Weather Woes

Can anyone else please be concerned with me that this is the weather in Denmark right now?

I finally received my Pre-Departure packet from DIS. It is full of useful and scary things, like that out of 365 days it on average rains for 171 of them. That is almost HALF. And I will be missing the sunny months of summer that only rain for a little over a third of the time, which means that the months I am there are the ones that compensate for the "dry" season. I also learned great things like there are 39 hours of sunlight in January. The entire month. I know that I am going to be out of my comfort zone, and I am very excited to actually get to spend time in snow, but this seems a little extreme. The dreary weather encourages Danish Hygge though, which I have been told repeatedly is a part of Danish life. Loosely translated "hygge" means "cozy" or "warm", but there is no way in English to explain exactly what it is. Heck, I do not even really know what it is. All I know is that it is amazing and encouraged by gloomy weather that makes you want to stay inside. I tell you, if hygge has cuddling involved, I am SO in. Oh, I also know how to say "Tak for i aften, det var hyggeligt!" which means "Thank you for the evening, it was hyggelight!" which is a very high compliment to give someone. (On a side note, the Pre-departure booklet gives other key phrases like hello, goodbye, my name is blank, etc... and of course the very last word is "Øl" which means "beer". I was amused.)

All in all I think I am preparing nicely to be unprepared. No matter how many phrases I learn, or books I read, I will be shocked. I will be amazed, I will be confused, and I will DEFINITELY be cold... but I will learn. Even if it is the biggest mistake of my life and I hate every day, I will grow as a person. I am just so excited.