O Canada (Part I)

Hello frands.

I know, I know...I've been a very bad blogger. My dad keeps kindly reminding me that I'm long overdue in writing about my students' and my trip to Canada. Since I've been back, I've been scurrying around attending weddings and searching for employment. I'm never fully unpacked, as I've not spent a solid five days in one place since leaving Charlotte. It's been a weird summer.

As for the trip...

First of all, you will be glad to know that I did NOT have to share a cabin with my students. Secondly, I got over the embarrassment of wearing a bathing suit in front of my students and just went ahead and wore my regular bikini around the island.

JUST KIDDING.

I settled for a one-piece and gym shorts, which I did not remove even in the water.

I have to admit, arriving at the Charlottesville airport at 4 a.m. after being in a wedding and getting zero sleep was about the last thing I wanted to do. I almost cried on the taxi over there I was so tired. I hadn't showered, so my wedding makeup had migrated down my face, while my hair (which had been piled, pinned, plastered and sprayed onto my head) took notice and followed suit. Picture, if you will, something along the lines of this:

Yeah. I boarded the plane in a haze and regained my consciousness when we touched down in Charlotte. As soon as I located my gate, I sat down and slipped into a deep sleep. A couple hours (minutes? seconds? years?) later, I was jolted awake by something I hadn't heard in awhile...

"Hey Ms. M!!"

I snapped my head up and quickly wiped the drool from my mouth, all of the sudden very aware that everything I was wearing/carrying smelled like a bar. Dante was beaming at me on my left, Stephon to my right.

"Oh! Hey boys!" We exchanged hugs, then I got up to greet Quabi.

Mr. J, the man who owns the island and had the idea for the trip, was beaming. "I told them to go find you and they just started wandering around this giant airport looking! It was a minute before Stephon told them to hold up and look for the gate on their tickets! They were just going to wander until they spotted you!" He registered my appearance. "You have to get up early this morning for your first flight?"

"Yeah...well..." Here I came across a dilemma. Do I own up to my complete lack of responsibility last night, even as I sit here with the title of "chaperone," or do I claim the respectable explanation he has just presented and feign enthusiasm for the rest of the day? The thought of enthusiasm made my head pound. I went with the truth. "I was in a wedding last night. I didn't actually go to sleep at all." I watched his face for signs of disgust or dismay and found none.

"Oh wow. You must be in bad shape. Listen, I'm going to Starbuck's. What can I bring you?"

"Something big."

Mr. J returned with a grande latte, a bottle of water and a neck pillow for me. I decided I loved him.

The boys could not contain their excitement. They were asking me a million questions about the plane ride. "Whendowegettoboardtheplanehowlongwillittakewhoamisittingwithwhatifwecrashwhereisourluggagehowhighdowego?"

When we finally boarded, I sat beside a nervous Quabi. "We finna go? Dis takin' forever. Why we still sittin' here?" After an eternity, we took off. "WOW! Dis a BEAST! Look, Ms. M!" I explained to him that even though it was cloudy, once we got all the way up, it would be sunny and we'd be looking down at the clouds. He was mesmerized, plastering his face to the window for the majority of the two hour flight. "Wow, Ms. M, I think we finna get to HEAVEN!"

I loved watching how excited they were to be on their first plane. Even though they barely fit in the tiny seats--gangly knees up to their ears--they looked like little kids in that moment. My eyelids still felt like they were were made of sandpaper, but I knew I was so incredibly lucky to be able to experience this with them. There was nowhere else I'd rather be.