More Snow Tomorrow: Surviving winter as a foreigner in Denmark

Hello and welcome to the How to Live in Denmark podcast. I'm Kassandra Melish. I'm looking out the window as I record, and it's. It's snowing again. It's pretty, but it's not a novelty anymore. It's been like this for the past couple of weeks. Danish winter weather. Every day there's fresh snow and ice. When I wake up on winter mornings, it's still dark and cold, and I can hear the wind whistling outside my window. Every day I think, ah, I don't want to get up. But I do. Of course, everyone in Denmark suffers a little bit during the winter, but I feel particularly bad for people I can see come from warmer climates and are experiencing one of their first winters here. In Copenhagen the other day, I saw a pretty young woman. She looked like a newlywed wearing traditional Pakistani dress— a light chiffon tunic, soft pajama pants, little leather slippers. And then a great big parka over the top. All around her was gray, slushy snow. I got the sense that she was a new bride whose husband hadn't really given her the full story about Denmark and Danish winter. She looked so cold and so unhappy. I also feel bad for the African migrant workers I see here. They're often wearing kind of cool-looking leather jackets, which I guess they got on their pass through Italy, And not much else in the way of winter clothing. I sometimes see one of these dark guys fighting his way through a white cloud of windy snow, and the look on his face is not full of love for Denmark. Getting used to winter is rough. I had a friend who once moved from South America to Canada, and she said that getting off the plane was like walking into a freezer. She had no conception of what cold really was. Of course, immigrants to Denmark adapt to the cold after a while. I think Muslim women have it best because they often wear a head covering every day anyway. Danes, on the other hand, often go bareheaded all winter. You see Danish people packed in like woolly Christmas presents— scarves, gloves, coats, waterproof boots, sometimes waterproof trousers, and no hat. Amazing. And it's not just young people. I see elderly women in fancy mink coats— because fur is acceptable in Denmark, by the way— old women in fur coats and expensive leather gloves walking in the parking lot towards their Audi or Mercedes with no hat. But there's still a lot to learn from the Danes on how to get through the cold winters. First of all, if they can avoid them, they do. Lots of people travel to warmer places during the winter, particularly the Danish royal family. When the weather is at its worst, they always seem to have an urgent ribbon to cut in the South of France or Princess Mary's home country, Australia. My guess is that this is a deal Princess Mary made before she got married. For ordinary people, ski vacations are big too. You'll see people you know disappear for whole weeks in February to Switzerland or Norway. For those of us who are stuck here, It helps to make a plan. It's good to choose a project for the dark times— a new game, learning a new software program, seeing the top 100 comedy movies on Netflix. And February is a great time to invite friends over. Just like you, they have no plans and no money. Any day you invite them, they'll be there. If you suffer from winter depression, which a lot of Danes do, You can buy a special white light that mimics the sun. I had one, and then I stored it away in the basement for summer, and now I can't find it. Instead, I have a little secret— don't tell anyone— I occasionally go to tanning centers during the winter. Not because I want to have orange, cancerous skin, but because they deliver just a little bit of that blue light I crave and haven't seen since September. I can really recommend it. It costs like 40 crowns for 10 minutes, and I walk out of there feeling like I've taken a happy pill. Anyway, there are a lot of good things about the winter. It's great to have a dark evening inside with a hot cup of tea or a glass of wine and a good book or download. And it's fun to watch kids in snow— kids pulling their sleds to the park to take a couple trips down the hill, kids making snowmen and throwing snowballs at each other. It's what kids do now in winter and what they did 100 years ago in winter and probably what they will be doing 100 years from now in winter. It's a classic. And that's the How to Live in Denmark podcast for this week. If you wear a hat in winter and want to tell me about it, come to our Xander Mellish Facebook page or get in touch via Twitter @howtolivedndk. The 2 is a number. Music arranged by George Garvis. See you next week. Remember, the How to Live in Denmark book is available for download on amazon.com. You can read it on any phone or tablet. All you need is the Kindle app, and the Kindle app is free. 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