HI you guys! It's me, Comet!

Wow, I'm SO glad I'm here at the computer right now. Well, what I mean is, I'm so glad to be WARM, and out of the water, and back on permafrost! That's because Swim Training has been *so* hard I can't even tell you. SUPER hard. Super DUPER hard!

So we've been swimming since after the Thanksgiving Feast (which seems like it was years ago!). And Training was going exactly like it always goes. (Swimming isn't my best sport, but it's usually fun even though it's kind of hard.) As Coach says, Training is what guarantees that we'll do a great job for Santa -- 'cuz Santa depends on us while he's delivering all of your presents on Christmas Eve!

So anyway, all of that stuff usually helps me get through Swim Training. But throw this snowball ...

Okay, so last Friday, at the end of our training day, Coach gathered the Team in a circle and introduced us to a new exchange student -- a penguin named Bill -- who's visiting from the South Pole. I guess Bill's here for the Christmas season (maybe longer). And he's living in the elf dorms with the junior elves. And he's learning about new cultures (elf culture, reindeer culture, 'y know). And he's practicing new skills, and basically learning about how everything works here at the North Pole.

Well, I thought it was great, 'cuz penguins are super interesting, and Bill seems super cool and friendly and stuff. But it turns out he's like this expert swimmer. (Cupid told me that all penguins are excellent swimmers.) Which is why Bill's been assigned to help the Sleigh Team during Swim Training.

Sure, I mean, that sounds cool, right? Well, that's what I thought at first, too! But what's happened is that Bill has totally helped Coach ... design the hardest, most complicated swim-course we've ever done! Here -- I'll explain ...

Okay, so when we switch to Swim Training, we work-out in the Big Pool -- that's what we call it at least. It's only used by the Sleigh Team during Training Season. But it's not really a pool -- it's not like the indoor hot-soaking-pools Dr. Balmer has, and it's not like the super-big recreational pool that's open in the summer time. The Big Pool is actually a super-big lake that's been carved out of the permafrost! (And it's a different shape every year!) So that means it's all outdoors (duh), and the water's really really cold (like really cold).

So that's the Pool. The standard swim-course is made up of different sized icebergs that float in the lake (from tiny to big). Each iceberg has weights hanging from it, y' know, down into the water, so the ice stays in one place. And the icebergs are arranged in a special pattern. (Each pattern is drawn on a big chalk-board that hangs in the Barn, 'cuz that way we can memorize the patterns more easily.) And every few days, the pattern changes. (The patterns get more complicated as Swim Training goes on.) Our job is to swim the correct pattern around the icebergs, in the right order, as fast as we can! (I know -- hard, huh?!)

I'm not a huge fan of super-cold arctic water, but caribou (that's another term for us reindeer) are good swimmers, and we'll cross rivers and stuff like that when we have to. And our fur and fat keep us pretty warm, even in water. But reindeer are most comfortable on land -- y' know, on the snow and ice and permafrost of the open tundra. ... Which is the exact opposite of penguins -- cuz they're most comfortable in the water, and more awkward on land.

... Which prob'ly explains why our swim-course-patterns already look like snowflakes!!! (I'm serious!) Cupid overheard me talking about it to Donder today, and she told me later that Bill prob'ly doesn't even realize how hard the courses are since he's such an expert swimmer. She thinks Bill's not doing it on purpose or anything. ... He's just, well, what was the word Cupid used? ... "Exuberant." Which, I think, is, like excited or something.

Well, I'll be exuberant to make it to Run Training (which is my favorite!) -- which luckily starts next week! (Even better, Coach said he has a huge surprise for us!!! ... Uh ohh -- hopefully it's not another special guest! [Sshhhh ... Don't tell Coach I said that!])

Be cool! (And warm, ... And dry, ... )

-- Comet