Anyway, last year someone told me that snowboarding would be easier because you only had one thing to worry about. That's right DYING. I have now done both and let me state very clearly here, SKIING is totally easier. I was given the basic instructions by a fellow teacher, how to stop... (a VERY good thing to know to me), but it was amazing, I went about 50 feet and didn't fall. Of course my feet were in the position of a pizza the whole time, and I actually saw a snail crawl past me, but I didn't fall. This slope was huge. We got on it at 3:45 and I got down to the bottom around 5:30. Not that I was that slow the whole time, but it really was a long and great slope to learn on. But out of the 8 or so that were in the group learning, I was the only one to make it to the bottom without help. Now I'm not trying to brag or anything, but I was very confident. I only fell twice the whole way down, but in that short time, my leg muscles were KILLLING me. using the ones I rarely use.
The next day we got up got our skis on and hit the slopes. I had every intention of learning ALL day, but that was not to happen. My soccer girls got a hold of me and wanted to hang out and ski with them. Amy Peterson, JeeYoung Wolfe, Beckey Hennessey, Heather Packard, and Sophia Yoo wanted to go out together. So me being the big coach and almighty PE teacher, couldn't let them down. They headed right to a slope that I hadn't even seen, but they said it was easier then the one that we went down the day before. And they were right...I actually had to use my poles to get me going to get started. We went down that one three times and I didn't fall once, and my legs weren't burning like the time before. I was even learning how to turn from side to side. Then they get ambitious...students are like that. They think, well I did this so let me try skiing off this cliff over here, can't be much different. And what does it say for me, when I am wanting to join them, so that I don't look like the one wimp, looking back it should have been less of a wimp and more of a wise man. I want you to know that I still only fell once, but the slope was WAY steeper. There were times that I would comes across a little flat part, and then just nothing...I couldn't see the next part of the slope. But I survived it.
At this hotel, they had two hot tubs, and a very warm pool that was divided into two. During the afternoon session of skiing I thought I would take a break and just relax and bask in my accomplishments. It was beautiful. I had such a relaxing time in there. Koreans would walk by and just stare at this dumb American in a pool with the weather outside about 10 degrees. But the water was SOOOOO nice. The air was a little cold but I loved it anyway. Some of my guys came and jumped in with me, it was really a fun bonding time.
The next day was met with more of the same, I tried new slopes that I hadn't been on, and was successful at all of them. I even ran into our fellow teacher who taught me to get rid of the pie and turn by pushing down with the opposite foot from the direction I wanted to go, then lifting up and turning the back foot. Oh man I loved him for that. It was beautiful. I had a lot of success with that and was practicing that the rest of the morning with a new group. Liz, the one in charge, and three younger girls Melanie Ivey (pastor daughter), Amanda Rich (Friends daughter) and Miriam Calamaro, our bible teachers daughter, all were about 6th grade and right about at my level. On our last run before lunch, we went down the yellow course that the teens had taken me on the day before. This was Miriams Choice. We started out with me telling them that there were places that they needed to be aware of. And sure enough we started out, and it got steep right away, and I was using the stuff I learned and was going back and forth, doing a great job mind you, but out of no where Miriam went flying by, she was in somewhat perfect form, but the pie wasn't stopping her as she was sailing down the mountain. I in the meantime saw this and had my eyes on her and didn't see this Korean boy in front of me until the last second and ducked out of his way but fell in the process. I look up just in time to see the Mountain start to flatten out, but not before a class was going across the mountain, just in time for Miriams flight plan...she collided with another Korean student, a young female. I thought for sure we were in trouble, for both of their sakes, Miriam is not a small 6th grader, and she met a very small 20 or so Korean female. I put back on my skies and got down to them, and Miriam was holding her wrist, and the Korean girl was looking up in utter shock, she had no idea what hit her. But both were okay in the end, but Miriam got to have her second assisted trip down the rest of the mountain.
I did have one problem. The last full day of skiing, I was looking back up the hill for a fellow skier, when my foot caught something and I went down, but I had fallen before, and there had never been a problem with pain, but this time I really hurt something I could feel it. I got up and brushed myself off, but when I came to my hip, I had excruciating pain. Then I realized that I had left my chapstick in my pocket. I had fallen on it and it had jammed into my leg, bruising my front side of my hip real bad. I didn't notice though until we got back to the ski lodge how bad it was. I got my boots off and I could barely walk. I thought this is stupid. I have fallen before this should be shaken off and I'll be fine. In the morning though I wasn't. But I had a problem. I had a couple of videos shot of me, but nothing standing still which could be placed on my blog. So I had David Peterson go out with me while I struggled to put on my boots, and hobble out to the slope nearest the lodge, and take some pictures of me with skies on and ready to go. Problem being that I was close to the top of the hill and when we were done, I sort of slide into the slope and since I knew that I couldn't walk back up in skies or just in boots, I had to go the rest of the way down, and take the gondola back up. I struggled because I knew that if I were to crash without having two good legs, I could do some serious damage. Counter that with it being Friday and more people were on the slopes, and let's just say I was happy to be going down it alone, with no video cameras. It could not have looked pretty. but when I got to the bottom, I had gotten a little confidence back, and the boot was keeping my hip from moving to a painful position, so I figured that I would go all the way to the top for one last run. No worries, I came down with flying colors, we took pictures with the group, and then we got in our bus and came home. Now I do have a couple of pictures to share, but the ones of me will come later, and I'll add them when I get them. The one is of Amy Peterson, athe other is of my calf and if you look closely, you can see the bruising. I'll try and get one of my hip when and if there is any coloring, right now it would just be one with my hip, and I don't know how many would want to see something like that.
The only other thing I would like to tell you about the trip, at least at this point was the food. Because we had had a deal worked out with another place, then that fell through, and another place fell through, our guide had a friend at this place hook us up with a really good deal. But it should have been close to double what we paid. Because of that, the food was rationed for us. We had different Korean soups just about every time we ate. The different kinds included, but were not limited to, beef soup (which meant water and a bone with fat on it), Clam soup (this had three clams in shells at the bottom of a bowl of water), crab soup (Okay you get the picture, but this had a claw at the bottom of a bowl of water), our students didn't know anything about the great deal that our guide worked out, but nicknamed the soup "Holocaust Soup" anyway. The last morning there, the other Koreans were eating eggs, bacon, sausage, orange juice, all the good stuff, but were throwing most of it away, just like we were doing with our meal. I told one teacher they should just go up to the rack and grab some plate and finish up there discarded food. This seemed to spark a mass following by other students. The staff didn't seem to know what to do, since there was no rule on there books about eating someone else's trash. Just a little funny story to end with. I better get going, this turned out to be a lot longer than I had thought. Just remember that I will post the pictures of me skiing, and if I can figure out how to do the video, I will do that as well. I hope you all had a great Christmas, and will have a great New Year. I love you all.
peace out...later on
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