Let there be Light!

It's that time of year when the days get longer at a dramatic speed. The opposite happens in Oct-Nov when the days become shorter quickly. During these periods (Oct-Nov and Mar-Apr) we lose or gain about 4 minutes of daylight a day! Whereas in December and June we lose or gain possibly just a minute of daylight per day. This is illustrated in the graph I posted in Nov. 2008. The change in day length is quite obvious over a few weeks and everyone is thrilled because we are all sick of winter. We are now up to 12 hours of sunlight. Hallelujah! The snow is melting (although I'm sure more snow will fall before Spring truly arrives), green grass is visible, and birds are starting to sing. I even spotted a small purple flower today. Spring is officially celebrated here on April 30 (yes, much later than Mar 21).

The interminal winters here are defended by the Swedes with this saying, "Det finns inget dåligt väder, bara dåliga kläder." (There is no bad weather, only bad clothing- which means I must be poorly dressed.)

I went skiing last weekend and the snow was so nice and powdery. We actually drove through a snowstorm on the way to the ski resort.

I was amazed that people keep biking here even when there is snow on the ground. But now I do it too. A little more concentration is required to maneuver through fresh snow, old snow, snow turned into slush, and ice, but it is do-able and I haven't fallen since October!

As I've mentioned before, because bike seats are often wet here from snow, people cover their bike seats here with plastic bags (including me). The most popular plastic bag that is used is the bag from SystemBolaget, which would lead one to assume this country is full of winos. But really, that particular bag, which currently is magenta and so easily recognized, is just the right size and so durable! That's my bike seat cover of choice as well.

a picture of the bike stall below our kitchen window during a snowstorm in late Feb

All alcohol (except for light alcohol beer) is sold by the government in the store SystemBolaget. Many people complain that alcohol costs too much here due to the high taxes on it and can only be found in one store. But the perk is the stores have a huge selection of beer, wine, and spirits and all the people who work there are very knowledgeable about which wine pairs best with a certain food. After seeing all the alcohol-related illnesses in Santa Rosa, I don't mind the high alcohol taxes at all.

Unfortunately, I'll miss seeing the exciting weather and daylight changes in the next month because I'm going to Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania from Mar 19 to April 19. But who can complain about a trip like that? Looking forward to the warm weather...