So, I thought I'd make good on that promise to fill you in on the tale of when I flew in -60 degrees F weather. It's sort of a long one, but it was quite the nutty week. Here goes...
At the end of January this year, I was in charge of Academic Decathlon for my school, and I had three wonderful students with whom I was working, but only one ended up competing. Unfortunately, one student had too many absences so he could not attend, and another could not find his snow pants the morning we were to leave for the district competition in another village so he couldn't go either; district travel policy dictates full cold weather gear for any trip. (As you will see, it's a very good thing that this second student did stay behind.) I was disappointed for them, but they didn't seem to take it too badly.
The day we flew to the competition in a coastal village, I believe it was 45 degrees below. I wore 2 pairs of my warmest socks with boots; long johns, jeans, and snow pants; two thermal shirts, a sweater, and a thinner coat topped off with my winter coat, plus a hat and mittens of course. I both looked and felt like that boy from A Christmas Story because I could only barely put my arms down. I was quite comfortable in terms of warmth, which is the only thing that matters.
So, we flew on a Monday and were to return the following day. I was informed Monday night that I would be rerouted to another village - this one the furthest upriver of our district - instead of going home. The principal wanted me to attend a training in Constructing Meaning, which is an accelerated approach to teaching academic English to our students.
"Great," I thought. "I've only packed for one night, two at most. Oh, well." A more experienced teacher called and told me that I did actually have some choice in the matter, but I figured, well, why not? Sometimes ya gotta carpe that diem. (Just as a side note, this would be one of the smartest choices I've made - more on that later.)
Well, my student, "Dan," performed well and placed 3rd in the district! However, we ended up being the only ones who got weathered in due to high winds, and the principal there seemed as though he went the extra mile to let us know how much of an inconvenience we were to him. He's not there this year. Good riddance.
The next day, Wednesday, I chilled in the library for a bit and found the book you see in the picture below. Who'da thunk?
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| Yes, I'm a geek and checked it out - it still sits on my shelf. |
Not knowing when I'd be getting on a plane, the district had me tune into the CM training through VTC (video teleconferencing). I was there for only a half hour before the call came for Dan and I to be taken to the airport.
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| The server room where I tuned into the presentation going on upriver. Cozy, right? |
Nothing. I felt nothing - neither with my nose nor my hand. More worried, I kept batting at it, just praying that my nose wouldn't turn black and fall off of my face. After about five minutes, feeling returned. Whew! I'll never complain about the shape of my nose again!
About 10 minutes after the nose debacle, another plane arrived, and a very hip-looking girl walks in wearing just leggings, no socks, teeny flats for shoes, a denim jacket, and a scarf that served only a decorative purpose. She was also holding a Hollywood messenger bag that said "Director's Assistant" on it. The rugged men in the airport almost glared at her, probably thinking along the same lines as myself: "How stupid. You're going to get yourself or someone else killed dressed like that."
Being one of the few girls in the airport, she turns to me and says, "Wow, it's pretty chilly, huh?"
I wasn't going to even address that ridiculous comment, so I said, "Honey, where is your bag? You need your gear."
Hopping from foot to foot, she tells me that her bag is lost. "But that's OK, right? I mean, I can just go to the store and get what I need." Oy.
"No, you can't. There are no stores here. There might be a few things, but not all of what you need." At this point, I decided she needed help more than ridicule, so I dug in my bag to give her my extra pair of Smart Wool socks and made her put them on. She tried to resist, but I told her she couldn't have her skin exposed to the air like that. Clearly, no one had told her where she was going or what she would need.
After putting them on, she says, "Oh, I look so silly [wearing thick socks with the dainty flats], but these are warm! Thanks!" Sigh.
A few minutes later, we were called to leave, and Dan and I headed out to the plane. It was at this juncture that I would finally see a smile out of Dan - he's the quiet and serious type. He climbed into the little 207, and I tried to follow, but with my puffiness, I failed to get enough leverage to hoist myself into the seat. I started falling backward into what might qualify as the world's slowest fall. Knowing I was headed for the ground, I hooked my leg around the single step that protrudes from the plane, snagged part of the door handle, and broke the rest of my fall with my other arm. All the extra padding served another purpose - my landing was pretty soft! So there I was, on my back under the plane in -60 degrees with crazy winds, legs tangled in the stair and wheel. At this point all I could do was laugh hysterically. The pilot felt so bad, but Dan was grinning from ear to ear, so I actually felt like I'd accomplished a great feat that day.
The rest of the trip went fine, and I eventually got to the CM training after dropping off Dan at home. At this point, I'd been flying around or in the chilly airports for about 3 hours. I hate making a fuss, so I tried to be discreet as I entered the training, but that wasn't going to happen. When I sat down, 2 blankets were thrown over my shoulders, and a plate of food and hot chocolate magically appeared in front of me. I was trying to figure out where we were in the presentation and just move on with things when a hilarious woman from the district office, Sandra, blurts out, "I can't even focus on this because she looks so cold! Look - she's BLUE!"
Well, thanks Sandra. So much for a quiet entrance. My stupid lips turn blue even if I'm slightly chilly, so that day they were a little Halloweenish looking.
After the afternoon portion finished, two fellow new teacher girlfriends came up to me, grabbed my stuff, and all but held my hand as they showed me where I'd be staying and where I could get a hot shower. A teacher from the hosting village, John, approached me and said, "I know what it's like to be on unexpectedly extended school trips like this. What do you need?"
Grateful and not really knowing what to say, I said, "Umm, a sweatshirt?" He gave me one of his in royal blue, presumably to match my lips, and told me to call him if I needed anything else.
Later, while taking a shower, I shook uncontrollably for a good five minutes in the hot water. I remember thinking, "so this is what 'chilled to the bone' really feels like." Finally warmed up, my friends and I ended up hosting a tea party/picnic for some teachers' kids in the kindergarten room where we were staying. The rest of the training went very well, and we returned to our villages that Thursday night. The next day was an early release at noon, so I only taught Friday morning that week, yet somehow didn't miss a day of work. Crazy, huh?
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| Staying in the Kindergarten room is the best - look at all the cool toys! |
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| Notice the make-believe comfort food in front of me: a bagel, pancakes, cookies... |
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| I was really disappointed that this brownie wasn't real. |
Since then, I've had the opportunity to present on CM at the district in-service in September, and again just yesterday via VTC. It's been fun and a great way to travel!
So, that's my story. I'm sorry again for such a long post, but I wanted to tell the story in its entirety. Reading back through it, I can barely believe that it all happened the way it did! Ciao!
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