Written by our March 2025 Alumni: Tara Guilbert
It probably seems normal to most of the world but for me, being from Australia, being cold during Christmas seemed very out of the ordinary. December in the Southern Hemisphere is like a free sauna, you’re always sweating or stuck inside because the humidity reaches over 90%. So having reversed seasons seemed very off! I was born a Spring baby but now I’m an Autumn baby?!!!
Coming from the land down under, I knew there was going to be a lot of differences and these are the types of differences that not many people relate too.
In Australia, (particularly where I am from) December is a HOT month! We say “it’s a scorcher”. I am from 2.5 hours north of Sydney, which is Newcastle, not to be confused with the one in the UK. Like when I say hot, I am talking 40-45 Celsius, which means staying inside with the aircon on full blast whilst having a “Zooper Dooper” (icy pole, popsicle).
When Christmas day arrived here in Prague, I was not following the Australian traditions of
- wearing a bikini,
- lathering up on SPF 50+,
- eating only cold food,
- heading to the beach for the morning,
- having to leave the beach by 12pm because the UV cracked over 11.
Instead my Christmas involved waking up realising I forgot my window was open and it was cold! I made some lemon chicken soup and drank some Czech beer. Then i took a lovely stroll through the Christmas markets in Old Town (which by the way are non-existent in Australia). Walking around the beautiful square with crowds of people (and dogs) and hearing traditional music was just a beautiful experience that I would have never gotten back home.
I then saw that the Zoo was open! Yay! I went to see the kangaroos and emus because in a sense they are like a connection to my home. The emu 100% knew I was Australian, it kept screaming at me. The animals were so adorable! In Australia it would be far too hot to be walking around the zoo in December!
I finished my day by calling my family… only to realise it was already the 26th of December there. Time travel is crazy! My mum was telling me about the heat, I was telling her about the cold. A few weeks after Christmas we had a nice coating of snow and was the most snow I have ever seen! The beauty of being in a different hemisphere and being able to experience reversed seasons is truly unmatched.
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