The cold weather has finally arrived, and everyone in Alabama is shocked. Sometimes it doesn't get here until February. We have a lot more trouble dealing with it than the rest of the world, I think, excepting maybe Jamaica or Mexico City. Mornings, we emerge from our houses with bellies full of grits and we are baffled by the light frost that covers everything -- the way the pavement feels firmer, the earth not soft anymore, but hard and unyielding to our poor, thinly-socked feet. The frost on the windshield is most unsettling. More often than not we've forgotten the scraper in the glove compartment, and use a drivers' license or credit card instead. The hardest part is on days like today, when it's beautiful outside (the sky blue, the sun beaming). If the sun is shining, why is it so cold? Everyone walks around in coats and sweaters that are too thin, old hats they found in closets, gloves if they're lucky. The usual patio seats at restaurants are too cold, and we can't walk comfortably from storefront to storefront at the local strip malls. Everyone is shuffling around the city in a mild state of confusion. This is the South in winter.

"When we moved here from Pittsburgh I was so happy because I thought I'd never be cold again," Carolyn said. After the morning's exams, she and Sarah and Riley and Elizabeth and I went to Al's, this 24-hour mediterranean grill that has only five tables inside. The rest of the seating is on a large patio, under umbrellas and pergolas. Since all the tables were full, we'd tried sitting outside, but we unsuccessful. After only a few minutes of waiting for our food, we moved back in and sat on some benches by the bathroom, where we ended up eating.

Having never been exposed to a Northern winter, I love the cold. It is the time of year when I can wallow in my own nostalgia for food and the holidays -- pots of soup on the stove, turnip greens on the back burner, the cold touch of wood floors on my bare feet, and hot drinks. Little Women and Love Actually with my sister on Christmas Eve. The clarity of the sky at night.

Something about being able to see the weight of your own breath in the air is so satisfying.