How to find warmth in sub-zero temperatures

No, Saint-Genis-Pouilly is not THAT cold. It gets cold, but it’s not to an extent where you’d lose your toes to frostbite. At most, your voice trembles and your teeth chatter and your fingers freeze over every time you need to text someone. 6°C in December is not bad. However, add to it other factors like being away from home for the first time, and it gets slightly colder. The pressure of having to do things because you’re in your early 20s and you have to enjoy life. It goes from 6°C to -10°C. The perils of starting a new life in a whole new city, country and continent whose languages and ways you don’t quite understand yet. It goes to “feels like -50°C. And you’re left looking for warmth. Because that’s what you’re used to. Warmth. 35°C. Coming home to people you love. Hanging out with friends you’ve known for years. Being fed and taken care of without a worry in the world.

First things first, you make sure the heater works. If Maslow’s hierarchy of needs taught us anything, it’s that physiological needs come first. You ensure the heater works, but it’s still quite cold.

Winter slowly fades out to give way to spring. You find people who enjoy drinking the same type of tea as you. It’s not that cold anymore, majorly because winter is gone, but also because now you have people to share a cup of tea with. It’s still not completely warm. Home is thousands of kilometers away.

Summer is a bitch. You regret complaining about winter. You would strip off your skin if you could. It’s hot. That doesn’t stop you from drinking the same tea with the same people. Familiarity is a strange thing. You don’t check the schedule before taking the shuttle anymore. You know where to find cats to pet. The sound of le lion that you once found eerie is now calming. The walk across Le Lion is muscle memory. You know as you walk into Carrefour at 6:30pm that you’re in for a long wait at the queue. You know that the people who come through for you every single time no matter what, are going to be there.

Saint-Genis-Pouilly looks adorable in fall colors. Home is not far away, it’s right here.

It’s time for winter again. Only this time, you’re not worried about looking for warmth, because you know how to create it.