“Do you guys
want to go home? I can give you a ride if you want!” offered a friend, Mr.
Smith, after attending a seminar at Seattle.
I wanted to
say yes, but my friend, Mr.OCD had taken the chance to speak, “Thank you very
much. But I think we’re going to walk around for a while.”
“Walk around
in Seattle at this time?”
It was 10 p.m. on Tuesday.
“Why not?”
(I went out from my house at that time in Medan)
“Nothing is
wrong here. But, what can you see in weekday like this?”
“No idea.”
***
“I wonder
where the people are?” Mr. Talented asked in one of our visits to Seattle.
“It’s now
10 p.m.”
“Yes, I
know, but in Jakarta, you can see many people hang around 7-11”
“Who wants
to hang around in this kind of cold weather?”
“Maybe
you’re right. I’m freezing now.”
***
Several days
ago, I read a note in F*cebook about Seasonal Affection Disorder written by a
‘cool’ psychologist. Weather and season can affect your mood and emotional
state!
I tried to
observe my own behavior in the past months to see how weather changed it.
When I was
in Bremen, the first thing I checked when I woke up in the morning was the
temperature. Weather forecast had become my breakfast. Why? You need to know
what to wear if you plan to go outside.
You didn’t
want to wear jacket if the sun shone or T-shirt when it was raining (actually,
drizzling).
The thing
got worse because the weather changed quite drastically throughout the day.
It might be
cloudy and drizzling in the morning, sunny day in the noon, cloudy in the
afternoon and freezing at night. Or the variation of those four.
So, if you
plan to spend half a day outside, you have to prepare at least 2 kinds
of clothes to save yourself (literally). You need to save yourself if weather
get too chilly and save your face by not wearing thick jacket on sunny weather.
It was the
end of spring. Restaurants and Biergarten (place you can buy beer and sit
around) started setting chairs and tables outdoor, greeting the summer. My
friend told me it’s typical summertime. People wanted to enjoy the sun. Nobody
wants to sit outside, having a glass of beer during winter (or even spring
time).
I was
unlucky that this year’s summer was kind of late. I was entitled to enjoy
‘only’ 2-week sunny days. The first day I saw the forecast telling me it was
31-Celsius degree, I was so happy. I treasured the sun. That was the first time
I really appreciated sunshine even it was 34-Celsius degree. I remembered how I
avoid sunny day in Medan (even worse when I moved to Jakarta), which mostly
ranged from 27 to 33-Celsius degree. But then, I really enjoyed being sweaty.
I’m now in
Everett. A 120,000-population city. The weather is not much different from
Bremen.
It was
summer when I first arrived and of course the sun shone. However, we were
warned that the weather would become worse and prepare for drizzling days.
Summer ended
and here came fall.
A friend of
mine once asked why a lot of people whine about September and why there was a
song like “Wake Me Up When September Ends” by Green Day. Now, I did understand
why.
September
was the beginning of fall and marked the end of happy summer.
Weather
changed dramatically from happy sunny day to gloomy cloudy day. Who wants to go
out in a cloudy and windy day? Isn’t it nicer to enjoy the heater and a cup of
coffee in front of your laptop? It’s like asking somebody who is playing game
to go working on assignments.
(FYI, I
think it’s only Indonesia has “September Ceria” (Cheerful September) as a
song).
I remembered
when I was taking Environmental Psychology class, we discussed about how
environmental changed people’s behaviors. In this case, weather.
It’s
believed that people who live in places with less daylight are more vulnerable
to depression. Offices in Norway, for example, will have lights turn on the
whole day to prevent the employees being depressed, especially during winter
time when daylight is only 2 hours a day.
I grew up in
a tropical country where daylight time is relatively the same in the whole
year. I learnt how to read the time from the sun and the sky. I know the
approximate time just looking at the sky.
But here
(and also in Bremen)? I really need a watch. I was time disoriented. When I was
in Bremen, daylight was longer (it could be 16 hours) during summer. I might
think that it’s 5 p.m. because the sun was still there. But when I looked at
my watch, it was 9 p.m. And here in Everett, the sky might look like 9
p.m. while it was actually 5 p.m. during fall. I couldn’t imagine how my
skill would be ruined when winter came.
Weather also
affects people’s activities. In cold area, people tend to do things indoor.
It’s okay to hang around 7-11 at 11 p.m. in Jakarta. But here? You attempt
suicide. Shops usually close at 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. No point to open late
because less people want to walk outside (like Mr. OCD and I did in Seattle).
So, it’s less likely you can find 24-hour stores.
Does
environment affect people?
Yes,
definitely.
Now I learn
one thing: you know how worse the weather by seeing what people wear.
