Les Hannah, day 32, part final

Guess what: it was raining after school was out. How rare. I have been told that late-October and most of November are the rainy season here, but even some of the locals here are complaining that this is wetter than usual. These Danes are seriously discussing shifting weather patterns; call it Global Warming if you like, but whatever you call it perhaps the entire world should be taking it a bit more seriously. The Danes, at least the ones I have been associating with and the ones who are talking of it, are seriously discussing shifting weather patterns. This is a seafaring nation, and perhaps they take notice more closely than us landlocked Oklahomans.

And speaking of weather, several people have told me about the winter last year. Remember that we in Oklahoma had those odd snow storms; recall Christmas Eve? Yeah, what was it fourteen inches of snow in only a few hours? Well, the people here in Esbjerg said they also had freak snow storms. They have told me that despite what many Americans think of the weather in Denmark (that it is so snowy here) that it really does not snow that much. They say that perhaps every three years they will have a white Christmas. And even then it is usually a dusting to only a couple of inches and gone within a few days. Actually it sounds somewhat similar to Oklahoma in that weather aspect. But last year – oh, last year they have told me that there was anywhere from several inches to more than a foot (convert to metric here) on the ground almost all winter. It snowed early in the season, stayed cold, snowed more, got colder, snowed again – you sense the pattern developing? These Danes were complaining about the cold weather and the excessive snow. So is there something to this “Global Warming”?

Following school, I went to my new apartment, flat. I will try to use flat from here on out; you know what they say: When in Esbjerg …. So the first night in it was not bad at all. It is actually warmer, considerably, than the house, certainly more convenient to the necessary shopping, and also to the school. But there was something about that house and being back out in the country that I really appreciated. Guess that reflects my character some. I’m a country boy. Rural Adair County and Pumpkin Hollow, Cherokee County. Those are the places where I have my fondest childhood memories, and this little house had brought some of those back. The quietness of the evening, and the absolute darkness at night.  Some people may not like that, but I really enjoyed it, the total darkness of a country evening.

However, I was in the city now and it sure felt different. Not in a bad way, just different. I did sleep well; I was tired I suppose still from my travels around Scandinavia. I never really rested from that, just jumped right back into work at school the very next day. I did watch a little TV this evening before going to bed. One major difference in the television programming is the cable in the city gets more English language programming. But there is still nothing on truly worth watching, but that is the case pretty much world-wide. I have satellite at home, over 100 channels and there is still nothing on worth watching. That’s why I have so many books.