Why a scarf is the best accessory in Greenland

Wondering what to pack for your cosy winter getaway in Greenland?

 

Winter is that time of year when you struggle to look different any time you leave the house because you typically wear the same parka and the same snow pants every single day from October until April – and if you are like me, they are both black. Hence why a selection of colourful and exciting scarves (or hats for that matter) helps to change up the look!

Here is a starting list of what I suggest you pack for a winter holiday in Greenland, in addition to your everyday indoor clothes:

• Down parka with hood – I use one by Mountain Hardware that has never let me feel the cold ever, but a lot of Greenlanders use a Canada Goose jacket, too. They’re just too heavy feeling for me. A knee-length jacket is what I suggest for max warmth, but it is not the best if you will be doing outdoor adventures that require a lot of mobility of your legs, so you must choose a jacket that fits your activity needs. A good jacket will not require you to have excessive layers underneath, but you will want to use a medium- or heavy-weight long underwear top and a wool layer for half-day or full-day outdoor adventures.

• Insulated snow pants – not that I can imagine a pair of snow pants that aren’t, but they should be both waterproof and windproof. Just wear them over your jeans or everyday pants when walking around in town, or layer a pair of medium- to heavy-weight wool long underwear underneath them for half-day or full-day outdoor adventures. I use:
  • North Face Freedom LRBC Insulated snow pants

• Wool socks – important because if snow does get into your pants/boots, the socks will remain warm even if they are wet. I don’t suggest the scratchy wool kind.

• Winter boots – in general, they should be waterproof and have very good traction on the soles as there is snow and ice everywhere (no down-to-the-concrete plowing here). It is best if they give a minimum-temperature guarantee, but not everyone does. Places in the Arctic Circle Region and North Greenland get down to -25 to -30*C / -13 to -22*F, while places in the Capital Region and East Greenland typically hover in the -10 to -15*C / 5 to 14*F range. South Greenland is even milder. Over the years I’ve used these brands, starting with the most satisfactory:
  • Hanwag Tatra Lady GTX – My current shoe. Quite happily surprised, actually, that these boots function well in winter, as I purchased them in summer as a hiking shoe. But they are completely waterproof as I’ve tested on many occasions, and I used them recently for a few hours’ snowshoe trip and they kept my feet comfortable and warm.
  • North Face Valdex Winter Boot – Also generally satisfied with these boots, but have experienced cold toes sometimes with them in -20*C / -4*F like in North Greenland. They are also very heavy!
  • Sorel Joan of Arctic Boot – Not wildly satisfied with these boots, despite I had high hopes for them since I saw so many people using them in Greenland. For me, the traction is awful, and it is never funny to feel scared you will fall down at any time. I also got tired of the fur on the liner, but that was easily substituted with an alternate liner.

• Scarf – Wool is your best friend when it comes to accessories!

• Gloves – Mittens are highly recommended over gloves with individual fingers, as the warmth gets circulated differently. I’ll be honest here and say that gloves made outside of Greenland have never been satisfactory enough for me. The only ones I swear by are my sealskin mittens and my muskox wool gloves, and you have the possibility to buy them yourself in Greenland. If you are buying sealskin products, be sure to know what your home country’s importation rules are about sealskin – you might run the risk it is confiscated from you. There are, however, no regulations against muskox wool.

• Hat – I suggest a wool hat, as synthetic knits simply do not hold up to the wind. Again, the accessories I swear by on a daily basis are made of muskox wool (like the hat I wear in the picture below), which can be bought in Greenland when you arrive. Read here about why I only use muskox wool!

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#FjordLife – Music Festival in Qooqqut

In early September there’s an annual event called Qooqqut Festival that takes place just outside Nuuk, the capital city of Greenland. It is a celebration of being together with friends and family listening to good music and soaking in the most beautiful natural surroundings on the planet.

I got to attend this year, and it was just the most perfect ‘goodbye’ to summer, as just a few days later I was traveling out of the country for 6 weeks on business! (And when I returned, it was already winter.)

Qooqqut Festival is a full-day no-alcohol event with music, art workshops, demonstrations, face-painting, and food, so bring the whole family – kids, grandparents and even the dog. When you’re in the fjord, there’s room enough for everyone!

Watch this film with fantastic drone footage (you’ll never believe minute 2:29 is real life!!) or Read the story here, or both 🙂

A Snapshot of Internationals in Greenland (2016)

Last year I wrote about some statistics and figures related to the nationalities of Greenland’s residents, and I thought I would do it again with the most recent figures to see if there are any significant changes this year over last. (The short answer is: no).

As of 1 January 2016, 11% of Greenland’s population of 55847 people is foreign born, which equates to a whopping 6021 individuals who hail from 51 different countries. This is literally only just a few handfuls of people more than last year, so the proportion of foreign presence is staying quite stable.

