From +30 to -15 ...Not Cool - Tuesday, Feb 28, 2012

From sunburn to snow!

After leaving the safari, we headed back to Nairobi. it was a fast 4 hour drive where I grilled Dr Rosie, one of my new favorite people in the world, about our form, the different diagnoses we saw and meds we prescribed to try to improve the database and form. The total sweetheart that she is, she let me fire questions at her for over two hours to the point that someone asked if I was prepping her for a test!

We did some shopping in Nairobi while we waiting for our late flight, and Ted and I went off to Don Bosco school for street children. We got to see a few familiar faces in Julius and Emilio, twins that Ted and one other person sponsor through Chalice. The boys were in Mikinduri but relocated to Nairobi. Even though they're just in 8th grade, they have experienced much more than most adults and their goal for this year is to get a score of 300 on their upcoming national test so they can attend secondary school. They asked Ted to buy them shoes so they can play soccer as they currently play in bare feet. These boys are quite the sweet talkers so it's hard to differentiate what they really need, but this was a fair request. We took them to the mall and they got to say hello to the team and get a pair of shoes.

Afterwards, we went to an amazing all you can eat brazilian steakhouse called 'Carnivore'. Even though it was a Friday in lent, I thoroughly enjoyed the meat. Somehow it's hard to fast or abstain while in Africa, and though I would have ordinarily passed on the meat, there really weren't other options. (Yes yes, these are justifications, but I had to at least try to make it sound good, right?)

We got to the airport around 9pm and said goodbye to our amazing Dr Rosie, begging her to come to Canada for a bit, and hoping she'll join us in clinics next year. We went through security (3 times) before getting on our midnight flight. We arrived in Brussels 9 hours later, had a layover that was two hours longer than it should have been, just enough time to bump us off our final flight to Charlottetown. We spent two nights in Montreal because of those two hours. They were nice and relaxing and truthfully I enjoyed sleeping a lot. Plus, the airline picked up the two nights of hotels and $90 in food for the time, so we ate well. It was a testament to how great the team was - even though our trip was extended two days, after the initial groan eveeryone let out, they all put a smile on their face and made the best of the situation. We spent Sunday in Montreal enjoying the huge underground mall, a gorgeous mass in the Cathedral of Catherine du Mond (or something like that all en francais) and a fun ride on the metro. When I finally arrived home at 2pm on Tuesday (not 5pm on Saturday as planned), I was happy to crawl into bed after finishing off a box of mac and cheese, and relax with my old dog passed out next to me. I made it until 8pm before falling asleep, and once I woke up (9 horus later) this morning, I realized, both the dog and I entirely missed dinner, and the dog slept from 2pm until the morning wihtout a pit stop. He was as tired as I was!

This morning I woke up bright an early and unpacked from the trip for the last time. One thing about the trip - I was constantly packing and unpacking. Even while in Montreal we had to change hotels after 1 night. Luckily I did my laundry while in the hotel so i didnt' have to do that at home.

As I was getting dressed to go in, (had everything but shoes and makeup), I decided to check email. Lo and behold there was a very special message. it was a snow day! My first day back to work and it was my frist snow day on PEI! The message said to check back at 10 to see if it was a whole day or only 1/2 a day off. When 10 rolled around and school was officially cancelled, I was too excited! What I would later learn is that a snow day actually involves a lot of work....shovelling snow.

I have mercifully made it until February 28th without shovelling snow. I made a half-hearted attempt once with the first fall, but only did 1/3 of the drive before giving up and just driving over it. So, when i saw my car was buried under a few feet of snow, I underestimated the amount of work it would take to extricate my primary method of transportation from the snow and ice that surrounded it. I started out yesterday shovelling two tire paths from the car to the street. that only took 1 hour. Today, I spent another hour shovelling when I realized the tires were frozen in place. It wasn't that there was a few feet of snow. The thing is - at one point it was snow. Then the rain came. Then more snow, then more rain. It was really a few sheets of ice compressed and pressurized in to this rock of water, locking my car to one spot. Long story short, I spent 3 hours today with one very sad looking plastic shovel trying to free my car.

