Snow

Dear Ndugu,

please forgive me for not writing for some time. I was on a journey which brought me through wonderous lands, to mysterious people, high mountains, and above all, snow. Snow is like rain, only lighter, and whiter. The snow-drops falling from heaven are called snow-flakes. When it snows, there is a white glim in the air, even at night. In the morning, when you wake up, streets, cars, trees, everything you see is covered with a white blanket. It needs to be cold for rain to turn into snow, and Ndugu, believe me, it was quite cold in those mountains. You need to wear solid shoes if you want to walk outside. Snow is also silence. Unlike raindrops, snowflakes tumble down from the skies in complete silence. So it is beautiful.

Snow can also be dangerous: once in a while, there is so much snow that it piles up much higher than a tall man's hight. In order to go shopping, dear Ndugu, you would then need to carve a tunnel through all that snow. Can you imagine?

But now comes the best part: 150 years ago or so a man living high up in the North (it's a place called Norway) had the fantastic idea to cut two boards of wood. He polished them nicely, and fixed them to his shoes with leather belts (this is actually the fantastic idea!). Instead of sinking in the high snow when walking, he could now move easily on top of the snow. When going downhill, he was even faster. This is called skiing.

With the sunshine above - because, as you must know, dear Ndugu, sunshine follows after snow, just as it does for rain in your country - in the clear blue sky, and the snow all around, it is just like heaven.

Here is a little something for you to watch. Goodbye now, and take care.

Yours sincerely,
Ge.