Recently we hit a little cold snap here in Nebraska. The windchill made temperatures dip way below zero, and schools and activities were being cancelled left and right. Now that I have kiddos I get the reason for doing all this, however I cannot help but chuckle at these temperatures as I remember my times in Sault Ste. Marie, MI and of course those years in Alaska.
I have come to the conclusion that we can never move to an area that is colder than here in Nebraska. Audrey hates the cold, like with a passion. We have had multiple conversations as to why we should move somewhere warm. However we then have the discussion that were there is warmth, there is normally bugs, which is another nemesis of hers. She just can't win here...poor thing.
After all this talk about weather, I thought it would be a great idea to do a Throwback Thursday story about my teaching in Alaska. I taught in a small, rural town in Anderson, Alaska, for four years. There I learned how to adapt and experience life at -60 degrees Fahrenheit. Now it wasn't that cold all the time, but that temperature happened. I walked to school most of the time because it took too much effort on me and my vehicle to warm it up and drive it the couple blocks to school. I just suited up real well, including sunglasses to protect those eyelashes from freezing. I could have bought goggles, but I was just as cheap as I am today.
People in Alaska are just tough. Seriously I never was that tough, and definitely have become soft after I moved back to the lower 48. Kids go outside for recess until -20, yes minus twenty! I remember someone saying the first week of school I began teaching in Anderson that school was optional for kids at -50, but teachers still needed to report. The bus had some trouble at those temperatures too, but I was always amazed how those highway kids got to school daily by that loyal bus driver.
Now that I have painted the picture of how cold it could be, I remember one day I was talking about my expectation for the science fair to my class. We were all going to do this science fair, however we were struggling with understand the items that needed to be on their poster boards. I figured we would just do our own science project going through all the steps start to finish. I had not yet done the experiment of throwing water up in the air at -30, and it was just the right temperature to do this. I think most of the kids in the class had done this experiment, however I was really going to push their observation skills on this one.
Now I could go into details of what we did step by step and record the entire lesson, but that could take awhile. I am surprised I can remember all these details though when I can't even remember a simple shopping list. The outcome was great though that year because we all did a science fair project and understood all those important components.
What it breaks down to is I would love to move back to Alaska with all its glory, but I have come to a conclusion that it was only a chapter in my life. I loved my experiences and memories, which made for an awesome adventure in my life.
The group on the left was throwing cold water and the right group was throwing boiling water. They threw the water at the exact same time, not sure how it worked so perfectly, and you can see the results. I was not expecting the instant evaporation of the boiling water, with a few frozen droplets that fell to the ground. Oh and check out that cold water. How in the world did I manage to get that freezing process in mid air? This must have just been a memory I needed to remember forever, and that I have, as well as those kiddos!
Take note at the sky. This picture was taken at 12:30 pm, and you can see that the sun was already dipping below the horizon.
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