Maybe this is a boring topic to open here. But I was thinking of how many times we Americans talk about the weather in conversation. We say that when we don't know what to talk about with another person or we 'run out of' (no longer have something) things to say, we can always talk about the weather.I bring this up (mention it) because I tutor a student one-on-one each week and she said in the country where she comes from they don't really talk about the weather as much as we Americans do. Her sister visited our city of Denver last year and wanted to know why the 'gringos" (Americans) always talk about the weather when they meet you. So I was wondering if this is really an American cultural thing or is it universal in many cultures.I am sensitive to this topic because the weather in Denver is quite crazy. We always say if you don't like the weather today in Denver, don't worry, it will change. Now Denver is quite a popular city now. A recent survery said that 43% of Americans would rather live in Denver than where they now live. This was the highest percentage received by any city. And one of the reasons people want to live here is the weather. Now this is sort of crazy since our weather is quite inconsistent and can change at any moment. But we are known for our sunshine on average of 300 days per year. We still have four seasons which a lot of Americans like, but none of them are terribly extreme except on occasion.But I want to show you one of our occasions. Yesterday and today Denver officially received so far from 15 centimeters to 1.04 meters of snow in its metropolitan area which consists of flat plains and the foot hills of the mountains. And more is coming. This is spring in our area. According to the gardening experts I need to dig and prepare my garden to plant the early vegetables by April 20th. Can you imagine digging a garden in this weather? However, in two days the temperature will be 21.1 celsius.So I am asking others to tell me about their crazy weather. Is the weather important in your conversations? Does it change a lot or suddenly? You can brag about your weather or complain about it. I just want to know what the rest of the world experiences in their weather and how do you react to it culturally? The photos that follow are of my house and my driveway where I put my car and the photo shows the trees next to it. Can you imagine preparing a garden in the middle of this weather? In our culture we love to complain about the weather. But we also do recognize when it is very nice as well. But weather is still the most common topic.
Amelia,
I am starting to think that many people from the two-season countries do not talk about the weather as much as those who have four seasons or weather that changes a lot from day to day. In my city of Denver one day can have snow and the next day it can be so warm that the snow melts away.
'Climate change' is definitely the topic of this UN climate conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. It's said a lot of leaders from around the world are attending the meeting. Why is the conference so eye-catching? Researches show that the glacier is melting and the sea level is rising, which means some seaside cities could disappear in the future. We are having more and more flooding, drought, typhoon/hurricane than before. Thus we have reason to worry about the future of our planet - maybe the only planet where we can live. And the weather was, is and still will be the most frequently talked-about topic in our conversation.
Wish you all a very good day!
Very nice pictures, really...! How I love snow and white winter:-)
In my country weather is not really a topic of conversation at all. We only have two seasons. We called them wet or raining season and droughts or dry season. its actually not really hot, from the mountains to the coastal area its between 23c to 29c its fairly constant. Its a perfect temperature that's what many Western people say, but many of them also can't barely cope with the humidity.
We might complain about raining that might disturb our activities and quite often heavy raining is causing floating. In some places like Jakarta for example, our capital city - the floating is happening almost every year and its really catastrophic to see how many people suffer and lose their life belonging.
I also believe that the weather has influenced the culture and human character in general. The people from the East like from my country tent to be more spontaneous, friendly and easy. If we like each other - then we can just talk about everything, but in some points we maybe also take things too easy, while Western people tent to be more individual, organised, and distant.
The snow is already everywhere in this area - coming earlier and heavier than expected. I wonder if it means the global warming is improving after so many years of attention, or it's getting worse. And I also wonder how our ancesters managed to survive the harsh winters when there were no clothes or shelters. We human being have envolved and learned so much, but we still hope it's a good day tomorrow.
Hi KHK,
Thanks for this piece. I find it quite interesting that your country experiences the four seasons. I picture Iran as a country with one common season and did not expect you to have snow. This is only because of my ignorance, but now you have educated me. Your desert sky sounds like our autumn sky which is a pure deep blue. We had a beautiful autumn day today, and the sky was blue; the temperature was warm and the leaves of the trees have fallen on the grass and streets.
As far as my opinion of your writing, I would classify you as an excellent writer with an advanced learner level.
Hi sir,
I'm from Iran. I live in northen Iran (by the caspian sea) whose weather is most humid and rainy.The rain is unpredictable!We have all 4 seasons in Iran at the same time:When it's hot in the south it's cold in the north-west and we have snow somewhere while the sun is shining somewhere else. Apparently we are living in a small planet! In addition, we experience the 4 seasons in most regions of Iran during a year.I live in Guilan province and this is one of the rare places where we have woods.Iran is most coverd by deserts and dry lands.The sky of desert is absolutely spectacular,however some times the farmers suffer from lack of water or droughts.We also have mountains covered whit snow and amazing lakes...
It is a brief explanation of the WEATHER in my home-country I hope you enjoyed it.
And I would be grateful,if you told me your idea about what I wrot.Do you think it is satisfying as a piece of writing for a UI en. learner?
yours sincerely
KHK
The weather may not be a problem for any nation to host the Olympic Games - as long as it's not too bad, although it's also true that the weather in the host nation could be an issue.
Hopefully there is good weather for the Olympics. One never knows what kind of weather will show up, but whatever weather appears, the Olympics must go on.
Comments
I am starting to think that many people from the two-season countries do not talk about the weather as much as those who have four seasons or weather that changes a lot from day to day. In my city of Denver one day can have snow and the next day it can be so warm that the snow melts away.
Wish you all a very good day!
In my country weather is not really a topic of conversation at all. We only have two seasons. We called them wet or raining season and droughts or dry season. its actually not really hot, from the mountains to the coastal area its between 23c to 29c its fairly constant. Its a perfect temperature that's what many Western people say, but many of them also can't barely cope with the humidity.
We might complain about raining that might disturb our activities and quite often heavy raining is causing floating. In some places like Jakarta for example, our capital city - the floating is happening almost every year and its really catastrophic to see how many people suffer and lose their life belonging.
I also believe that the weather has influenced the culture and human character in general. The people from the East like from my country tent to be more spontaneous, friendly and easy. If we like each other - then we can just talk about everything, but in some points we maybe also take things too easy, while Western people tent to be more individual, organised, and distant.
Thanks for this piece. I find it quite interesting that your country experiences the four seasons. I picture Iran as a country with one common season and did not expect you to have snow. This is only because of my ignorance, but now you have educated me. Your desert sky sounds like our autumn sky which is a pure deep blue. We had a beautiful autumn day today, and the sky was blue; the temperature was warm and the leaves of the trees have fallen on the grass and streets.
As far as my opinion of your writing, I would classify you as an excellent writer with an advanced learner level.
I'm from Iran. I live in northen Iran (by the caspian sea) whose weather is most humid and rainy.The rain is unpredictable!We have all 4 seasons in Iran at the same time:When it's hot in the south it's cold in the north-west and we have snow somewhere while the sun is shining somewhere else. Apparently we are living in a small planet! In addition, we experience the 4 seasons in most regions of Iran during a year.I live in Guilan province and this is one of the rare places where we have woods.Iran is most coverd by deserts and dry lands.The sky of desert is absolutely spectacular,however some times the farmers suffer from lack of water or droughts.We also have mountains covered whit snow and amazing lakes...
It is a brief explanation of the WEATHER in my home-country I hope you enjoyed it.
And I would be grateful,if you told me your idea about what I wrot.Do you think it is satisfying as a piece of writing for a UI en. learner?
yours sincerely
KHK
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