As I was gazing through the window, lost in my thoughts, the flight to Skellefteå from India finally landed. It was delayed by two hours, and we reached Skellefteå around 21:00. The moment I stepped out of the flight, I felt the freezing chillness in the air. It was cold, dark and snowy all around.
Even the multiple layers of clothing felt insufficient. The place, the atmosphere, the people, everything was very different. At the airport, I learnt that Skellefteå was rated as one of the world's 50 best places by TIME magazine, and I was pleasantly surprised. We dragged our luggage over the thick snow and got onto the bus.
I was happy that the apartment was on the bus route, but it was late at night, and we were unsure about our stop. I wondered if the driver would speak to us in English and help us out. Happily., he turned out to be nice and friendly.
He mentioned that there was a snowstorm just the day before, and we were lucky to have missed it. Knowing that we were new to the city, he helped us with our stop and even directions to our apartment. His generosity was a welcome gift in a new country, especially facing unfamiliar weather conditions.
We were provided with a shared apartment and there was a family from Pakistan who were already living there. Even though we arrived late at night, they welcomed us. They chatted freely and shared their experiences about Skellefteå. They even offered us some food. Their hospitality and warmth made us feel comfortable on our first day in a new country.
When I woke up the next morning, I was in awe.
I could see snow everywhere from my room’s balcony. I had never seen snow before. It was very beautiful and exciting. We decided to go out and explore. It was our wedding anniversary as well. After our experience the previous night, we added further layers of clothing.
Also read: "Would we love Skellefteå, or would we hate it?"
The moment we stepped out of our apartment, I was astonished to see the ground completely covered with snow. It was all white from road to pathways to buildings. As I was walking to catch the bus, I had my first fall in the snow. I had no prior knowledge about walking on snow and I think this often happened to people who come from warmer regions: we have a fall once and a story to tell later.
It was painful though! We had some difficulty identifying bus stops and the direction of vehicles as Swedes drive on the opposite side of the road to India.
It was so cold. Our hands were getting numb, and I had difficulty breathing. The temperature was –20°C: coming from +30°C the previous day, it was hard to adapt.
The first place we visited was Skatteverket. The staff were nice, kind and helped us with the registration process. It was surprising and comforting that none of the people we met hesitated to speak in English. Even those who were not fluent in English tried their best to help us.
We also met other people like us, new to the city, and coming from different parts of the world.
Chatting with them, I soon found out that they had similar levels of excitement and fear, and it was reassuring to know that I was not alone. I made some friends there, some of whom have remained friends until now.
Another new experience for us was the short length of the daytime.
It was 13:30 and the sun was already setting. We returned home. Moving around in multiple layers and heavy jackets was a tiring and uncomfortable as we've been used to wearing summer clothing. We had a small anniversary celebration, with pizzas from a nearby restaurant.
It was a different celebration from the previous year in India, but it was a nice start to our new life together in a new country.
As the days passed, a larger pile of snow accumulated on the balcony. It was silent everywhere and there were hardly any people on the streets.
Loneliness set in a little. I distracted myself by watching TV and talking to our families on video. But I was still lonely. Would we ever get used to the weather? Would we have a social life here? Only time would tell.
Don't miss Sushma's next column in two weeks' time.
This column was originally published at norran.se/English, the English part off norran.se.