A relationship with snow?

 

My relationship with snow has naturally evolved over the years that I've lived in Finland. I still recall my first view out the window, in April 2009, during Easter weekend, when I saw snow still on the ground in the park across the road from my apartment building. Oh look at that, there's still snow on the ground in April, I remember thinking. 

Having the experience of Chicago winters under my belt, living just a block or so from the lake, meant I was not a newbie to either the lake effect or below freezing temperatures.

What I learnt in Finland, however, was not that it was "warmer" than Chicago, but the embrace of snow as a part of life for a much longer span of time. Snow, here, has many different words to describe it although lumi is the most common word. Unlike English, snow has a different word if its a verb than when it is a noun, among other little differences. 

Someone asked me how I felt about the crunch of crisp ice crystals under my feet. To be honest, I can't recall experiencing quite that kind of snow so much. Instead, once it snows, such as the year I took the photograph above in the nature walk behind my old apartment, its the experience of walking through it, sometimes ankle deep (if not deeper), plowing through it would be a better word I think, that I most recall. 

After moving into the city center a couple of years ago, I've forgotten this experience. The snow not only doesn't collect in quite teh same way - I'm guessing its warmer overall with the hot water pipes running under the streets - but its cleaned up more often and its dirtier and slushier. Not as pristine as in the central city park. 

I guess I miss this kind of walk more than I thought I would, given that I grew up on the equator (tropical Malaysia and then later, Singapore). I've learnt a lot about snow over the years: its warmer after a snowfall; its brighter and the night can sometimes seem to shine when there's snow on the ground; snow is better than rain; and snow, a lot of snow, is intriguingly a perception of silence and safety. I didn't expect to realize I now have a relationship with snow, but it seems that I do.