Hi everyone,
As I was relaxing on the couch this evening, after a long day at school, it suddenly struck me that I have been here for over six months. Where has the time gone?!?! It is unreal to me how incredibly fast my time here in Switzerland is going, it is like so much sand just slipping through my fingers as I try desperately to make it stop. Some nights I don't want to go to sleep because I know it means the loss of another precious day. As the end of January approaches more and more exchanges students are arriving from far-flung places such as Argentina and Australia, the new inbounds. As I read posts on facebook from all these new students I often find myself shaking my head in disbelief, I am an Oldie now and I can't help but feel like I am still a Newbie.
I am really glad that I am with the Schmidlis throughout the winter here in Switzerland because, among many other reasons, almost every weekend we stay at their small condo in the Alps. And you now what that means.....I go skiing all the time. Even, though that means I have to get up early (for me) even on the weekends, I really couldn't complain. See, the thing is that I love downhill skiing, with all my heart. If I had a choice, I would even ski during weekdays also. I have to say that my skiing has improved so much from last January, at the Rotary winter orientation. The second day of winter orientation was one of the worst and best days of my life. That was the day I broke three teeth and then found out that I was the lucky girl going to Switzerland. Some of you already know the story of how my teeth got broken but I am going to tell it again because I find it pretty funny now.
So on this very eventful day, I had been expecting to stay behind while a lot of other people went skiing because I hadn't intended to go since I didn't have any skis. However, when my YEO offered to obtain some for me, naturally I jumped on the opportunity to join the others. So there I was, my second time on skis (the first time being five years before) at a ski resort that I had never been to before. Of course I wanted to go to the bunny hill to adjust myself to being on skis again before tackling a bigger hill. However, I had no idea where to go so I just follow another group of exchange students who then proceeded to get on a gondola. As it rose higher and higher, I knew that had made a terrible mistake and had chosen the wrong group to follow. These were the exchange students from places like Norway, Denmark, Germany, apparently all excellent skiers. As I stood there at the top of the slope, I found that I was so panicked I actually couldn't move. My friend from Denmark skied up to me and I explained that I had made a mistake, that I wasn't a good skier and was on the wrong slope. She told me to calm down and said that she would help me ski down. I did really good at first, making nice wide curves and maintaining my balance, just doing really well. But then things took a turn for the worse, literally. In front of me the slope curved and there was a small place where there was a short, but steep, slope and at the end a dip. Well I curved at just the wrong time and went straight down. Wow, but it was a blast! The wind was whistling in my ears and I saw the world laid out before me and I swear, I was flying. And then gravity decided to step in and ruin the fun while the ground rushed to meet me like a long lost friend.
After that everything kind of blurred and sped up and next thing I know, I am on the ground with one ski high up on the slope and the other one farther down while I was sprawled in the middle. Slowly I sat up, checking myself for any broken bones. As I was congratulating myself for having managed to avoid broken bones once again, my friend skied up to me to ask if I was ok. When I smiled to assure her that I was fine she gasped and then started laughing. As I ran my tongue over my teeth I realized why my mouth felt gritty, I had broken three teeth. I was so incredibly embarrassed the rest of the day and absolutely terrified about how people would react when they saw what had happened. However, everyone was very kind and understanding, and I got a good story out of the whole experience, as well as a reputation that has also followed me to Switzerland.
While I am becoming incredibly good at skiing as time goes by, I still manage to get myself into accidents. In fact, yesterday I went skiing on a new slope with my host parents. I did relatively well until the very end of the slope. Right before the slope ended there were a series of tiny hills, the first I saw and so was able to prepare myself for the jump, which I landed. However, directly after that was another hill that I didn't see in time, and as I went flying I had a flash-back to last January. I was unable to regain my balance before I hit the ground and as a result I fell. I was ok but because of the angle that my skis hit the ground, one of them broke.
I felt so terrible for having broken the ski, but everyone was just glad I was ok and immediately after that started teasing me. Among the many other nicknames I have acquired since being here, I now add Grace, the ski killer, to the list. I was happy to go in with my host father and get longer skis like we had been talking about, since my original pair had been for beginners. Although I absolutely love my new skis and the fact that they represent my improvement in skiing, I wish that the other ones hadn't been broken before I got them. I went back with my host family to the slope that I skied on yesterday and made it through to the end with out falling at all. You know what they say about practice making perfect!
Today was a beautiful day for skiing and spending time with my wonderful host family. We spent almost three hours skiing and I really enjoyed myself. However, in light of my accident yesterday and my new skis, I forced myself (my host father also) to slow down, to enjoy the experience of skiing instead of racing towards an imaginary finish line. While it was slightly frustrating (my host father deliberately going slow on many occasions just to annoy me) I found that I really liked being able to take my time and practice all the skills I need to become a truly competent skier. I look forward to the two weeks of skiing that I will be doing on my break in February.
Your Swiss Skier,
Grace
