Leaves turning orange, falling off their branches in slow rhythmic sways, I imagine they are dancing to Beyoncé’s “I Was Here”. Landing on the gravelled ground with a sense of fulfilment. I spot a squirrel just in my path running off with a nut. My first encounter with one. Oh my, I think I just saw a rabbit…yikes, it’s a hare…long hind legs! This is so incredible! I feel like I am in a movie. My first autumn season!!!
“As I stroll past the Botanica garden to the city centre, I am drawn to other passers-by. Most of them in just T-shirts and jeans. Some have on light coats and scarfs. I am curious why? Aren’t they freezing? I ask myself. I look down at my outfit and I am wearing a very thick jacket, the thickest I could find with a thick wool scarf around my neck. Don’t even get me started on the layers of long sleeve tops and sweater I had underneath or the thermal tights underneath my trousers. My hands in gloves… Can you tell, I am freezing still!
From Stings second Album released in October 1987, “Nothing Like the Sun”, I begin to hum the chorus of “Englishman in New York” …
“Oh, oh…I’m an alien, I’m a legal alien I’m an Englishman in New York… I’m an alien, I’m a legal alien, I’m a Nigerian woman in Uppsala, Sweden…”
Okay, my version of the lyrics won’t fit into the beat but you get the gist.
I am a huge fan of Game of Thrones. Who isn’t? I think David Benioff and D.B Weiss are awemazing (awesome and amazing at the same time). Remember that scene in Episode 10, Season 6, where Sansa Stark and Jon Snow were talking? A white raven came from the citadel and Sansa says…” Winter is here”. It so is for me.
I am from Lagos, Nigeria. The urban heats of that island range from 34 degrees to 39 degrees Celsius. Night live is saturated with tunes of afrobeat, hip-hop, neo-soul, Jazz, R& B, traditional songs and Spiritual hymns. The days are full of Sunshine and Sunshine… And when it rains, the thunder and lightning set the perfect stage for children to dance in it. memoirs from my childhood…
If you are used to the tropical climate in Africa or Asia and looking to stop by Sweden, heads up! End of summer, beginning of Autumn means Winter, Winter, Winter! Grab a few extra sweaters and thermal wears on your way to this Scandinavian beauty. Add some thick socks and solid boots in your luggage. Trust me it will be a few extra kilos in your suitcase but it would be worth it.
You can thank me later!!!
So, if you are new to Sweden and you can relate, drop your comments below and let me know I am not alone on this.
/Fifi
I had similar experiences many years ago (back then in early 2004) when I first arrived in Russia. Just unforgettable.
I never got used to winter whenever it came by for the almost 7 years I spent there. I still managed to enjoy it though.
I could remember going outdoor in the snow playing soccer with friends, the gliding and sliding snow floors and the many slips and falls by both young and old, male and female alike. Sometimes you could see the block formed floor shining like a mirror and those are the places to avoid walking on, (you would definitely fall by mearly stepping on).
Sometimes it would get as low as -45°c and then the govt. would close down schools for a few days.
Enjoy the (in)-convenience for as long as you’re there.
Best regards.
Amazing write-up, by the way.
awww…thanks Emmanuel for your truth…so amazing to read…oh yeah…thanks for your last line…blushing in yoruba…lol cheers…hold up! Did you say -45 degrees…What!!!!!
This is really good Fifi… consider being a writer. You go girl
Thanks, @Luwatee… Every single day…Thanks!!!
At first it felt like night time in jos. Then I’m bolted back to reality when my heart feels like there’s an icebox on it. Still I’m enjoying every moment of it
I know right…spent a week in Jos for a staff audit…it was cold girl! I initially got that Jos feeling of chills…rude awakening though…it’s so not Jos but I can relate…I am enjoying it in a way too…like running into a warm building from the cold…That feeling is priceless
Hehe if you think this is winter, wait for February when it may easily be 30 cm snow on the ground and minus 20 Celsius degrees 🙂
omg! I am petrified…lol but excited at the same time… My first white Christmas… I should blog about that…Thanks for the comment