’s probably why I will always think of my first glance of snow as the one I saw outside my window when I got up in the morning. I think Shawn was happy to be around and I was certainly glad that he was because the romance between my fingers and the North wind began to be a bit too hard to handle.

No surprises I wanted to go out. The concierge looked at me as if I was crazy because the temperature had dropped below -23. When I explained that I had never seen snow before she said that she would turn up the heating in our room for when we got back! Smart woman! Me not so much… In retrospect I’m so glad that she was proactive!

To my credit I made it to the metro station without freezing over. This time I had my fingers covered with gloves. No more romances on the way. The wind was going to have to stay away from my baby fingers. I could not stand to be separated from them!!!

Things were okay till I reached the subway near the Kremlin. Have you been in -23^oC and been seized by 20m/s wind? It is very very cold. I think it was the North winds way of warning me against coming in between its courting. It seeped in through my woolen gloves and began to chill my fingers in anger.

Now when I say chill my fingers I mean that my fingers went from numb to pain. Shawn says it is a burning sensation. I however have no idea. It feels a bit like when you try to hold a frozen fish for a long while when defrosting it underwater. I tried everything. Double gloves, running into the mall but as it turns out warming up is far more painful than cooling down.

MY FINGERS (to give them credit) howled: We made a mistake! Keep this ardent suitor away!

ME: Why did you encourage him in the first place?

FINGERS: Don’t ask stupid questions do something about it!

ME: SHAWN!!!!

By now poor Shawn was trying to warm up my fingers whiled I uttered all sorts of unladylike exclamations. Poor man struggled to keep a straight face. While my husband was going through his ordeal my brain and eyes decided to have an argument of their own.

BRAIN: It’s cold! So cold!

EYES: I can sense the pain. Calling all tears… Calling all tears… Prepare the battle stations!

BRAIN: No… No… No!!! Send the cavalry back! ASAP!

EYES: I can’t do that. It’s protocol!

BRAIN: The tears will freeze on the cheeks you fools!

EYES: Oh dear Lord! We must disobey protocol! I’m not even sure if we can!

Well I guess I had to blame the romance in the air for the North winds efforts. It was Valentine’s week after all. I’m sure he has few fingers to court come winter but however much he fancied mine, he wasn’t getting anyway close to them!

THE BARRIERS GO UP

Cool within warm out? Logic didn’t really work!

While the rest of Moscow went on at its hectic pace we went in search of thicker gloves for me. Thick enough to keep the North wind out. Warm enough for me to have fun. Lesson learned! The North wind can be persistent. Keep yourself well guarded! That includes your toes, feet, chest, face, neck and ears!

I guess when you start to feel cold your whole body begins to feel frigid. So we had a wise idea. If we felt cold from the inside we would probably feel warmer from the outside. We then proceeded to buy one of the famous ice creams from Gum at eat it outside. It was really cool… Sorry I meant cold. It was also interesting. This was the first ice cream that we have ever eaten that would freeze as we ate!

Jumping in snow, watching people go by, eating Russian food… That was certainly something to enjoy. Even as I type I’m sitting by my window looking out at the snow below because it captivates me so. Moscow is really beautiful when it is draped in white. I’ve even seen Christmas trees for the first time.

However each time I step out I keep an eye out for my new found friend. The North wind clamors to meet me and my fingers each time. He is a funny fellow, very enthusiastic and he does get around but like I said… I’m vary of strangers. Especially those of the frigid kind!
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