The March of the Penguins (It Only Takes One Day)

For the past 2+ weeks here in Tver, it has been either 1) snowy 2) cold 3) snowy and cold 4) cold and windy 5) snowy, cold and windy (of the five options, I only really dislike # 4)—that is, with the exception of one day. It only took ONE DAY to take our winter wonderland and convert it into an ice rink for a city. It was last Thursday that the weather reached a balmy 35° F, which I never would have described as balmy when I lived in California. But, compared to two days earlier, when it was -5° F, it really was balmy—I only wore a wind-breaker to class that day, and felt rather warm, in fact.

Well, while the sudden warmth might not seem too bad, I have come to agree with my language teacher, who used such adjectives as “terrible, a nightmare, horrible” when describing the above-freezing weather. The reason why it was so bad, for those unaccustomed to harsh winters (like I used to be) is that during the day when all the snow began to melt, trying to find a dry place to step was the challenge. Then, after the weather sunk below zero (of course, it hasn’t thawed again), every sidewalk and street became a solid sheet of ice.

So now, having read the last two paragraphs, you may be asking yourself, “What, if anything, does this have to do with ‘The March of the Penguins’?” Well, as it so happens, one of the things that Julie’s mom brought with her was that documentary film about penguins (which, by the way, if you haven’t seen it, is EXCELLENT—but I am biased because they are my favorite animal). Anyways, after watching the film, I noticed two things 1) Russians walking on these icy paths often resemble penguins waddling (I should also admit that Julie and I probably look this way, as well, though I haven’t really watched how we walk—we’re too absorbed in trying to waddle without falling down) and 2) even penguins fall on the icy trails of winter (the funniest part of the documentary) which is consolation to me, as I just bit the (icy) dust today. If it happens to penguins, I shouldn’t feel too bad for looking like an idiot!

That I fall today was ironic simply because right before I fell, I was actually thinking about how slippery it was out today (it seems that each day the paths are getting slicker) and literally three seconds before I fell, I thought to myself, “I haven’t fallen yet! Maybe I will make it through the winter…” SWOOSH, down I went. I do feel that the weather tricked me, however. Usually, when walking on ice, I have found it helpful to look for the places that resemble sand or grains of ice, because that means that there is some texture to the ice, something for the shoes to find some traction. Well, last night there was a dusting of snow, which made it look like everywhere was safe to walk rather than waddle, which of course led to my downfall, or, more properly, led me to fall down.