Skiiiiiiii... ...Wheee

the skiing experience

the ski boots were a torture in the beginning. they were heavy, so tight that they cut off blood circulation to the ankle and below, and make you walk like robocop.

the first 3 days of skiing were quite demoralising.

while everyone was practicing skiing down the slopes, i was spending all my time and energy trying to reach the top of the slopes. on mon, i failed the turning test and was put into olivier's group, with whom i practiced turning on a 'slope' which was more like a platform really. walking up the slopes in our skis either by the v-walk or by side-stepping was tiring... until i experienced the nightmare of taking the button ski lifts on tues. i fell off the lift almost everytime i took it when for everyone else it seemed effortless. i was so disappointed at a time that i took off my skis and decided i had enough of it. but jinyang made me put my skis back on, and, in siewkit's words, with their positive aura i will make it to the top. and indeed i did! and i made it two consecutive times!

on wed, the confidence to ski gradually built up. i fell off the lift again the first thing in the morning, but was picked up. i think i should be ashamed to admit that a big girl like me still need all the encouragement i can get to feel confident. my spirits soared to its peak by the end of wed because i was finally skiing! should i add that olivier actually led us down a blue slope? haha.

on thurs and fri, we did more challenging green and blue slopes. the last blue slope we did with the guys after olivier left was *ahem* the most eventful. i think i fell more times than all the other 7 people combined. i realised that i am afraid of high speeds. whenever i feel i am going too fast, i panicked and lost control. but in retrospect, i must have been very brave at the same time, to be able to want to keep on going down the slopes.

olivier and his english-speaking girls. the prcs in the group all speak fluent french

overall, it has been a steep learning curve, from the more-a-platform 'slope' on mon to a 'pink' slope on fri. olivier was an excellent coach i must say. and i had helpful prc skimates who watch my back when we were learning, and very encouraging friends who made me push the boundaries even outside lesson time.

group 14 toasting olivier

the people who made the trip all the more memorable =)