�Cold� beginning in Norway
KOSMOS BISWOKARMA
One peculiar characteris tic of the Norwegian society is people here spend a lot of time talking about weather. It was quite surprising for me when I arrived here at the end of January. But leaving in this northern most country in Europe for three months has made me weather conscious too. Because winter months are the chilliest and coldest and one barely experiences the Sun and it really affects your daily routine.
It was total shock for me when I arrived here in Oslo on January 31 as a participant of an exchange programme between Nepal Forum of Environmental Journalists and Framtiden i vare hender (Future In Our Hands), sponsored by state-run Fredskorpset. I felt so cold, I can�t even imagine now. Some one told me later that the day I arrived here it was -23 degree Celsius at the city�s main airport Gardermoen and -19 degrees in the city area. It followed with severe winter weather, which confined me inside my centrally located room in Oslo.
Many Norwegians rush to Spain down south or even fly to Canary Islands above Africa just for sun bathing during the winters. Because many people here get sick due to the lack of sun heat causing depression. Most of the time they are confined to their houses and offices during the winters, people do not feel like going out. That�s understandable too because going out in the evening is just not advisable in those chilly conditions.
I read somewhere that winter in Oslo is from October to March and weather starts to become �wiser� from April. But April is the month when the weather changes without even �informing you� and you can experience all four seasons in a single day. This is the reason why April is regarded as "the moodiest month of the year." Barely had the Norwegians enjoyed the warmest Easter (mid-April) in recent memory, the surprise snowstorms hit the city. Snow fell over much of the Oslo area last weekend.
"Winter returns with a vengeance" wrote one of the newspapers here, as Norwegians� short flirt with summer came to an impromptu end with snowfalls sparking traffic chaos and closing some major roads leading to the city. That led to a string of accidents as most of the car owners had already shifted their snow tires to summer tires.
Norway�s cold is infamous throughout the region. And there�s one light-hearted comparison between the countries in Europe and Norway.
"When its 15�C, people in Spain wear winter-coats and gloves while the Norwegians are out in the sun, getting a tan."
"In 10�C, the French are trying in vain to start their central heating, the Norwegians plant flowers in their gardens."
"In 5�C, Italian cars won�t start but the Norwegians are cruising in cabriolets."
"In 0�C, distilled water freezes, the water in Oslo Fjord gets a little thicker."
"When its -5�C, people in California almost freeze to death, the Norwegians have their final barbecue before winter."
"And in -10�C, the Brits start the heat in their houses, the Norwegians then start using long sleeves."
"In -20�C, the Aussies flee from Mallorca, the Norwegians end their Midsummer celebrations."
It goes on, and ends with "-300�C, hell freezes over, Norway wins the Eurovision Song Contest." Because people here think winning this contest is almost impossible.
This is just a light-hearted comment on the winters in Norway, but one could definitely experience that cold here is surely different. And it really compels you to think, get informed and talk about the weather.
Because my first impression here was that people in this part of the world are cold. They hardly interact with others and are more or less confined to their selves, which really makes people like me sick who have come to work in a totally new environment and you hardly have anyone to talk to.
Some one told me that it is because it�s so cold in the winter that nobody feels heated enough to come forward. But he was quick to add, let spring come, people here do open up. And I sincerely do hope that people open up before the next real winter arrives!
Tilbake