The day started off normally enough. French, English, Math…all rather boring, and mostly unpleasant. The weather outside was rather crappy, my math tutor was coming over the same day to grill my brain ’till it was mush, and really, all there was to look forward to from the moment I got out of bed was going back to bed over 12 hours later. Well, except for what would happen at the end of the school day: our french teacher was nice enough to organize with our teachers to let us skip the last class of the day to head over and see the Olympic Torch, which was passing through every neighborhood in Montreal that week.

Yeah, not so bad anymore, I guess! Or maybe it was…

We were all excited to miss a class, but even more so, we were about to witness history. This kinda thing doesn’t happen every day, or even more than once a lifetime, and the whole class was pretty pumped.

I was surprised how close it was to the school. We walked for about 5 blocks and there we were, waiting. Hundreds of people lined the sidewalks of the blocked-off street. Security was everywhere, looking ready and able to keep testosterone levels under control, with an ass-kicking if need be. Both highschool students and elementary students came from different schools, some of them recognizable from their uniforms and none-too-subtle glitter-covered signs. It was surprising that some of these schools were not close…in fact, perhaps a mile or two away.

The weather was pretty awful, and getting worse. The snow flurries turned to freezing rain within 10 minutes, and as soon as we arrived, we were asked to remain patient. The Olympic convoy was late. We waited some more, and a glimmer of hope came. A truck rolled by with a lit sign on top saying the torch would be by in about 10 minutes.

Half an hour went by, and the temperature instantly went from -5 to -15 or -20 degrees Celsius within that timeframe. FINALLY, when all of us had lost the feeling in our fingertips, a few more trucks came rolling by, with people dancing on top of them like parade floats, and people alongside them to give out commemorative Olympic bottles of Coka Cola (I didn’t get one).

Then, the torch came. It was spectacular, and for those ten seconds, we all forgot about the risk of frostbite and possibly becoming delirious. I frantically got out my cellphone to take a video and pictures, so that I could remember the moment. It was an immense struggle to navigate my cell camera without feeling in my fingertips, comparable to typing on a keyboard with your nose. It was not fun.

But it was memorable, and I’ll forever be able to say: “Yeah, I was there. And I froze my ass off. “

Was it worth it? Hell yeah.

Eh-oh Canada GO!