Spring: Extreme edition

2nd of March...that means spring, right? Well, this year, Trondheim has apparently decided to give us the extreme edition. Other places, you can feel the spring coming on because the sun is shining and it is actually warming you up. And you smell the fragrance of spring. Not so in Trondheim. Here, you can feel spring coming because the wind blows like crazy.

The view out of my window.
Notice the bending trees and the very wet window pane.

And this weekend, we are apparently being treated to the extreme edition of spring, with sleet and a gale. Have I mentioned that I don't really like the in-between seasons - autumn and spring? I don't like the slush, the sleet, the rain, temperatures around zero degrees centigrade, and I especially don't like the the unpredictable weather. I mean, it does help that green things start sprouting and that things go from grey to colour. But that is later - like around May. Sometimes I wish that we could just skip autumn and spring, and just go directly from summer to winter and the other way. But I guess nature needs the time to get used to a new season.




Anyway, I am glad that I have a warm, dry house to be in with a possibility of making tea and watching a film or reading a good book (I Capture the Castle, for example) while the storm rages outside. I will try to remember that I am thankful that I am not outside, and look out at the weather with a satisfaction of knowing that this takes us at least one step closer to summer.

Cold and dark, with squeaky snow

This is Trondheim these days. There are mountains to the southeast and southwest, so even though the forecast says that the sun came up at 09:45 and went down at 14:36, the actual day is shorter. The sun actually never touches the house I live in, I think. So it is dark as night at about 4, making for looong evenings and disturbed sleep patterns. I try to see the sun every day (when it is a clear day), to be able to feel that it was actually day at one point.

Mentioning weather, it has mostly been clear the last week or so, giving temperatures below -10 degrees Celsius. There are lots of people around in their down jackets and with scarves wound around their head so that only the eyes peek out. Have you ever tried hugging someone who is wearing a down jacket? It's so soft - makes for great hugs. The only sad thing is that my cloak, which is my usual winter outerwear, is being repaired, and it is a bit too cold to use it.

But the skies have not been completely clear, we have had some new snow. It came when it was below -5 degrees Celsius, which gives snow with a wonderful sound. Oh, you thought snow was silent? Not exactly. When it is really cold, the snow sort of squeaks and crunches underfoot. I really like the sound cold snow makes underfoot - I know it is really winter when I hear that sound.

I have found out that I prefer steady seasons - summer and winter. I don't really like the changing seasons, spring and fall, because of all the chilly rain and uncertain weather. Sure, the winter is cold, but it is also beautiful, and you know what you wake up to day after day. Winter is actually the season, from my memory at least, when we have the most stable weather. We can often have really cold periods that last for up to two months (and even more!). That happens when a high pressure field moves down from Siberia and settles over parts of Norway. The sky is clear every day, the sky is starry every night, and the air is crisp and cold.

Still, I prefer sitting inside with a good book and a cup of tea looking out at all this, because the cold air really stings my face, and I often start freezing on my fingers and toes when I am outside for too long. Looking out at the moon shining down and the stars and planets shining down, I look forward to being finished with exams and starting my Christmas holiday.

Oh, and by the way, change is still scary. I moved out of my old big locker and into two small new ones, and  it's really weird. Now I have to go a different place every morning and afternoon - I have sort of changed my home base at school. I had my old locker for one and a half years, and I feel kind of sad leaving it. I think about the weirdest things sometimes. Pull yourself together, Julie! It's only a locker!

I think the exam period is starting to drive me just a tiny bit crazy - I'm starting to talk to myself now... I'll just procrastinate a bit more, to see if I can drive it any further (I am still trying to read 50 books this year, but I have 13 to go...).

Okay, I will stop my ramblings now. Have a great advent, and good luck if you are taking exams or the like!

Changing skies - November musings

The sky before I wrote this post

The sky is always changing. The clouds appear and disappear, move and make patterns. The sun moves across the sky (or rather, the Earth turns so that the sun appears to be moving) giving different hues to the things on the ground and the clouds. The clouds can be glowing bright yellow, pink or orange. Or they can be soft grays and blues. They can look menacing, soft, heavy, or happy.

And the night sky is a whole other story. The moon can shine out through a veil of clouds, or be obscured or behind the horison. It could also be there one moment, and then be completely covered the next. On starry nights, one can feel so small and so significant at the same time. I feel that when I look up at the stars, I am alone in having that experience. It makes me feel special, in a way. Sometimes I feel that I can reach out and touch the stars, but other times I feel the force keeping me tethered to the Earth, and I feel small and far away.

The sky and the Earth are always changing. But I often feel stuck in the same routines. I feel that each day is just a repeat of the last one, and that next week will just be another week. But the future is undecided, it's just that I can't live with that idea. I seek stability and predictability - it is comforting to know what is going to happen.

