It's not so bad here, I guess

I am drinking a congratulary chai latte because I just finished my last final. Go me!

The other night my host mom told me that her grandparents are still alive and kicking, depite being in their mid-90's and having a fondness for sake and smoking.
"Wow, that's amazing. They must be pretty tough," I said.
My host mom went on to tell me that, in fact, her grandfather had survived a Siberian labor camp.

Say what?

I did a little research, and it turns out that after WWII, Russia took all the Japanese soldiers still in its country and forced them to work in labor camps. Now you know.
"My grandfather says that it was terribly cold, and that the food was pitiful and they worked all day. Nobody expected him to survive and come back to Japan."
"Wow. How long was he in Siberia?" I asked. My host mom thought for a minute, then said,
"I don't remember. He used to tell me about it when I was young, but since he would always start crying I would beg him to stop."

I was going to complain about how cold it is in my room at night but I think I won't now.