The Bostonian Abroad

November 1, 2010, 9:35 PM. I exited the building where I work at night, teaching an Adult Basic Education class for Wake Tech. It was a new site, and the weather had kept me from riding my bike for the three months I had been teaching there. Finally, the weather was good, and this night, I walked out to my bike to ride home. I had wanted to get in my first cold-weather ride of the season in preparation for a long winter of riding. Winter is my favorite season to ride, and I was eager to get started after a long, hot summer stuck inside in the AC at home and work. I was also eager to participate in the Polar Bear Challenge, an informal challenge on Youtube where riders around the world ride and make motorcycle video logs (motovlogs)of their trips. The winners are those who ride the most, go the farthest in a season, and ride in the lowest temperatures. So here I was, walking out to my bike, parked directly in front of the school building where I taught that night from 6:30 to 9:3

Loving It I love living in North Carolina for three main reasons. First, I love the people here. From the very first moment, I felt how friendly everyone was and how easy it was to talk with them. Another aspect of life in North Carolina that I love is the weather here. In the summer, it is a bit too hot and humid for me, but the rest of the year is quite nice, especially in the fall and spring. Perhaps the most important feature of life in this state for me is the scenery. I love riding my motorcycle along old country roads, looking at all the farms, trees, fields, and wildlife. The sunsets are also quite brilliant here all year long. All in all, I have really come to love life here for all its physical and social wamrth, as well as its great natural beauty.

Recently, we had a snowstorm here in North Carolina, and the schools (and just about everything else) closed down for about 4 days. Learning this, of course every person I know up North immediately scoffed long and loud about how ridiculous it was that we were so affected by a storm that only amounted to a maximum of six inches of snow. I used to be among these chortling hordes, but then I moved down South, and I understand now why everything closes. I don't fault it, I actually enjoy it. First, NC cannot handle snow or ice of any measure because we just don't have the equipment to handle it. We have loads of roads, and not nearly enough plows and salt trucks to clear everything. The best we can accomplish is to keep the major roads as clear as we can, but anyone living in a subdivision, which is most folks, doesn't really venture out since the streets remain unplowed and untreated. My Northern friends might feel tempted to look down their noses at the country-bumpkin h