One of my favorite traditions in teaching The Sámi: Traditions in Transition, is when we spend one day outside reading the poetry of Nils-Aslak Valkeapää. So much of what he writes about is about the harsh arctic climate. So, why not read his poetry in the surroundings that he loved? Below is a picture from Feb. 24. It was -14 F with windchill. That’s -25.5 C.
Chilling with my students
The last time I taught this course, a huge snow storm started, and it suddenly became a bit cray-cray.
It started innocent enough, reading outside in Feb. I know you’re thinking, what could possibly go wrong?
Luckily I brought a few extra sleeping bags that the students were able to snuggle under.
But the “coolest” part of the day was this. One of the students, Matt, started reading a passage about “when the thunder will roar”, and the sky changed colors to blue and we had the most amazing thunder snow that I’ve ever experienced. The picture just can’t capture the moment, it was amazing.
But then the wind picked up and it got pretty intense.
And when one student fell over, I figured it was time to call it a day.
The one thing that every Sami reading class has had in common is the appearance of Rein-Dag. Also present is Rein-Dead, the pelt I sit on.