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Today I’ll be sharing a couple of things on how to survive a Canadian Winter under COVID. This winter is going to be different than all the ones I’ve lived through before. Here in Toronto, we just started a new lockdown, which means that I won’t be doing most things that I used to do during the winter to keep me sane. As an immigrant, the Canadian winter can be challenging. And there are a few things that we need to be aware of: First, it’s cold. So unless you moved from Siberia, you’ll find that North American winters are freezing.Second, the days are shorter. Even now, it’s getting dark around 5 PM. The bad news is that they’ll continue getting shorter until the winter solstice, but the good news is that they’ll slowly become longer and longer after it.And Third, COVID. Yes, that thing that essentially defined 2020. This one is particular to this winter (hopefully only for this winter), but then again, it’s so crucial that I need to talk about it So, in a regular winter, you will only worry about the first two. But this time, we really need to think about the third one as well. Winter weather Okay, so let’s start with the easy part: the cold weather. There are a couple of things you need to avoid. One is thinking that winter in Toronto is like winter in the mountains. I’ve seen people wearing snow pants to go for dinner during the winter, you honestly don’t need that. You also want to avoid going to the other extreme, thinking that winter here is like a regular winter in a warmer country. I was one of those on my first winter, I wore Converse for the first half of the season, thinking that it wasn’t going to get colder and I didn’t need winter boots. Spoiler alert! It did get cold, and I ended up buying winter boots. So, yeah, don’t be like me and get a pair of good warm boots. They can be expensive but, trust me, it’s totally worth it. Another thing you need to keep in mind for the winter is how to dress up. Layers are your friends. So what happens is that even though it’s cold outside, when you jump into the subway or a streetcar, with the controlled heat on them, it gets less cold but not warm enough to take off all your clothes. So, if you have a big-super-warm-jacket, you’ll be fine outdoors, but as soon as you step indoors, you’re going to get hot, start sweating, and you don’t want that either. You do want to get a warm jacket, don’t get me wrong. But you want to wear a sweater (or two) below it just in case. A warm hat is also super useful. If you don’t like to mess up your hair (which the hat will, 100%), at least get some earmuffs to cover your ears. A scarf is also useful. I don’t really wear them unless it’s like super-super cold, but I’m more like the exception. Most people wear them as soon as the weather drops below 5-10 Celsius. Gloves are essential. Your hands will thank you. So, your hands have very little fat and countless nerves that we use for our touch sense, so it hurts because they’re there. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you can walk in the cold with an uncovered face, but as soon as you expose your hands, it starts hurting. Anyway, we’ve covered boots, jackets, layers, hats, gloves, scarves. I mean, there are other things that some people use, like long johns (which is basically thermal underwear pants), but I’ve never worn them, and I know very few people that do. So, unless your legs get extremely cold, I don’t think it’s necessary. The short days While the cold weather impacts your body more than anything, the short days also have a toll on your mood. And most of it is related to the lack of vitamin D. You usually get vitamin D by spending time in the sunlight. But, with the days growing shorter, we’re going to get to the point where it’s dark before we leave the office or, well, not the office but the time when we stop working at home. It has happened to me already that I start working, never leave the den because I’m busy,