Snow in Chicago

Although Chicago is not my hometown, I have lived there since 1988. Chicago's a big, exciting city with people from many countries. In a few ways, it is similar to Tra Vinh. Both are cites that are on flat ground, and both are, therefore, very good for biking. Water is important to both. Chicago is on a huge lake of fresh water (about 500 km by 200 km), and Tra Vinh is in the delta of the Mekong, a huge river. And both cities historically have had close connections with agriculture.

But there are some differences. "Like what?" you might ask. Well, as it's February now, one of the most obvious differences in the weather. January is the coldest month in both Chicago and Tra Vinh but that little word "coldest" means two very different things. Here in Tra Vinh, "coldest" means temperatures of about 22º at night. In Chicago in January or February, "coldest" means temperatures of -22º at night. Please pay attention to that little minus sign ("-"). Usually it is not that cold, but the average night temperature in Chicago at this time of year is about -10º. That is colder than the freezer in your refrigerator.

When the snow falls, winter is beautiful, sometimes almost painfully beautiful. The snow looks like magic when it falls, and it also looks just as beautiful when it is sitting on top of trees, cars, and houses. However, people who have never lived with snow often don't realize that it can cause real problems. It makes driving and walking very difficult. The good news is that the snow usually melts (turns to water) in a few days or hours, but until that happens, it causes real problems. Another difficulty is that having so much snow makes it hard to take cars from their parking spots. People have to work hard to dig their cars out of the snow, and after doing all this work, they don't want other people to come along on use this snow-free spot. There is a custom that after people dig out their cars, they put a chair or some other object in the place on the street where their car was. Other people are NOT supposed to park there.

This practice is not legal. The roads are public property and everyone has an equal right to park there. But people also understand that it is hard work to dig out the snow, and people often respect others who have done this work.

Here's a photograph that a friend back in Chicago took and sent me. It shows a man who's very happy that finally--after an hour or more of hard work removing heavy, wet snow--he