Happy 2017 everyone! Like most
people, I plan to start the New Year with every good intention…and then see if
I can make at least one of them last until February. Let’s hope keeping up with
this blog sees through January 31st!
I’m in the middle of my second year
in Savannah, Georgia, and my husband and I have just returned home from
visiting my family in Minnesota for the holidays. It was a lovely visit, as
always, and while home, I had many friends double checking their recollection
of which city (country?) I currently live in. I’m used to this. I’m also used
to an array of responses when I tell people where I live, but this time I
received the most smiles and “ahs” of jealously. I admit, the transition from
Minnesota to Savannah has been quite idyllic on the surface: warmer weather, no
snow, tons of butter (thanks Paula Deen), 20 minutes from the ocean, and 2
hours from the world’s largest population of retired people (shout-out to
Florida.)
Yes, these things are wonderful,
but there have been some aspects that I have discovered during my time in the
South (I call it my “cultural experience” to my Northern friends) that most
Minnesotans might not realize about living in the South. I’ve started some
posts about ‘Life in the South,’ and would like to do a series of entries this
year as we begin our last full year in Savannah. So, without further ado, I would like to share my very first experience of 2017: Ice Skating.
Growing up in Minnesota, with more frozen surfaces than
unfrozen surfaces during the course of a year, and with cold-weather-born
parents, it was pretty inevitable that I should learn how to skate. Starting
with skating school and progressing to my debut in not one but two skating
shows (spotlight roles as: Poppy #7 and Snowflake #4), I like to think that I
can hold my own on the ice. Skating used to happen once a week through high
school, which transitioned to once or twice a year since college, if that, but
I still love the activity and enjoy it. One of the highlights of living in
Moscow was outdoor skating at Gorky Park, as well as purchasing a pair of ice
skates for about $10. These trusty Russian skates (strange that I was never
able to find a pair of Russian shoes that fit me, but I managed to find ice
skates) have stayed by my side for the past three years. I recently pulled them
out yet again for their Southern experience, the likes of which I would like to
share with you, though it may disappoint many a Northerner.
Once a year, Savannah, Georgia sponsors what they call
“Skate Fest.” For about two weeks at the end of December, Savannah floods its
Civic Center and creates an ice rink. They charge about $7 for admission and
skate rental, but you are only allowed to enter at the beginning or during an
hour and a half session. There are about four to six sessions a day, and I
assume they do this to keep numbers controlled. Despite my inherent feeling
against this poorly timed endeavor, I ended up going to the last session not
only of the day, but of the entire skating season. I went with my friend
Taylor, whom I was astonished to learn had only ever skated at Skate Fest, and
had actually LEARNED TO SKATE on that ice. Why was I astonished? Let me share
my experience by telling you what you might be in for. However, please keep in
mind that although I will share some interesting details, I still highly
enjoyed my skating experience for the novelty of having access to a skate rink
again, and that I plan to buy the punch card next year for even more skating
access.
What to expect at Savannah’s Skate Fest:
1. There will be many, many people there. More than you
imagined could possibly fit on a small surface of ice. Most of these people
will move in a slow, steady circle around the rink, but there will be some lost
along the way – those that actually make it out of the whirlpool to the wall
(usually just relying on the wall to stop them instead of knowing how to stop)
might not make it back. Steady on, brave ones.
2. If your behavior becomes viewed as questionable to the
harm and safety of others, your articles of clothing will become top
identifiers for the barking female voice on the loudspeaker. She will
personally speak to YOU, the one in the red hat! She will tell you to either
slow down, turn the right way, stop throwing ice flakes you picked up on the
ground, or get off the ice. She will never actually appear, but her voice will be
a threat enough to keep you in line. She may also potentially cause accidents,
because once she announces the articles of clothing, everyone will lift their
heads up to look around and see who it is, therefore taking their eyes off the
ground and increasing the danger for everyone involved.
3. You will automatically become Keeper of the Ice. If
there’s some small object lying on the ice, there is not a soul who will pick
it up, no matter how many times there are near misses and blade chops near the
object. After many carefully positioned circulations I finally managed to pick
up both a straw (questionable) and a broken piece from a skate strap (dangerous
from more than one point of view).
4. You will also become Safety Patrol. I rescued not one but
two children from the throes of wiping out on the ice and becoming prey to the
dozens of slashing ice blades, much closer to one’s hand when one’s butt is on
the ground. One kid rebounded quickly and just needed an extra hand to pull
himself up to the wall, but the other poor child looked up at me in terror
because he couldn’t figure out how to get up, so I essentially scooped him up
and half pushed/half pulled him to the wall.
5. You will very quickly age many decades and become quite
curmudgeonly (unless of course, you are already a curmudgeon. Then you’ll just
behave as normal.) When some young whippersnapper speeds past you and you watch
said whippersnapper cut in and out of people like he’s practicing soccer
footwork, you will most likely say to the person next to you, or just out loud
to nobody, “that kid needs to slow down or he’s going to hurt someone!” If that
kid falls as a result of not paying enough attention or not being careful
enough, you will probably snicker or smirk to yourself.
6. If you go skating with someone, you will become very
protective of them and you will most likely assume a death grip on them. I saw
mothers fiercely drag their little ones along the wall to safety, with
determined looks on their faces to HAVE FAMILY FUN, as well as couples hanging
on to each other for dear life. I nearly skated through a couple of these
ironclad companions, before realizing I would be better off just going around
them.
7. Not only will you be better off going around the death
grips, you will also be wise to avoid going directly next to the wall, for fear
of becoming sucked into what I called “the snail wall.” The snail wall is
composed of a variety of people who are not confident enough in their skating
ability to let go of the wall, therefore they bravely trudge around the rink by
clinging onto the wall and half pulling/half pushing themselves around the
rink. Kudos to them for trying, and better luck next year!
8. If you use your cell phone while on the ice, you will
probably fall. Or, you will make someone else fall. Or, you will drop your
phone, causing a crowd panic as you fling yourself to the surface of the ice
without a second thought. Why are you on your phone with razor blades strapped
to your feet again?
10. Finally, the last thing you should expect at Skate Fest
is: to have fun. Despite all of the minor mishaps, the experience of both
exercising and socializing with a friend while sharing in a fun activity with
nearly half of the city of Savannah is a fantastic time. Skating in the South
is…different than my previous skating circumstances, but hey, it’s still skating.
I’m already looking forward to going next year. But I might bring a poncho in
case I fall in the puddles.
