As February comes to an end I can now say I have made it through the Norwegian Winter. Spring is meant to have started  however you wouldn’t be able to tell if you looked at the weather forecast. Strommen is currently experiencing the most snow it has had in around 20 years and this week the temperature has dropped to -15 (add wind chill and we have an apparent temperature of -25). My classmates tell me that they haven’t experienced cold like this since they were 5 and even Norwegians are finding the weather freezing. I often get asked whether I’m missing the Australian Summer and the answer is simple: not a bit!

I’m one of those weird people who likes the cold, actually I don’t like it, I love it. There is something so wonderful about being frozen to the core and being able to warm up and losing the feeling in your face when you walk to school. The snow never ceases to amaze me and, despite the fact it can get everywhere, it is one of my favourite parts of Winter in Norway.

I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that it was cold though. Even when you have four layers on your top half and thermal pants and jeans on you still feel the chill. I don’t go anywhere without my beanie and gloves and if I know I’ll be outside for a while I will wear two pairs of woolen socks.  Surprisingly I have found that ugg boots are the best form of footwear in terms of keeping your feet warm and I’m eternally grateful that I brought mine.

The above text was written around a week and a half ago. Since then the temperature has increased a little- it’s now a little less than -10 every day. However there was a particularly warm day a couple of days ago. the apparent temperature was -1 and the sun was out. If it was that cold in Australia I’d probably rug up as much as possible but everything is relative. That is why on this -1 day I walked home from my basketball game in shorts. To be honest I may have been feeling a little to lazy to bother changing into my leggings but I wasn’t cold a at all.

In fact there are only really two times whilst I have been in Norway that I have felt truly cold. Both involved walking around in outdoor museums or nature parks for around 2 hours when the apparent temperatures was -23. There is a Norwegian quote that perfectly describes their attitude to the weather. The translation is: There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.

Until next time,

Alicia