We ended up playing table tennis with this weather

I don’t know if you have noticed, but a lot of Germans talk about the weather when they first meet. The usual conversation with my friend goes like ,,Na? Wie geht’s? Heute ist wieder schreckliches Wetter” which translates to ,,Hey, how is it going? The weather is bad again today”.

Usually, weather conversations are a super easy way to make small talk. Especially when it is April! Because even if it is someone you meet everyday, you can still talk about the weather without it becoming a boring topic or a stale conversation starter. In fact, the weather in April is so unpredictable and spontaneous, that Germans have a special phrase for it: ,,April, April, der macht was er will”.

This translates to April April he does as he wishes. It is a bit funny how it sounds like April is a person with moody reactions. But you will be forgiven to think so, as April’s mood swings are worse than a student during exam time.

It is not even like the weather stays the same the entire week and then changes the following week. A random Wednesday started with fog and rain when I woke up first at 7 in the morning. Of course, it is no weather to wake up to, so I slept again. When I woke up again at 9, it was snowing!!!! In April! Snow. Then at 11 the skies cleared a bit and then it became sunny. I was supposed to play Table tennis with a friend in the evening so I hoped it stayed that way. The rain, sun, flurries (when it snows but not really) cycle continued till 3. As soon as I thought that it might get better, April served up a mini snowstorm as I struggled to pay attention to my class… for all of 10 minutes. I asked my friend whether we should cancel the table tennis match and instead, in a typical April month fashion, she replied that we could have a snowball fight as backup. Well, why not?

Another big problem this month can serve up with its up and down weather is the confusion on the type of clothes to wear or the number of layers to put on. The article about the Zwiebelprinzip might come in handy!

Stay warm and dry for the rest of April!

Till next time,

Ajay

Ajay Raghunath is an Angewandte Informatik Masters Student (he recently learned the pronunciation) from India. He has been an ESN member ever since and keeps saying he is an Arsenal fan like it is a badge of honour. He loves to eat even though it doesn't seem like he does. He is a traveller who likes to experience new adventures.