"Leave It to Norwegians in Florida to Convince Me Cold Weather Is Good for Me"

Some of the best radio & podcast conversations start exactly where you don't expect them to…like poolside in Florida—in bathing suits, no makeup, and not a business card in sight.

That's how I met Kari Berit—in what I call a "Random Run-In."

Kari and her hubby were on two lounge chairs in the sun at a hotel pool in Florida. The only other slice of sun not being blocked by our mutual hotel building was hitting a lounge chair right next to them. This cold, pale New Yorker wanted that only other sunny spot, but I didn't want to be a too-close lounger (kinda the same as a too-close talker), so I asked if they minded. They did not mind.

When I realized they were Norwegian (switching back and forth between Norwegian and English was a tip-off), I had to bring up the Norwegian word I've been having fun talking about for a few weeks on the radio and ask them how to pronounce it correctly.

Friluftsliv!

See, this year I decided that instead of complaining about the NY winter, I'd try to embrace the cold like the Norwegians do.

Friluftsliv (pronounced: free-loofts-liv) is a Norwegian philosophy that means "open-air life"—the belief that spending time outdoors in nature, year-round, is essential for physical health, mental well-being, and happiness.

Of course, it seemed a little bizarre that I was bragging about my newfound attempt to love cold weather while sitting poolside on an 80-degree day in Florida—but hey, no guilt. The Norwegians were there too. And we got to talking—in English—about why they were in Florida and what they do in Norway.

(I was there with my other half, Dave, to visit his son for Thanksgiving. They were there to settle the estate after the sad passing of an elderly parent.)

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