Realizing differences

I have mentioned previously that I immigrated from India to the US (Philadelphia, PA) 8 years ago. Over the years, I realized certain things I had heard about but not seen:

It feels way colder here than in India, even at the same temperature. It’s because of the icy Arctic winds. I had read as a child that the Himalayas protect India from the polar winds, and therefore India has a milder climate as compared to China at the same latitude. I had no idea how true it was till I came here- no east-west mountain range in North America to protect us from the polar vortex!
Static electricity is so bothersome here! And there is fierce lightning everytime it rains. Never experienced natural electricity to that extent in India! Makes sense for Benjamin Franklin to have discovered electricity in Philadelphia.
I had heard the song “These are a few of my favorite things..” from the Sound of Music as a child. My favorite line was “Silver-white winters that melt in to spring…”, except that I had no idea what it felt like. I also read a lot of poems about the arrival of spring. Living in India with a milder winter, it was hard for me to appreciate the significance of spring. Now I do…it is amazing how the bare trees of winter give way to the blossoms of spring! I love the cherry blossoms in spring, that bring a promise of warmer weather every year..

That’s all for today..ciao!

Statue of Benjamin Franklin at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia