The first thing I noticed as I cautiously stepped from the bus (normally used for tours), was the biting cold wind. Of course I was expecting the weather to be freezing as I was quite far north, but it was still surprising at how easily my breath was seemingly stolen from my mouth. As I peered through the gusts of snow using my nearly frozen glove as a shield for my grey eyes, (which got my forehead wet from the snow melting from my glove… smart move there…), my destination came into view.
The campus that would become my home for the next nine months came into fairly clear sight. My heart began to race as I tried to take in the massive complex, a somewhat modern building in a wild, unpredictable setting.
"You gonna just stand there and freeze or…" injected the bus driver with an expression that contained so much boredom, (he must be a hit at parties), I felt extremely guilty for wasting his time. The way he didn't finish the sentence led me to believe he had said this many times before.
"No," I said quickly, "sorry!" I began making my way through the courtyard, which was actually more like an obstacle of doom for someone as clumsy as me. I glanced back, my medium length blue hair whipping in front of my face, (there is a reason my hair is blue btw…), the bus was already out of sight. I was alone now, totally alone in the middle of the (hazardous courtyard of danger and doom and… I mean…) campus courtyard.
It was then I noticed that I was standing near a wrought iron fence. "What the heck is an iron fence doing in the center of the courtyard?" I wondered. As I took the time to inspect the fence, (holy cow it's freezing), I noticed that the fence was protecting a tall, snow covered palm tree. I couldn't fathom how a tropical plant could survive in these conditions, although this place is special… or so I have been told.
I did my best to dodge the patches of black ice on my way to the campus doors, and managed to slip only once (yeah new record that I totally should be proud of!). As I grabbed for the handles, I realized that there were none to be found. I stared confused at the flat doors bereft of any device to open them. "Great…" I thought, imagining myself flailing my arms wildly while I ran around the building yelling like a crazy.
I was about to take off my glove to check for frostbite, (pro tip: don't buy cheap gloves that won't keep you warm when you go somewhere cold), when a flashing red light near the top of the doors caught my eye. Shielded from the winds, a surveillance camera stared down at me. Lowering my gaze, I took notice of a button and a device that looked like a speaker. On closer inspection, I saw a small dome shaped lens that, if on, I presumed should be flashing red like the camera. "Oh fantastic," I thought, "time to flail…"
I began to wave my arms like I was signally a plane, (totally not looking like an idiot or anything), hoping that whoever was monitoring the cameras, (if someone was), wasn't the stereotypical guard from movies and would take notice. Like heaven's gates, (or just regular electrically activated doors), they opened and I stumbled out of the harsh cold.