Danes account for the vast, vast majority of internationals in the country (76%). Faroese account for 5%, and Icelanders and Thai, 3% each. Filipinos and Swedes account for 2% each, and all others are 1% or less per nationality, including people from Norway, Germany, USA (39 individuals, or 0.6%), Poland, Other Asia, Other America, Other Africa, Bulgaria, Finland, France, Great Britain, Romania, Canada, China, Oceania, Iran, Holland, Italy, Spain, Pakistan, Lithuania, Slovakia, Russia, Other Europe, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Austria, Lebanon, Belgium, Hungary, Turkey, Ethiopia, Iraq, Japan, Latvia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Ukraine, Morocco, India, and Syria. In that order!

The distribution of internationals around the country is also very stable this year in comparison to last year.

• 62% of internationals live in Nuuk (3733 people, which is actually about 100 people more than last year)
• 7% of internationals live in Sisimiut (414 people, which represents a slight decrease actually)
• 6% of internationals live in Ilulissat (384 people, which is slightly more than last year)

And, it’s still true that no matter where you are in the country, you will always be in the minority compared to Greenland-born residents.

• The 3733 internationals in Nuuk still account for only 22% of Nuuk’s population.
• The 414 internationals in Sisimiut account for 7% of Sisimiut’s population.
• The 384 internationals in Ilulissat account for 8% of Ilulissat’s population.

Think you could hack it is an international in Greenland?

All figures based off of data published by Statistics Greenland on their Statistics Bank.

Cultural perspective: Violence is a cultural norm in USA

 Screenshot from a True Activist online article

There’s a whole line of sociology about getting perspective on the good and bad parts of your own culture only after you have traveled elsewhere and seen a different way to approach something.

After spending the better part of the last four years outside USA, a huge takeaway for me is that violence is a deeply-engrained part of American culture, so much that it’s a part of 18 everyday phrases (see the examples below). But I’ve also learned that it’s not necessary; everywhere in the world is not this way. There is another way to live!

Violence in the media

I stopped watching the news in USA long ago because the entire broadcast comprised stories about violence – murders, school shootings, fires, fights – and finished with a sweet little 2 minute spot with a feel-good story. Not just here and there, but every single night. I was over it – completely sick and tired of having such negativity in my life by way of the television.

Violence is not necessary

Hey newsflash, America! You know what’s NOT happening on a daily basis everywhere in the world? Pointless deaths due to gun violence, gun accidents, gun miseducation, inadequate screening for weapon ownership, or whatever you want to call it. People don’t come out of the womb wanting to kill people. People aren’t born as racists. They learn it from the society they live in, and then it is fostered and supported by their society’s laws and policies.

Thankful to get out

I’m so glad I now live in a place where people literally gasp in horror when they hear stories about the depravity in USA, because it is so far from what they know about respect for life and the treatment of other human beings. 

Violence engrained in American English language

I thought I was far enough away that I didn’t really have to think about violent USA anymore, but it actually started coming back in my thoughts through language, of all things. 

When you live abroad and use a foreign language or two as your daily communication, you often find yourself searching through the Rolodex of words flying around in your head in multiple languages. Often times what comes up are sayings – phrases that actually have no (or hard-to-see) relevance when directly translated. Lately I’ve realised that WAY too many times I’m pulling forward sayings that use death and violence nonchalantly, and frankly it is embarrassing! I’m ashamed that such phrases are in my top-of-mind vocabulary.

What kind of society is USA if daily language talks about death or killing? No wonder there’s so much violence and depravity in that country – it’s completely the norm! It’s so normal it’s mainstream. 

Here are 19 American English slang sayings that normalize death, killing, and violence in general. Do you use any of these? Have you ever thought twice about what you’re actually saying?

1. “Killer” to mean either really cool or really hard
2. “To die for” to indicate that something is highly desired or high quality
3.  “Start with a bang” to say something had an impressive beginning
4. “Kill me now / Shoot me now” to express boredom or displeasure
5.  “I wanted to die” to express boredom, displeasure, or embarrassment
6.  “[My legs are] dead” to say you’re exhausted and totally out of energy
7. “My parents are going to kill me” to mean you’re anticipating being in big trouble
8. “Like I need a hole in the head” to indicate something is unnecessary or undesired
9.  “Making a killing on” to say you earned a lot of money from something
10.  “I would kill for” to express an extreme longing/wishing feeling for something
11. “Don’t shoot the messenger” to ask to be excused from fault
12.  “I’m dying” to say something is hilarious
13. “On my deathbed” to exaggerate a feeling of illness.
14. “Kill time” to say how to spend a certain amount of minutes or hours until something else happens.
15. “Trigger happy” to say someone makes quick decisions or simply does things on a whim without thinking them through.
16. “There was a gun to my head” to express being coerced into something against one’s will.
17. “Shooting himself in the foot” to mean someone does something that is not in his best interest and ruins things for himself.
18. “Could die a happy woman/man now” to mean something was so perfect and wonderful that they don’t need anything more in life.
19. “Backfired”, usually with reference to a plan, to say something went completely in the opposite direction it was supposed to.