My host mom and several of my Chilean classmates are currently under the impression that I don't get cold. Now, anyone who has seen me at school reading under a small mountain of blankets can attest that this just isn't true -- I get cold as easily as the next person, and rather easier than some.
A Note About Heating in Chile
Central heating just really isn't a thing in Chile. It's expensive, and it's not very common. Most of the buildings at school aren't heated, so it's up to us to bundle up when it gets cold. At home, in houses and apartments more than 5-10 years old (that is to say, most of them), there is also no central heating, so we use a little gas stove and lots of sweaters. When it started to rain last week, I found myself wearing a sweater, a scarf, and a thick pair of socks -- inside the apartment. I plunked myself down in front of the stove and I spent the next hour trying to figure out how exactly I could ball myself around my mug of tea in order to obtain maximum warmth from the heat it gave off, but also be able to drink it without spilling it. I'm sorry to say that I never did figure it out, but I did manage to do it all without spilling a single drop.
So do I get cold? Obviously. Why, then, do Chileans seem to think I'm invincible? It's simple --Santiago simply isn't very cold.
I have no doubt that it'll get colder -- it rained last week, and according to Katy's host dad, it's never going to stop (I'm sure he didn't actually phrase it this ominously, but I decided in my head that he meant it was legitimately just never going to stop raining and ark builders are just going to start popping up any day now). That was the first time it was actually cold enough to warrant more than just a sweatshirt. But for the most part, compared to what I'm used to, it just hasn't been very cold.
As far as I can tell, in Chile anything below 25°C demands a jacket, and every 2° decrease requires at least another sweater, if not a blanket. More than once, I've emerged from my room barefoot in jeans and a t-shirt, to find Rosita bundled up in 2 sweaters, a jacket, and a sort of poncho. In our gymnastics class, Katy and I wear leggings and t-shirts while our classmates layer up with socks and sweatshirts. It's a little funny, in a way, but to us mostly just a little bizarre -- at home, if it's 25° outside and you're wearing a puffy jacket, you probably have circulation problems; in Chile, it's completely normal.
I'm curious to see what the next month is going to bring. While it's just starting to get cold outside, inside it's been cold for a while. It's not uncommon for the inside of the apartment to be much colder than the weather outside, probably because no matter the temperature, the kitchen window is always open. I don't know why, but it's not just my host mom -- Chileans in general keep the windows open, even just a little bit. I've begun keeping my bedroom door shut, because I've found my room stays warmer than the rest of the apartment, for whatever reason. When that doesn't work, I sit the stove next to my desk, curl up in my chair with my sweater and my tea, and convince myself that the more I type, the warmer I will become. I can't say it's worked out for warmth, but it does help me finish my essays sooner. Maybe I should re-define my terms of success.
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