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When my boss told me that I will go to Sweden for a month I wasn‘t as enthusiastic as he obviously predicted me to be. I tried to mirror the excitement one could see in his face and ended up smiling too bright and laughing too loud in response. He informed me that the trip would be a project about making shortfilms in Sweden’s province Dalarna. This is where the fundamental conflict started. One has to know that I am head over heals into filmmaking and especially intercultural filmprojects – until temperatures drop to 5 degrees. The maximum of warmth one can get in January in Sweden is about minus 5 degrees. I’ve always had problems with the cold. My body starts to shake and my lumbs start to feel numb sooner than anyone else’s do. However, what bothers me the most are reactions people have to my body switching to survival mode that unnaturally quick. One time in high school our teacher planned an outdoor winter fieldtrip and after an hour my fingers as well as my nose started to get super white, which almost caused my teacher to call the ambulance. Back to Sweden: I knew that most of the filming would be taking place in the woods. Google introduced me to some of the most beautiful spots in Dalarna and I started to picture what the endresults of the films could look like. So I pushed my personal struggle to the back of my mind and actually got super excited for the journey. On a rainy friday morning I left town equipped with two things: a huge suitcase and mixed feelings. After a full day of travelling I arrived at my final destination. I was in a bad mood because of my whole day spent in busses, trains and an airplane plus irish filmmakers talking in a very energetic way during the last 4 hour bus ride from the airport to Ludvika. When my host Anetta arrived with her car, stepped out of it and approached to welcome me my mood switched completely. Anetta was in her mid 40s, had a bright smile and an extraordinary calm aura. As she shook my hand, I recognized the coldness of hers. Anetta had been living in a small place close to Ludvika for her whole life – the place consisting of three houses in total. Coming from the city, I couldn‘t imagine living in an outskirt like that for over 40 years. However, Anetta seemed to be happy about her decision and surprisingly open minded as well. The thing I liked most about Anetta was that we shared the same struggle with almost freezing body parts in the cold. After first realising it when she welcomed me I started noticing her nose turning more white and her feet shaking way more compared to everyone else’s on set. Of course with me as an exception. One evening I approached Anetta after making sure no one could overhear me (being tipsy) asking her: “Have you always had problems with the cold? I’ve never met a person whos body reacts to the cold in a similar way mine does.” I felt weird saying that out loud and blushed. She smiled at me, grabbed her bag and revealed something indefinable at first glance. A pair of weird locking socks. I started to grin but Annetta remained serious. “These are heated socks. I actually have a second pair of them and would love to give them to you!” “How can you actually still live here when it’s cold almost all the time?” “You have to know that warmth is not only produced by thermo socks. Find a place where you feel comfortable at and can receive warmth radiated from people you spend your time with. If you find a place like that it’ll be less difficult to adapt to the parts of your environment that seem challenging and discouraging to you in the first place.” Feeling goosebumps on my skin I answered “I will definetely remember this whenever I’m feeling cold again.”