Degrees

Not of the Higher Education variety. Though I must tell you about the MA I'm doing some time, because that would be a good post (stop yawning at the back there).

No... this post is about degrees Celcius and degrees Fahrenheit, prompted by a list of things that still surprise Not From Around Here, an American blogger who's lived in England for six years. Though, just to clarify, she's not surprised by the use of Celcius; she's surprised at her own lack of adjustment, and that she still has difficulty with it.

I'm going to let you all in to the inner workings of Iota's mind. I feel a bit embarrassed about this, but I know we're all friends here. Just try not to laugh too audibly at me in the comments. Here goes...

For all the years I lived in Britain, I never really coped with Celcius. So when I heard the weather forecast, I would mentally convert to Fahrenheit. To do this, you divide by 5, multiply by 9, and add 32. Yes. I really did do that every time I heard or watched the weather. Every time. It became a habit. I liked to think that I was exercising my brain in an Alzheimer's-protective sort of a way, but truth be told, it was just one of those little weirdy quirky kooky things that YOU LOVE SO MUCH ABOUT ME (stop laughing at the back there). I have to confess (and this is where the Alzheimer's-protection theory falls down), that I couldn't remember the result from one day to the next. So if Michael Fish said "it'll be the same tomorrow as it's been today", I couldn't short-cut the calculation. I'd do it all over again.

There are a couple of sneaky tips. It's worth knowing (if you're stuck in the same loop as I was) that 16C is 61F, and 28C is 82F. Ha! Genius. Except you do have to remember that it's 16-61 and 28-82, and not 15-51 or 17-71 or 18-81 or whatever, otherwise you'll be into that divide by 5, times 9, and add 32 manoeuvre all over again, just to check you've got it right. Which I did have to do. Frequently. It's a pity that the Great Fire of London happened in 1666, not 1661, because that would have been an easy way of remembering. Though then I wouldn't ever have remembered the date of the Great Fire of London, because it wouldn't have ended in 66 like 1066. Perhaps William the Conqueror could have made his move 5 years earlier, in 1061, and then everything would have lined up nicely.

Another easy-to-calculate temperature is -40 degrees, which is the same in C and F. Ta-da! Sadly, not very useful to know that one, when dealing with UK weather forecasts.

The other point I should confess to, is that it never made any difference anyway (stop that snickering, or join Husband, who always found this amusing). Having dutifully converted to Fahrenheit, I really didn't have much idea of how the figure correlated to the experience. I mean, I knew 32F is freezing, and that if it's in the 90s you're probably on holiday somewhere Mediterranean, but as for the gradation in between, well, I was always a bit in the dark (or out in the cold, if it was, and this being Britain, it often was). Husband gave me a rule of thumb (being a decent bloke), that if it's 60F you can just about get away with no jacket over a long-sleeved shirt. I know, I know. You have to remember, (a) he is a bloke, and (b) we were living in Fife among the hardy Scots. Over time, I've recalibrated that to 64/65.

Being in America has been a real education for me in what temperatures feel like. I now can read the weather forecast and know whether to wear jeans or shorts, whether to take a cardy or not, whether my feet will be cold in flip-flops. I tell you, it's a whole new thing. It's partly because the range is so huge, compared to the UK, that I've been more interested. It's partly because the forecasting is so good and reliable, that it's worth paying attention. It's partly because I see the temperature much more frequently than I used to - the dashboard of the car, the computer, winking digital signs outside shopping malls, churches, gas stations, restaurants, etc. I feel rather proud of myself. I've cracked this Fahrenheit thing. I'm hot stuff at Fahrenheit.

And I much prefer being 98.4 than 37 point whatever it is. Or 36. Can't remember. There's more room for manoeuvre. We all know that 100 means 'ooh, getting a bit high here'. Three digits is a helpful clue. Nice and easy. In Celcius, it's a matter of a decimal point or two between life and death. Much too scary. I need a bigger range of temperature when it comes to health. And yes, since you ask, I do have two thermometers. I don't trust either of them, actually. I do also have a conversion chart in the medicine cabinet, which I printed out before I'd got round to buying a Fahrenheit thermometer.

There you are. All you wanted to know, and more, about temperature conversion in daily expat life. Well, my daily life anyway. I'm guessing my approach might not be entirely typical. I'm going to stop now.