I has been below freezing for most all of the past few weeks, and it is really pretty and snowy here in Vladimir. Tonight a meteorologist was on the nightly news and said that central Russia--the middle of the European part of the country--should expect a cold, "Russian" winter with temperatures hovering around -20C (0F) through January.

That is great news for me; I really wanted to experience a real Russian winter, and it looks like I will get to. Actually, it is much better if the temperatures don't rise above freezing for a long time because everything gets really messy and muddy when the ground thaws out. And, to make things even worse, we had a mini-thaw last week, and it caused the whole city to turn into a giant puddle that then quickly froze into a solid sheet of ice. Walking anywhere became very dangerous because no one made any attempt to do anything about the ice that still covers every sidewalk and parking lot--salt is rarely used in Vladimir, and sidewalks, parking lots, and minor roads are not plowed or cleared in any way. Pretty much every one of my students has a story about falling, and one of our staff fell outside her apartment building and gave herself concussion. I haven't hit the ground yet, but there's plenty of winter left for that. Although, last weekend it finally snowed, so now the deadly ice is covered with a nice layer of snow, so it isn't so dangerous anymore.

I mentioned to a guy at the gym last week that it was cold outside, and he chuckled and said that it was just -8C (17F), and that cold is -40C (-40F)--something that he said usually happens in Vladimir at least for a day or two most winters. I'll have to bundle up! It could be worse though; in the Siberian city of Norilsk, it is already a balmy -33C (-27F), and the sun hasn't appeared for a few days.