It’s never easy adjusting to the cold climate, especially for those raised in countries with year round warm weather or even those from the West Coast. As the weather changes, the attire college students show up to class in is changing too. Shorts and flip flops that were common a few weeks ago have now been replaced with overcoats and knee high stockings. And it’s only November; what will happen in two months when the weather shifts below 20 degrees and the first snow hits the ground? At The New School, first year students who have never before endured the cold are having to adjust faster than they expected.
The New School is famous for having students from over 116 countries and all 50 states. That means there are many students who are used to 75 degree weather and sunshine. One student, Taylor Wells, a freshman from Arizona, said, “I am so unprepared and so terrified [for winter]. What I was going to use as winter coats aren’t even keeping me warm in the current weather.”
This phenomenon is not just localized to American students. International students are feeling the same way about the cold weather.
Ananya Jain, a freshman studying Contemporary Music who is originally from Dubai, said, “I’ve never spent more than a week in a cold climate. Dubai is very warm. The coldest it gets is about 11 [degrees] Celsius ” or 51 degrees Fahrenheit.
With New York weather constantly changing from 49 degrees and raining to 70 degrees and sunny, students have to keep two wardrobes ready. However, as the month moves on, students will need to brace for colder weather.
According to a 2015 report by the Institute of International Education, a New York based nonprofit that focuses on aiding internationals students, there are over 974,000 international students who study higher education in the United States. At The New School there are approximately 3,500 internationals students across both undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Although many students who come to study in the United States come from cold climates like China and Canada, many are from South America and the Middle East where warmer weather is the year round norm. In 2015, there were approximately 60,000 students from Saudi Arabia, over 11,000 students from Iran, and over 9,000 students from Kuwait studying in the U.S. according to the IEE report.
Despite coming from very warm climates, many of these international students go to school in regions with low temperatures. New York, Massachusetts, and Illinois are some of the top states to host international students according to the IEE. During the winter New York has an average temperature of 35 degrees Fahrenheit, while the others, Massachusetts and Illinois see a low of 22 degrees and 23 degrees respectively.
Jain, the student from Dubai, said the weather for her wasn’t a deterrence and she would adjust to any climate she needed to. Despite its cold winters, she said, “I love the city and I love The New School and I have family here too, so New York was just right.”
While Jain loves exploring the city, other students, who prefer staying inside to avoid the cold, are having a difficult time convincing their roommates to turn up the heat. Yeganeh Mafaher, a Drama student originally from Tehran, said she is all ready to turn on the heat in her dorm room but her roommates don’t think it’s cold enough yet.
The New School dorms turned the heat on
Sara AlSabeeh, who is from Kuwait and a Political Science major at Lang, explained that even though it is only 50 degrees now, — and for her that’s freezing — she is still trying to make the best of the situation by dressing in warm clothes when going outside. And she is not alone, despite most students’ reservations about the cold, they are very excited for snow in New York. For a few students, this will be their first time seeing snow.
Jain is one of those students. She has “never experienced snow in [her] life.” Other students are also excited for Christmas in New York and ice skating in Rockefeller Center.
Still, some students are weary of this NYC winter wonderland.
Wells, from Arizona said, “Keep an eye out for me on the news, I’m going to be featured as the girl who is frozen solid in December.”
Illo: Natasha Dewitz