I thought that I'd been cold in my life ... playing soccer in the pouring rain and howling wind in the middle of Vic Park, or getting up in the morning on the Overland track in Tasmania. What I know now, though, is that I'd never actually been that cold.

I'd never experienced the real cold that you get here in New York, and I assume in numerous other parts of the northern hemisphere. The type of cold where, as soon as you step outside every piece of exposed skin freezes. Where the tops of your ears actually sting to the point of pain and your eyes ache. Now that is cold!!

The kind of cold where there isn't water on the ground ... There's ice and slush in the gutters, and there's weird strips of ice on the "sidewalk" that you try not to think too hard about where they came from!!?

Funny thing is though, I had always wanted to avoid arriving in the Northern Hemisphere to that sort of cold, afraid that this winter weather would be so depressing that it would leave me craving for the sunshine of home. Seems that it isn't so??

I think the difference is that I had never expected the cold to be so crisp, or the sky to be so clear to go along with the cold. When I thought of cold I thought of rain, sleet and grey skies, but that isn't New York winter ... atleast not this year, anyhow?

I'll no doubt be very thankful when it warms up a little, but for now I'm enjoying the experience!! And I expect that when Kristi and I finally manage to get to Antarctica I'll be posting a similar blog to this one once I work out what cold REALLY is!!