The Darkness

    Shortly after I found  work in Denmark, following  a long  wait back in the US for a work visa, I arrived at the country ,which I knew so little about but ,would be my present and future home. I came around summer time and like many other foreigners, I was not prepared for the dramatic change in the way the weather is. So on the morning of my very first day to work,my eyes open to the horror of full sunlight. In a panicky rush,I shower,get dressed and grabbed my belongings,because there was no way I was going to be late for my  first day of work. When I finally get a hold of my self and look at my clock to see how late I was to my new job, came shock number two. It was 6:30 am but the light outside felt like 10 am. That was my first experience with Danish weather, during summer time,when the sun rises at 4am and sets at 11pm. That part of Danish weather was a pleasant surprise to discover and during summer, you can leave the office at 4pm and still have close to 7 hours of light to go out,bask yourself in the sun,have a nice dinner at some outdoor cafe and enjoy the lovely weather Denmark has in the summer.

     The shock starts to truly set in around September,that is when almost from one day to another, the amount of sunlight diminishes,depriving your body of precious  vitamin K which was readily available during the summer months. So while before ,waking up at 6:30 to go to work,was quick and easy, your body cant handle waking up in near total darkness. Every morning becomes a ritual of dragging the time and trying to see how much you can snooze your alarm,before finally finding the energy to drag yourself into the shower and making your way to work. This sudden shift in sunlight,must have a large impact on your bodies defenses, because right around this time, the amount of sick co workers increases at the office,signalling the start of Fall. Sadly the weather gets worse as winter sets in, which brings you gloomy,cold,grey landscapes,with sunrises close to 9 in the morning and sunset around 4pm. So if you work in an office,during winter it is not abnormal to commute to work in darkness and make your way back home in darkness at well. These winters can be so grim that certain people suffer from winter depression,brought on by a lack of sunshine. Doctors can even prescribe a lamp that lets off UV rays,to help people cope with the lack of sun.

    If you were to guess,what county has the highest consumption rate of coffee per capita, you would naturally think its Columbia,Venezuela or some other some other South American country. But after living in a country with such harsh winters,it comes as no surprise that its Finland,a country further North of Denmark, who enjoys coffee by the liters. If Danish winters are bad then Finnish winters must be a nightmare and only through consuming copious amounts of coffee, could you ever make it through the day. I am going to miss summer and thank god for good,strong coffee.