Kate + Cold Weather = cry cry cry

While the city of Dallas drives me insane from time to time for various reasons, I have to admit:  I love the weather.  Despite my being somewhat of an albino, the sun and I get along very well.  Hot: I like it, it's what I do.  Don't get that confused; it doesn't mean I'm "hot."  Quite the opposite, in fact, as my love results in massive amounts of sunscreen + sweat = a general thumbs down in the looks department.  For that reason, I tend to rely on the trusty old "I just came from the pool/gym" excuse, even if it's not true.  I have to somehow justify the reason for why I'm always walking around looking/smelling like a wet dog/rat...

Currently, Dallas' weather is failing me.  Yet again, from sunny and 75 degrees on Sunday, to a high of 20 degrees with snow, ice, and wind that causes tears to stream uncontrollably from my eyes today (whatever, yes, that's actually just me crying because it's so cold, but I'm blaming the wind).  The low tomorrow is 7 degrees.  7?  What is that?  Also, that snow out there?  That snow is covering ice.  That's just tricky and mean.  Even the dogs got duped.

When I'm cold, there's not a thing in the world that will warm me up.  Nothing.  I (stupidly, I now realize) came very close to a job offer in DC last year.  What was I thinking?  There is no way.  No way would I have survived the Snowpacalypse, Thunder Snow, Snowmageddon, and whatever other cleverly nicknamed snowstorms the Northeast keeps getting pounded with.  Also, for the record, nicknaming the winter storms doesn't make them cute.  They still look miserable.

That said, I feel like maybe I should go out and fully brave the current elements for a little taste to prepare myself, because, as Old Man Pops keeps reminding me (perhaps in an effort to keep me from leaving?)  South Korean winters are no joke.  I looked it up.  He's right.  The average winter high is 25 degrees.

The only thing that makes me feel better about going forth into such madness is Ondol.  Kate!  What's Ondol?  Ondol is something I wish I had even on hot summer days.  Ondol is....<drumroll>...HEATED FLOORS!  It's a Korean thing.  It should be an Everyone thing.

You'd never guess, right?

The Waygook Effect says "you will find excuses to read, eat, chat, watch TV, or sleep on the floor because Korea can get so cold" and explains this genius more thoroughly:  "Everyone knows that heat rises, so the most efficient way to disperse heat in a home is to release it through the floor and allow it to rise up through an entire room."  Genius.  And apparently not just in homes, but in public gathering spaces, as well.

So, from 20 degrees in Dallas with cold, concrete floors (I do not live in a jail cell, I live in a loft downtown; lofts have concrete floors), to 20 degree winters in Korea with heated floors...I'm upgrading.

Shiver me timbers - 

Katers