Snowfall shuts down college

My son said last night that his college was closed yesterday because of heavy snowfall. The roads in his little college town in America were so slippery with ice and snow that driving was banned the previous night. Motorists who broke the ban were given tickets.

A few cars were back on the road yesterday, but the college authorities took no chances. The college was closed so professors wouldn't have to come to class. The students stayed in their dorms and fraternity houses.

It was so freezing cold some of the snow had turned to ice, said my son. My wife and I can't even imagine what it's like. It's sweltering hot here in Singapore. My wife, who is in Calcutta (Kolkata), said it was quite cold there, the winter was not yet over. My son, who was chatting with us online, checked the Calcutta weather -- it was 14 degrees Centigrade -- and chuckled. That's nothing, he said. It was minus 15 in his town.

Weather like that would have been unimaginable to him, too, two years ago when he was still a school student in Calcutta. Winter there meant only wearing a blazer to school or putting on a jacket or some light winter clothing . Now he's got used to ice and snow.