The sky when I had written this post

But even the skies and the Earth are governed by natural laws that dictate how and when things change. I wish the laws of my life were easy to follow and understand. Then my life would roll on as easily as the rain comes in from the ocean, and I would always be where I was supposed to be.

Clouds, stars, visible breaths in the cold air, sunsets and fallen leaves are things that add to the atmosphere of November. Darkness is taking over, the days grow shorter. Woolly jumpers are comforting, and a blanket is the perfect thing in the evenings. I sometimes wish I had a fireplace with a comfortable chair where I could sit wrapped in a blanket and read with a cup of redbush tea. This is the perfect season for that.

Musing as the November day turns towards the November night. This was just a piece of the wandering of my thoughts, I hope you enjoyed it.

Dreaming of a white Christmas

The effect of snow on people is quite interesting. Especially here in dark Norway. November is traditionally the most dreary month because it is just getting darker and darker and there is usually no snow. But when it snows, everything changes. Suddenly, it appears to be much lighter outside, and going outside isn't just something to get through, it can suddenly become this wonderfully aesthetic experience. Children (and older children :P) play outside and the trees are really pretty.

So pretty and white and pure *sigh of contentment*

But snow is just solid water - why do we love it so much and wish for it for Christmas? To many people, it is an essential part of spreading Christmas cheer. But it also means slippery roads and pavements - so it is best to wish for snow when you have no place to go (let it snow, let it snow, let it snow). Some people celebrate Christmas in places where there is no chance for snow, like Australia or Texas, USA. But here in Norway, snow is a part of the weather report that we enjoy talking a lot about. Especially those who like to go skiing. The amount of snow in the mountains during the winter also affects the price of our electricity, and is therefore discussed thoroughly.

I expect most of you know what snow actually is - ice crystals formed in the clouds which don't melt on the way down. Every natural snowflake is unique, but in a lab it is possible to make two identical ones. For chemists and biologists, one of the most interesting properties of water is that the solid is less dense than the liquid. So then you get an isolating layer of ice on top of lakes, and fish can survive on the bottom. Another interesting property is that if you exert pressure on ice, it melts. That is part of the reason that ice is so slippery - especially on skates.

I mostly enjoy the visual aspect of snow - I don't particularly like to walk on slippery roads. But when there is new snow on the trees and the ground, every sound is muffled, and each step either sounds crunch es or creaks, it is absolutely wonderful. Sometimes it feels as though I have stepped into a magical land - Narnia or something like it. I am dreaming of a white Christmas - are you?

Books read: 51
Pages read: 15215

26. Rain

Rain, wind, rain, clouds, rain, and more rain. It's raining today. Not constantly, but in showers where some showers are light while others come pounding down. The wind also comes in squalls. One moment there isn't even a breeze, and the next the palm trees are bending to the wind. The clouds sometimes keep us enveloped so that it feels as if we are on an island in a white expanse of nothingness. Other times, they just press down on us like they are made of lead.

I haven't really been feeling well the last couple of days (since the volcano trail hike), so today I stayed inside, watching the rain. At one point during the morning, however, Kristina knocked on my door and needed help in moving a couple of the horses. She said the horses were quite desperate, so I quickly changed my shirt and went outside. Then I realised it was raining buckets. We tried to be quick moving the horses, but I still ended up completely wet through. When the horses were moved, I rushed inside to dry off and change. I felt so chilled from the rain and wind that I put on my warmest clothes. I had been feeling a cold coming on, and now I was coughing. So I put on my woolly clothes and sat inside, looking out at the rain.

So I spent my day on the internet. And I've discovered a funny thing. On YouTube, most of the advertisements are: "Find your foreign husband." So that's what every girl in the Caribbean wants - a foreign husband. Oh well...it makes sense. But still, I find it funny, because I am a foreigner here. I'm not looking for dating sites to connect with Europeans or people from the United States or Canada. I don't know if this is just me, but when an ad pops up beside the video I'm watching with a picture of a beautiful woman from the Caribbean, and text saying: "Find Your Foreign Husband!", first I think it's funny. Then I think it's sad. Are there really that few possibilities for young women here? Do you have to marry someone and move away from here to make your dreams come true?

I know this isn't something I can do anything about, but it's good for me to see that not everyone has the same possibilities in life as I have. Not everyone can travel and see the world if they want to. Or choose their job and get an education of their choosing. I'm really lucky to have been born in Norway, with the privileges that has to offer. I think we should all take some moments now and then to reflect on this and be thankful, and then try to think of ways to get the privileges you treasure to everyone who wants them.

Books read: 18
Pages read: 4852