There are a lot of reasons not to visit certain countries in winter. Yes it is cold and there isn’t much sun. But during my time in Finland I discovered winter has many beautiful aspects as well. Even if you look beyond the obvious; snowboarding, skiing, white Christmas, hot chocolate.
It can be scary to go to a country where you don’t speak the language and know nothing of the culture. Just look at the bright side! Even if the sun is nowhere to be found! I found many good things about living in Jyväskylä.
1. You don’t have to worry about your hair. Once you put on a hat, you just don’t take it off anymore.
2. Alright, your legs might be freezing, but so are you groceries. No need to worry about getting those frozen products home in one piece.
3. You truly feel like you’re abroad, since you really don’t understand anyone.
4. If you can’t say anything in the shops, you just play the silent, shy Fin. You’ll fit right in.
5. For all you Europeans; Finland has a Lidl too!
6. Walking up and down the hills in your snowboots is a pretty good workout.
7. If your fish fingers don’t fit in the freezer, you can always keep them on your balcony.
8. At least here traffic can deal with a bit of snow. Yeah for trains running on time!
9. Since riding a bicycle might be a bit tricky, call it dangerous, you have a good excuse to use the bus.
10. The Finnish often eat hot food during lunch, saves you cooking in the evening.
11. You can do your grocery shopping and work on a healthy gambling addiction at the same time. During winter people get so bored that they even need gambling machines in the supermarkets!
12. When darkness falls, you just go to the sauna, close your eyes and pretend you’re on a tropical island.
13. In winter you don’t have to get up early to see the sunrise!
14. You can use those extra warm winter clothes you love but don’t really get to wear at home.
15. You don’t need blusher, because whenever you enter a room, your cheeks will turn pink instantly.
Hahah. Agreed to all of the above!
I went to Europe last February and it was all fun!