Canada, eh?

For so many reasons, this trip to Quebec was the best trip I've ever taken with students.

There were no long flights, no money exchanges, no melted hair straighteners in voltage converters.

There was no homesickness, no whining about food, no lack of comforts, like ice in soda.

There were no boring tours of museums, no running around in the hallways at night, no lost passports.

But.

There was teamwork, as we tubed in teams of eight down snow covered mountains, and drove each other in dog sleds.

There was sharing, of hand warmers, chewing gum, wool socks, base layers, french fries, and candy.

So much candy.

Like, dentists are going to be so happy we came back. 

There was singing, at the tops of lungs, and in silly voices, to pop tunes that students didn't think their teachers knew the words to (but oh, I knew those words. I'm practically Nikki Minaj).

There was confidence and independence, starting with a very shy "Bonjour" and evolving to "Mrs. Kauffman, how do you say _____ in French? I want to ask myself." 

There was bonding among social hierarchies of students that would not generally interact within the walls of our school. 

Dare I say, there were new friendships formed. 

There was ice cream for breakfast and maple syrup for dinner. And dessert. And lunch. And maybe breakfast, too. 

There was laughing, at each other, with each other, and in the face of frigid temperatures.

And there was a moment...many moments...in which a random middle school French teacher from Cincinnati beamed and smiled and had that melty gushy feeling in her heart and soul that she had never been more sure in her life that this very thing is exactly what she was supposed to be doing.