Klær, Vær og Vinter
A couple of weeks ago, my mother-in-law told me a typical Norwegian quote, "There's no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing!" I still have no idea how to dress and when I came here with all my "Kentucky clothes" as I call them now, I wasn't prepared at all for Norwegian weather.
I just love a quote from one of the Alt for Norge contestants, "The Norwegian weather hates you!" That really sums it up! :-)
When I first arrived here to a very rainy and cool summer, my husband asked, "Where's your raincoat?" I told him, "I've never had one." He looked at me like I was crazy and asked, "What did you do in Kentucky when it rains?" I explained to him if it rained, it would dry soon.
Kentucky weather changes from hour to hour, so a raincoat never mattered much to me anyways. And honestly, I've never had much use for umbrellas and raincoats. I hate wearing layers of clothing and I hate clothing (like raincoats) that make noise when you wear them. Everyone can hear you coming with that swishing noise and I've never remembered to bring an umbrella with me. If I needed to be somewhere in the rain, I just park my car and run into wherever I need to be. Not here, it's cold misty and if you go without a raincoat you'll be wet and cold all day.
Since moving here I've bought my first raincoat - from the children's section. My experience in buying clothing in Norway doesn't go much beyond the children's clothing section thanks to my short genes. Here, children's sizes are by height - in centimeters- and go up to 160 cm. I'm 149 cm.
As if a raincoat wasn't enough, my husband has been inspecting my clothing - and I've received criticisms on how unprepared for weather in the way I dress - so, we also had to buy a winter coat (also from the kids section). My husband told me my old winter coat is like his summer jacket. I have to say, though clothing is horrendously expensive here, my winter coat is extremely cozy - and makes me feel like I'm in a sumo wrestler outfit. :-)
I have no idea how to prepare myself for this upcoming winter. Physically, mentally or emotionally. I know in a couple of months the majority of the day will be dark. I'm not one who deals with adjusting to winter very well as my mood always plummets and I just want to sleep and stay in bed all the time. (I've called this hibernation mode to steer away from any clinical terms) I've made mental checklists of keeping vitamins in stock at home this winter and after bombarding my husband with questions about tanning beds in Norway, he's not a big fan of skin cancer or self-destruction, so he suggested getting a heat lamp to combat possible winter blues.
Before moving, I think my greatest fear was of getting homesick. I haven't experienced much of it. I keep pictures up of old Kentucky barns in the living room, I've had a few bouts of tear shedding where I've missed my grandparents, parents or my little sister, but that's all normal and the homesickness really hasn't been a problem. I have predicted if I do get homesick it will possibly be around the holidays or sometime during this long winter, so doing all I can to prevent winter blues is important to me.
Although it's October, to me it's COLD! I've been confused and thinking about Christmas since September. I constantly have to remind myself what month it is because I keep thinking Thanksgiving is next week and Christmas is 3-4 weeks away. Though my husband and I have a shared economy, he has been given my Christmas list - warm sweaters!
I just love a quote from one of the Alt for Norge contestants, "The Norwegian weather hates you!" That really sums it up! :-)
When I first arrived here to a very rainy and cool summer, my husband asked, "Where's your raincoat?" I told him, "I've never had one." He looked at me like I was crazy and asked, "What did you do in Kentucky when it rains?" I explained to him if it rained, it would dry soon.
Kentucky weather changes from hour to hour, so a raincoat never mattered much to me anyways. And honestly, I've never had much use for umbrellas and raincoats. I hate wearing layers of clothing and I hate clothing (like raincoats) that make noise when you wear them. Everyone can hear you coming with that swishing noise and I've never remembered to bring an umbrella with me. If I needed to be somewhere in the rain, I just park my car and run into wherever I need to be. Not here, it's cold misty and if you go without a raincoat you'll be wet and cold all day.
Since moving here I've bought my first raincoat - from the children's section. My experience in buying clothing in Norway doesn't go much beyond the children's clothing section thanks to my short genes. Here, children's sizes are by height - in centimeters- and go up to 160 cm. I'm 149 cm.
As if a raincoat wasn't enough, my husband has been inspecting my clothing - and I've received criticisms on how unprepared for weather in the way I dress - so, we also had to buy a winter coat (also from the kids section). My husband told me my old winter coat is like his summer jacket. I have to say, though clothing is horrendously expensive here, my winter coat is extremely cozy - and makes me feel like I'm in a sumo wrestler outfit. :-)
As the weather is getting colder, I'm forced to bundle up more and have already spent quite a bit of money
(which I hate doing) in winter clothing, I've realized I'm still unprepared!
My best advice to newcomers in Norway as far as dressing is just wear a whole lot of layers. If you get too hot, you can always take off something. That's the extent of my advice because I'm still learning.
I have no idea how to prepare myself for this upcoming winter. Physically, mentally or emotionally. I know in a couple of months the majority of the day will be dark. I'm not one who deals with adjusting to winter very well as my mood always plummets and I just want to sleep and stay in bed all the time. (I've called this hibernation mode to steer away from any clinical terms) I've made mental checklists of keeping vitamins in stock at home this winter and after bombarding my husband with questions about tanning beds in Norway, he's not a big fan of skin cancer or self-destruction, so he suggested getting a heat lamp to combat possible winter blues.
Before moving, I think my greatest fear was of getting homesick. I haven't experienced much of it. I keep pictures up of old Kentucky barns in the living room, I've had a few bouts of tear shedding where I've missed my grandparents, parents or my little sister, but that's all normal and the homesickness really hasn't been a problem. I have predicted if I do get homesick it will possibly be around the holidays or sometime during this long winter, so doing all I can to prevent winter blues is important to me.
Although it's October, to me it's COLD! I've been confused and thinking about Christmas since September. I constantly have to remind myself what month it is because I keep thinking Thanksgiving is next week and Christmas is 3-4 weeks away. Though my husband and I have a shared economy, he has been given my Christmas list - warm sweaters!
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