Friday, July 24, 2009

My German Ancestors and Their Summertime Experiences ...

For this edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern Europe, I'm supposed to write my ancestors' experiences with summers in America and Europe, and to be honest, I really do not know very much about what life was like for my ancestors in Europe or America. (Although when it comes to life in America, I can guess a little about what their summers might have been like.)

Most of my German ancestors settled in the Great Lakes area, primarily in Michigan and Ohio, and since I've grown up in the same region as they settled, I do know what summers are like for the area. Summers in Michigan tend to be hot (Temperatures can range from the 70s to 90s, and sometimes even higher.) and humid. This year the summer has been cooler than it usually is, but even so, I've still had to use the air conditioning because there have several days that were either humid, hot or both. Of course, my ancestors would not have had air conditioning, so they would have had to find other ways to stay cool. Although I'm not completely sure as what my ancestors might have done, I do know that a couple of my ancestors would leave Detroit, either to go to the cottage they owned or to a farm owned by other relatives. Of course, those probably were not the only things my ancestors did, but at the moment, I don't know what they might have done.

As for the weather in Europe, I do not believe I would be too far off to say that they might have had to make a little adjustment, but I cannot say for sure. I have been to Germany in the summer, and from what I remember, the weather was slightly warmer than what I was familiar. Although it was slightly warmer, I think the weather was quite comparable to the weather or the Great Lakes region, so I do not believe my ancestors would have been shocked by the weather in the summertime. As for the weather during wintertime, I think that is a completely different story.

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