Alta, a small city in arctic region of Norway. In this land, snow start falling from mid-October to end of April usually. People in Alta looks they know how they live with snow in wintertime and how to welcome the arrival of winter unlike me, as an international student from Japan, a temperate zone of the earth. There are also tourists who coming to Alta even in polar night season, since Alta is one of the popular tourism places to see northern light. I am going to talk three reasons that what snow gives us to me based on my own experience.
First of all, I came to realize that, when the snow start falling, the land turn into totally different place which is covered with beautiful white snow, compare to it in summertime. The appearance is different, while in summertime, you see the beautiful landscape of Norway with the color of green nature and midnight sun warm up the people, in wintertime, the landscape become the color of pure white and the snow reflects the sunlight, and make the day more vibrant. For me, snow makes me feel I’m in the arctic. I talk to neighbors often and none of them hate winter. They say winter is the most beautiful season in Alta.
On top of that, people in Alta loves winter sports, such as skiing and snowboarding. I have rarely experienced that kind of sports in my life, and it was in the place with artificial snow. This year, I had experienced skiing in Alta for the first time in my life, and I noticed that the snow is feather-like soft and it was warm. Physically it was cold, but I felt the sense of safe, it was like the snow was cushion that I can dive into. Even though I was a beginner of skiing and I fell down many times, I came to like skiing more than before.
Lastly, when the night with Northern lights, the snow making it more beautiful than without it. When I look those beautiful pictures of Northern lights on social media, most of those captured with snow. When I explore Alta to see Northern lights, I feel it is more beautiful to see Northern lights with snow. Since the snow reflects the color of Northern lights and amplify its beauty. I can see that brighter and possible most beautiful way. Besides that, when I take a picture of that, it looks better with snow. Snow put more arctic atmosphere on the experience and the picture.
In such ways, snow made my life in Alta more vivid and vibrant by giving me some great experience. Even though I had experienced the darkest wintertime and shoveling the snow for my first time in my life. It is worthwhile to experience living with snow in Arctic, away from my home country.