How to survive winter ...
... in the Baltics? Good question, and actually I do not really have an answer.
But still, I have been spending some time in the coldest country on earth now and believe it or not, I am still alive (even though I am already missing one finger and two toes because of the f**king cold.) That's why you may call me now 'SurvivoroftheWeakest' and should listen carefully to
the following tips.
1. Don't stay inside !
Actually, Latvians are the toughest people I have ever met. Winter? F**king cold? No way. For them Latvian winter is just a gentle breeze warily touching your slightly red cheeks. The second you notice it, it is already gone. That's why they don't need (rather don't want) radiators. However, for me it feels like there is a never-ending snowstorm in my room slapping me straight in my face every time I enter. But at least I have a reason to go outside - only to be hit by another everlasting blizzard.
2. Don't eat onions - be an onion !
I proudly present the masterpiece of German engineering: the Zwiebelprinzip (at least I pretend it to be German). The procedure is very easy: You wear at least 3103 layers of clothes, starting from a t-shirt and ending with a thick woolen pullover. After almost two hours of dressing up you will feel like in heaven. Nothing can hurt you - not even the everlasting Latvian winter trying to punch your blazing red cheeks. Until you take a look into the mirror - or you have to pee.
3. Hope against hope !
Don't despair, february is almost over and there is still hope left. After spending several months in Latvia I can promise, the snow will be gone in a few weeks, but don't worry, you don't have to buy sunscreen. The snow will leave, the rain will come. As it has been in the past. As it will be in the future. The infinite (Latvian) circle of life. But at least I can finally wear my amazing yellow wellies again. Naaaaaaaaaaaaa-zie-wennnnjaaaaaa !
4. Eat chocolate ! As much as you can !
If you carefully follow the instructions above you will presumably look like an overweight Michelin Man with duck-feet as soon as you go outside (or even inside), therefore you don't have to worry about guys/girls/cats/oak trees flirting with you (I don't want to judge people who do like plants, but that is a totally different story). Thus you can eat tons of chocalate without anyone noticing your inexplicable weight gain and you can even hide the bar under your millions of layers so you don't have to share with your flatmates.
5. Stay positive !
I think you already got it. Latvian winter can be very long and hard. No sun, just a freezing cold, always dark winter wonderland. Very romantic - for one day. After several weeks it is just annoying. But I believe in you, you can do it. Get up, take a hot shower, grab some food and sing a little song ! 'You can get it if you really want.' Jimmy Cliff will always support you, even in the darkest hours. But don't overexert yourself, you already did a lot today, it's totally fine to go to bed now.
6. Keep smiling !
Last but not least the most important advice. Keep smiling. Fortunately, it's not that hard, you just have to endure this facial gymnastic for several seconds, your muscles will be frozen really quickly anyway. My mom always said: 'Smile to the world, and the world will smile back to you' Obviously she has never been to Latvija (at least not yet) where you might be slapped for smiling. Therefore better start running - but at any rate you will warm up.
Little Bonus:
After a few hard days in the coldest winter of my life I finally understand why most Latvians are not smiling all day long. They are just really concentrated while doing other stuff - cooking amazing food, listening to neverending complaints, knitting socks, borrowing gloves, making sarcastic jokes, crafting decorations to light up offices and hearts, - for a slightly naive volunteer who might have underestimated Latvian winter. Tāpēc liels paldies to all these amazing people who help me to survive this very special winter. Jūs esat apbrīnojami !
