A touch of the winter wonderland
Text: Laura Myllykoski Photos: Milan Kolarovic
Even though there is barely any snow on the ground at the time of the interview, Ede Aghedo and Babatunde Adebowale have already experienced their first snow ever. Before this autumn neither one of them had ever seen snow – apart from the cable TV.
Ebe is pointing on Nigeria that is located in Western Africa near the Equator – so there really isn’t any snow there.
Even though there is barely any snow on the ground at the time of the interview, Ede Aghedo and Babatunde Adebowale have already experienced their first snow ever. Before this autumn neither one of them had ever seen snow – apart from the cable TV.
Ede and Babatunde are both from Nigeria. They are freshmen at The Degree Programme in Information Technology and plan to study in Raahe for the next four years.
New, yet exciting
Both Ede and Babatunde came to Finland in August. They had both read about Finland and about snow so they really weren't too shocked about the reality.
- The cold breeze still gripped me when I stepped out of the plane in Helsinki-Vantaa airport, Ede tells.
Even though there is barely any snow on the ground, Babatunde managed to mould a pure white snow ball.
- It's so cold! But I don't hate it. In Nigeria there was sometimes so hot that you couldn't think straight, Babatunde explains.
- We have a some kind of winter in Nigeria as well, but it means just that the temperature drops below 20 degrees and the wind gets drier, Ede explains.
Babatunde tried to get the feeling of snow back in Nigeria by scratching some ice from the freezer but still he had to buy some more clothes when he arrived.
Both of the boys still embrace snow even though it is cold and wet. Ebe compares it to the sky because of its light reflecting property.
- It's like heaven coming down. It reminds me of how far I am from home and makes me miss my family.
Babatunde is also eager to try winter sports such as ice hockey but Ede prefers taking the observer’s position.
- Well, maybe I'll try once to get the feeling of being a Finn.
Want to know more?
Snow ('lumi' in Finnish) isn't always pure and white and perfect. There are almost as many kinds of snow as there are wintry (or not so wintry...) weathers. So to enlighten your mind we present you with the dictionary of snow. Also the nearest analogue word in English is provided where such exists.
Loska – grey and wet snow that almost resembles water, slush
Sohjo – snow mixed with water but heavier than 'loska', sludge
Räntä – combined water and snow falling from the sky, very wet and heavy and melts almost instantly when hitting the ground, sleet
Nuoska – snow that has gotten wetter and softer because of warm weather, can be easily moulded into snow balls etc, thawing snow
Puuterilumi – powdery snow that is ideal for winter sports such as downhill skiing, powder snow
Tykkylumi – snow accumulated on tree branches, can actually bring trees down with its weight
Lumikinos – drifts formed by rough wind, especially good for children to jump and dig, snowdrift
Lumihanki – a perfect layer of snow that can be as thick as one meter, snow cover
Kantohanki – a thick layer of soft snow that is covered by a hard crust, the surface can sometimes carry even the weight of a person, snow crust
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