Inuit women in Germany: “I am very cold”

8.1.2010 – 18:10 Uhr Source dpa

Bielefeld, Germany (AP) – Germany is sinking in the snow. Many people feel cold – Dorthe Kohler, however, is happy since the onset of winter. The 54-year-old Inuit woman from Aasiaat on the west coast of Greenland, feels these days as in their homeland. For 15 years she lives in Bielefeld.

Big igloo in front of Kinngait (southern region of Baffin Island) — Source Wikipedia

Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa she told how the German differs from the Greenland winter.

How does the German winter for you?

Kohler: “I feel like at home. The childhood comes back to me. Snow, always snow. Dog sled ride, skiing – those were good times. In Bielefeld is rarely any snow. But I can not change, I have to through. I chose to live here because I also have to endure, that there is hardly any snow. ”

How does the German from the Greenland winter?

Kohler: “The German Snow is no different than in Greenland. But the air here is not as dry as in Aasiaat. She is so wet and cold. I’m freezing at minus 2 degrees in Germany already true in Greenland just to minus 20 degrees. This can not be understood. They all say: “You’re Greenlander, you still can not get cold here.” But I’m freezing here very much. ”

How long the winter lasts in Aasiaat?

Kohler: “About eight to nine months. Now there is there but not as much snow as before, and it is also warmer. When I was little, was always to June snow. In January there were at that time minus 20 degrees, today it is only minus 6th »

Many German think Inuits live in igloos. What is up with this idea?

Kohler: “We live in Aasiaat as the Germans in homes. As children, we have built for fun, and inside igloos lighted candles. I do not know it differently. But perhaps somewhere in Canada, Inuit build igloos today. As a protection during a snowstorm. ”

Interview: Christine Cornelius, AP

Source: Zeit Online

Translated by Mr. Google