Argentineans in Chicago: What does life look like at nearly 90 degrees away with Buenos Aires – 01/30/2019

The Argentine Consulate in Chicago is open but with minimal care. A recorded message is triggered when an attempt to communicate with the official building is made: "The consulate will only attend appointments with publicly known information". The speaker's message refers to the news that in this city in the state of Illinois, it is 42 degrees below zero. Almost 90 degrees difference with Buenos Aires.

What does it feel like living in such a cold place, where the official warning is that exposure of the body for more than five minutes in the open air can cause it to freeze? "You have to conclude, and a lot, and leave only if necessary." Santiago Cámara, a 27-year-old doctoral student in economics, tells the story.

Santiago attends Clarin with the second in his hand and his gaze fixed on the window of his apartment, we see only the color white. The trees, the buildings, the few cars parked in the street, the sidewalks, everything is covered with snow: "In the distance, I see two souls walking," he says. In Chicago, since last Sunday, the temperature began to fall more and more and today, thermometer indicates a mark that has not been felt for more than 30 years: -42 degrees.

"Yesterday, I spoke with my mother and she asked me what I liked best, if the heat I knew lived there or if the cold was so raw, I think that between the two extremes, I still have heat, "says Camara, who has been living in the United States since 2017, but who was far from having to endure such low temperatures.

To go out on the street with this climate is an odyssey. It takes about 20 minutes to get ready and warm up before leaving the house: "I put thermal pants and jeans on top." Two pairs of stockings, short-sleeved T-shirt, another long-sleeved shirt, sweater in thick wool, a scarf, a large jacket worn in the Arctic and another scarf above. "All this, perhaps, walk 10 blocks up to the only supermarket open in the neighborhood.

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"Last night, I walked 15 blocks and when I got home, I had a totally hard scarf, I could not pull it out of my neck. 39 not encourage to take my cell phone to see the time or check a message, not even to change the song, that's why I prepare a playlist that I know I will not want to edit in progress route, "he says adding that some of his friends have used the weather to experiment: they boil water and throw it outside in a cup to see how it turns into ice without touching the ground.

In Chicago, all the flights were canceled, the lakes petrified, trains derailed because the cold contracted the tracks and the schools were closed and the shops frequented by their owners decided not to open: "My university has closed three times in its history and on Monday The director sent a general letter to all students with the message that the cold was terrifying and that it would not be active, "Santiago adds.

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On television, all news channels only talk about the weather. They compare it to Antarctica where the temperature is now "hot" at 8 degrees below zero. There are ongoing awareness campaigns that warn the public that any skin exposed to the outdoors could freeze in just five minutes.

According to the National Weather Service, the last time it was so cold in Chicago, it was January 20, 1985. Chicago set a record of nearly 33 degrees below zero. With the icy wind, it could reach a temperature of almost 50 degrees below zero.