This weekend we got more snow! On Tuesday morning when I awoke, I looked outside expecting to see some snow as the weatherman predicted. Just as he said, everything was covered in white.
My host mom took our dog out for a walk in the morning and came back in and said that it wasn't too cold or slippery. She did fail to mention it was still snowing, so it came as a shock when I opened the door to leave for the bus and the flakes were still coming down very quickly. I didn't have time to go back inside to get my thicker gloves and hat, but I was dressed warm anyways. By the time I did reach the bus stop, I was covered in snow though.
The temperature hadn't been too cold, so snow was falling, but the ground was almost completely slush. Everything looked beautiful, but walking around you found your feet getting wet from all of the melted snow.
I have my camera with me just about everywhere I go, and I really enjoy walking around, so sometimes I get off the bus early to walk a bit further. I passed through a desserted soccer field and this was on the side of the road. Just some snow covered planks of wood that I thought looked cool.
Perhaps sometime soon I will be skiing on this pathway instead of walking. That thought comes to my mind quite often when I pass through the familiar path.
There are many tall trees here in Finland, with the exception of up north in Lapland. The sun begins to set around 4pm now and is down by 5pm, so it seems that much darker because the trees block out most of the natural light from the sky during the night.
This is of the sunrise early Wednesday morning on the way to the bus. The temperature had dropped a bit, so everything was frozen; a much more enjoyable change than the slush we had the previous day.
It was so nice to see some blue sky, because for the last several days everything had been dark and cloudy. The blue the goes so much more with the snow and the sun actually is able to come out for the few short hours it is up. Pretty soon, the sun will be setting at 2pm so you need to make the most of it while it is up.
It actually snowed a bit more during the day, but didn't really stick too much. Pathways were really slick, especially downtown, because of the snow which had melted and frozen over creating much ice (ice is "jää" in Finnish and slippery is "liukas").
Just something to keep in mind is that dirt pathways are far less slippery than roads and cement paths, because the snow doesn't melt as quickly and the surface won't be quite so slick even if it is wet.
When I first heard about the darkness in Finland, I became a bit scared. I wasn't too sure how I would feel with only a few hours of daylight, but things haven't been too bad at all. The snow really helps to lighten things up, but even without it as long as you keep on doing things you'll be fine. I am outside in the dark all the time and have no problems with it, plus it is safer here to be outside when dark. You get used to things, although it takes awhile for your body to register that is is only 4pm when you feel like it should be 8 or 9pm.
-6 degrees celsius may seem a bit scary, but I assure you it really isn't too cold. I'm not sure how -30 degrees will feel though. If you dress warm and are prepared, then you won't notice the difference in the temperature at all. I actually feel much colder when it's positive 2 degrees celsius, than when it's negative degrees.
I think we have been pretty fortunate with the weather, but unfortunately it has warmed up a bit this weekend and it is actually supposed to get even warmer. That means that the snow will all melt soon, and then we will be getting more rain instead of snow and things will be a bit more dark and dreary.
I feel a bit like Monet; "The Painter of Light," because I have just fallen in love with the way light shines on trees. I have hundreds of pictures just of trees in the sunlight. Snow or no snow.
Lahti, has really become a winter wonderland. The plants have beautiful ice formations and snow flakes all over them. One of the best things is that the ground and all of the plants sparkle in the light, it is just so magical.
Just one of the ways I went while out walking Laku. I live back, but you can't see my house. There is a huge field that surrounds the housing community I am in. On the west side of the field is a foresty area, a good place for a walk, but I don't go in there so often now, because it is really slick with leaves, and now snow and ice.
On Thurday I had a close call and almost broke my wrist. Thursday is my only late day at school which meant that instead of going on the 7:20am bus, I was on the 8:40am bus, which luckily not so many people I recognize, ride. The bus pulled up to my normal stop near the city center, and I was the first one to get off. The first step I took, I slipped and fell on my left leg and wrist. It was really embarrassing so I hopped up as fast as I could, and slowly, hurried to school making sure not to slip again.
My whole left arm hurt pretty badly, so I ended up going to the nurse and getting some ointment on it, then having it wrapped up. I was fortunate, because I could have broken it. I actually find the situation really funny though, because I had it coming to me. This week during our exchange student meeting, our teacher informed us that the nurses office for us high school students would be closed this week, so jokingly I had emphasized "so don't get hurt this week." Then last night I was talking to my host club counselor about my emmergency medical fund. The week when we got our first snow back in October, my host mom and I had talked about the fact that so many people were showing up to the hospitals with broken wrists from trying to stop their fall. And, well, I just hadn't slipped yet unlike so many other people. The timing was just perfect, which is why I couldn't help laughing despite being in pain.
I wore the bandage for only two days and just took it easy with my wrist and arm. Now it feels back to normal and no bruises or anything. I am really thankful that it didn't turn out worse.
On Friday when I took the bus to school I got off at the square instead of my stop just before it. This time I could see the entire street shining in the light from all of the ice. I won't be getting off there again while there is snow on the ground. Be careful where you step!
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