As warmer temperatures return to the Laramie area this week, University of Wyoming students and faculty shed their winter coats and trade them in for jackets and hoodies.
This warming is a welcome change for UW’s international students, who often struggle to adapt to fierce Wyoming winters.
“I wouldn’t even say that I adapted,” said Chipiliro Kalonde, a graduate student from Malawi. “I’d say that I tolerate the cold now.”
Laramie’s winters are some of the most severe in not just the United States but the world, according to data provided by the National Weather Service. Plains geography creates the perfect conditions for high winds, and Laramie’s elevation causes it to have some of the lowest average temperatures in the area.
International students can be unaccustomed to these conditions. Students who hail from more temperate climates often come unprepared for winter and have to upgrade their winter wardrobe once they arrive.
“When I got here for the first time, and experienced my first winter, I had to go out and get all new coats and stuff,” said Brandon Gomes, a senior raised in Guyana. “I came here just completely unprepared about how cold it was.”
International students rarely come to Wyoming with a car so most rely on public transit, the charity of friends, biking or walking to get anywhere. The wintry conditions can make even the shortest trip an issue and students run the risk of slipping on ice every time they leave their house.
“I’ve fallen six or seven times this winter,” said Ryiji Sato, a sophomore from Japan. “Every time I leave my dorm, I’m scared, and it makes me not want to leave.”
However, some students have chosen to make the best of Laramie’s winters by participating in winter sports like skiing and snowmobiling.
Graduate student Hannah Tickle is one of those students. Her native England is not known for its winter sports so Tickle found new opportunities to enjoy Laramie’s offerings.
“I’ve really started to enjoy skiing and just getting out in the winter to enjoy the outdoors,” said Tickle. “It’s something that I wouldn’t be able to do in England.”
International student from places with winters colder than Laramie’s tend to be more tolerant of the cold. Canadian Randstrom doesn’t understand what everyone is complaining about.
“I think that the winters here are pretty warm, actually,” said Randstrom, a junior at UW. “These winters are nothing like the things we get back home, we get so much snow. One time it drifted over my car, and we had to get shovels and dig it out.”
While international students have different experiences with cold weather, one thing is sure — no one is upset that spring is coming.
