Snow!

So, it's been snowing for a week. Well, of course not snowing the entire time, but almost every day. There's a whole bunch of it on the ground (like 10 centimeters?). I can't believe it hasn't melted away! Anyway, I've made plenty of interesting observations about snow in this cultural context.

1. Finnish people either take themselves too seriously or are much more used to snow than these kids here. They have snow fights, go sledging, walk around their tongue sticking out catching the flakes. I mean, the university students!

2. You have to be born to slippery conditions (like Finland, where snow and ice come every year and even in "bad" years stay for months) to learn how to walk on ice. No matter what these people wear, they keep falling.

3. These people can't drive in snow. No matter that it snows every year reasonably good amounts. They put snow chains on even before the snow hits the ground. They freak out on the prospect of having to drive somewhere. Teachers genuinely seem worried about their students driving home for the weekend. (Although, today I heard a sad story of a local student who got killed when she was hit by a car when she was jogging [in the dark in dark clothes, though, but still])

4. University rules prohibit sledging and all other activities of leisurely going down hills on campus.

5. Police prohibits snow fights. If caught, you can be charged with assault.

PS. There's less than two weeks left of the semester! Can't believe it! Glad to go but somehow it seems that some things were just getting started.