Playing in dry New River
I’m sitting in the living room at our house in Appalachia, just a few miles away from the confluence of the New and the Gauley. To my left, Andy Kirby is sitting on the deck writing x’s and y’s on a graph as Taylor Cote and Alex Anderson, sitting in their chairs in their sleeping bags, take notes. It is a blustery autumn day and Alex is wearing the striped hat that Matt Hill knit for him. Matt has been knitting us all hats, mine is brown and white and double-thick, it could keep me warm in the arctic.
The house smells unusually good. Not that, with all 13 of us under one roof, it doesn’t always smell great, but right now it is particularly delectable. Stephen Forster took the reigns of the meals today and created a Chile from scratch with cinnamon, cardamon and orange zest. I greeted the morning with a big bowl of it and could not believe that A) Stephen had made it and B) Stephen had waited until now to make it! On top of that, Stephen is making Ciambatta- an Italian Vegetable stew- for lunch. How could I have been traveling with him for three quarters and three countries and not known how much he loves to cook?! You learn something new everyday. And sometimes that thing you learn is healthy, and delicious.
The morning had consisted of 21 gun for morning workout (sit ups, push ups, lots of ‘em), and three class periods. My AP English class worked for a straight 75 minutes sharpening their Ethan Frome thesis statements and developing their essays. Although I delight in this process, I understand that for some it is a bit of a grind….so, I give them some peanut butter cookies to sweeten the class. A week ago I made a huge batch of cookie dough and I keep it in the fridge until the need for cookies arises- essays, lecture days, test….and then I bump up the oven to 350 and in 20 minutes: fresh baked cookies. They tend to make everything better.
We coming straight off a weekend of paddling, paddling, paddling, and studying. Andy Kirby and Matt Smink took the students to PA for some creaking, then they hit the Gauley, and then they hit the Gauley again. Quite a weekend. On Sunday, some of the students decided to stay back and study. I took them to Cathedral Cafe where they sat together at a round table, drinking hot chocolate and milkshakes, working diligently on their essays (with a just a few kayak you-tube breaks) for three hours straight.
It’s too bad that this quarter is almost over. It’s been so….nearly….perfect. Gladiator, Babyface, Push-Button, Corner Wave, Grapes of Wrath, Chilean river mapping, simple machines, making necklaces out of milk weed with carved wooden pendants, building survival huts, transcendental raps, turkey dinners, homemade Chile, movie-nights, upper Gauley, lower Gauley, Yaugh, laughter, Steinbeck Monopoly, photo shoots….
I could go on. And I will. But for now, we have reached the confluence of the 1st and 2nd quarters. We’re all looking forward to going home, changing clothes, seeing our families, and….most of all…..packing for CHILE!!! We’ll be in South America so soon that even the thought makes our collective head spin!
