Weather Shock: Students from warmer climates experience a Kansas winter

by Ryan Miles – Horizon Features Editor

Winter is here and as usual it shows no signs of taking it easy on Hesston or the state of Kansas, for that matter. With already one snowfall under our belts it’s looking like it’s going to be a rough go this year for Hesston College students. But just because it’s cold doesn’t mean you have to suffer, there are different ways to combat the cold this winter and a few Hesston college students were willing to share some of these helpful tips.

Lucas Garces, a sophomore from the warm country of the Dominican Republic was quite surprised when he came for his first year of college last year. But the real shock came for Garces when winter rolled around.

“The average temperature in my country is 75 to 88 degrees during the winter time,” Garces said. “I wasn’t prepared for 25 and below here in Hesston. I didn’t even have a warm jacket when I first got here so I had to go buy one.”

Garces also shared some of the things he does to keep warm during the harsh winter.

“During the winter last year I would usually take four hot showers a day, believe it or not,” he said. “Also when I was outside I would always wear Nike tights under all of my clothing.”

Molly Cherveny, a freshman, had some more helpful tips to help keep warm.

“Well, besides bundling up in as many layers of clothing as possible, I like to carry around those instant hand warmers,” she said. “I’ll stick them down in my boots or shoes and carry them in my back pockets.”

The best solution? Bundle up and stay inside.