Last year, winter came early.
We were not prepared for the cold even though we knew it was around the corner.
Our boarding school was in a rural area, and we got lots of snow each year. However, this particular year, there was no end in sight for the snow. I longed to go home for the holidays but had to complete the term first. One morning, we woke up and headed to the school cafeteria. I was in a hurry, so I didn’t grab an extra jacket like I usually did. When I got to the cafe, I noticed it was cold. Everyone was hugging their winter coats as they took breakfast. It was an odd situation since the cafeteria was always warm. Something was wrong. Cathy came to join me at my table and informed me the heating unit was faulty. She overheard the principal speak to another teacher about the broken cafeteria air conditioner. After placing a call to the AC company, the principal looked annoyed. The HVAC technician wouldn’t be able to get to the school until the next day. It meant we would have all our meals without a functioning central aircon. I made a mental note to head back to my room after breakfast and grab my winter jacket. There was no way I was going to endure eating without ample heat. Later in the day, I saw an AC repair and maintenance van pull up to the school. Relief was written all over our principal’s face. So many students were complaining about the faulty heating and cooling unit. Two HVAC experts got to work figuring out what was wrong with the HVAC system. After several hours, they had completed the AC repairs, and we had heat once more in the cafeteria.