These Old Bones

Let's see... 14 days since I last blogged... Representative of the busy-ness of those 2 weeks!

In that time (in no particular order), my students finished their semester-final exams, I turned 40, and a new student arrived from Brazil. Her first language is Portuguese, which means that the only language she has in common with the rest of my Grade 10 class is English.

Second semester is now well underway, and I have decided to tackle Othello at an ESL level with my grade 10 class. I plan to attempt Shakespeare with my higher level grade 9 class in the next couple of months - Romeo and Juliet. The English Department at Pacific Academy would like the kids who come through the International Program to be better equipped for their grade 11 and 12 studies, and this is one step I am taking to ensure that this happens. I think the kids are enjoying Othello, so far. There is enough intrigue and romance to pique their interest.

Today, we had a bit of a semester break with the International Students, plus a student who just moved here from Germany to complete grade 12. We drove up to Cypress Mountain in North Vancouver. I am an avid cross-country skier, but the last time I downhill skied was no later than 1989. For those of you that aren't very good at Math, that's 17 years ago.

On Saturday, I made a foray into Coast Mountain Sports to gather up the bits and pieces of gear I needed: a good pair of ski pants, ski gloves, and a toque - the kind with the little braids that hang beside your face with tassels on the end. I did this with strategy: If I was going to make a complete ass of myself, it would be better to look good while doing so.

All the ski rentals and lessons were arranged for us ahead of time, and I originally signed up for the beginner lessons. However, when we got up to the mountain, the beginner classes for both skiing and snowboarding were full of our students, with only a couple planning to take intermediate. Some of my students have skied or snowboarded before, but for most this was their first time. Everyone seemed to have a good time, and there were no major injuries.

Since I am technically not a beginner, I joined one of the other staff members, and two students in the intermediate ski class. The instructor was very patient, and took us halfway up the mountain for the first "warm-up" run. He welcomed me into the class since I clearly knew how to stop, turn and snowplow - although with no grace, whatsoever!

Downhill skiing is apparently much like riding a bike - once you've learned you never forget. So, once the lessons were finished, we went right to the top, enjoying amazing vistas of the Pacific Ocean over the peaks. There were a couple of nice, long, gentle ski runs.... the kind where you can let your mind wander as you drink in the surrounding beauty... until an inexperienced group of snowboarders interrupts your reverie... I only had one major wipeout, directly related to an icy patch, and several minor wipeouts. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable day.

And now, I am paying for it. My 40 year old body isn't as resilient as my 23 year old body was! I jumped into a hot bath as soon as I got home, but I'm pretty sure that getting out of bed tomorrow may be a bit painful.