As an engineer, I like to think that I can reason my way through most situations. As a prof in engineering, I should be able to do that. I learned today, that experience is invaluable. It's not too surprising that a southern girl (and I use that term in the sense that I have never lived in the snow) really has no business moving to Canada without some sort of course in winter. Yes, yes, I've been skiing and have driving in the snow and ice. Mom prepared me to 'turn into the skid' and 'tap the breaks'. All of this is well and good, but what the heck am I supposed to do when I cannot see 3 inches of tire due to ice? Other than vow to move somewhere with a garage in the future, I was at a loss. Mom suggested I use salt, but the only way to get the salt is to go to the store or walk there and carry it back. Neither was a viable option today as it was a snow day, my car was stuck, and the snow was coming down as fast as I could shovel it.

One glove. and Can you find my dog?

My wardrobe changes were a clear indication of my current state of mind.I started the first round of digging with an optimistic attitude, a little excited for my new adventure. I had on my ski jacket, fleece pajama pants and wellies, with a nice warm woolen hat and thick ski gloves. 5 minutes into this outfit, the optimism was gone, my african zen had disappeared and so had my gloves. After an hour of shovelling, my hands were blistered and my car was as stuck as it was when I started. This morning, I wore a similar outfit, but without the hat as it just got in the way, and there was definitely no smile on my face as I headed outside. The third attempt was serious business. I discarded the coat and only wore a zip-up sweater and yoga pants. I would find my zen yet. I kept the gloves and hat, but decided the coat was just holding me back. My neon pink sweater could be seen from down the street, and more than one person stopped and just watched me. I have to wonder if I was holding the shovel upside down for the amount of attention I was getting.

Finally after hours of shovelling, my nice straight-ironed hair was frozen at the end, my tuke hat was half off, and I had lost a glove somewhere, I attempted once again to move the car. Not having much luck and unsure of what else I could do, I started crawling around the wheels on my hands and knees, digging the wheels out like I was building a sandcastle, complete with moat. I got in the car one last time, musing that if this were a movie, some guy would walk by, offer to help, and after 80 giggly silly minutes I would realize he was my one true love, not just a friendly fellow. As I was unsuccessfully spinning the car tires, not feeling nearly as hopeless as I did the previous day, even though I really didn't know what I would try next, two guardian angels walked by. They may have been regular people but I'm pretty sure I saw wings and a halo. Instead of gaping and pointing as the others did (bad samaritans), the guy asked if I needed a push. I said, 'oh, please don't trouble yourself', but he insisted. He and the woman rocked the car and after only 5 seconds of trying, my car was free! Dude with the beige coat and woman with brown hair - thank you! Thank you so much! I wasn't yet at hopelessness, but maybe that was because I knew help was on the way. I was so excited to have the car free that I grabbed my dog, threw him and my purse in the car, and went for gas and groceries. When I returned, I laid a bunch more salt down and shovelled the latest layer of snow off the drive. I was able to get through a few inches of ice, but I wonder now, if the car will move tomorrow. As much as I like my current place, (a converted garage), I'm not sure I can survive a real winter w
ithout a garage for my converted garage.

Success! Yes that is what triumph looks like.

I came inside and was so hungry, I ate a whole box of Captain Crunch as the sun was setting. Although my sister would have been proud of me, I can't imagine how many calories that must be, and I wonder if it undermines the grown-up accomplishment I feel for learning how to shovel. I have enough snow in a pile nearly as tall as I am, that I could probably make a fort, or at least an ice dog house for my pooch. Every time he goes outside, he seems unsure of where to do his business. This Texan is proud about today, but a bit miffed that my snow day was marred with so much work. And seriously - is there a course in how to handle the winter? I would take that!