Long stretches of time go by, during which I am never reminded that I live in a foreign country. After more than twenty years, I have grown accustomed to life here.
Then winter comes, snow falls in the mountains and I realize: this is Austria.
In Austria, in winter, everyone must ski. As soon as a child can walk, they set it on skis. Until this year I managed to beg off, citing an old knee injury, not to mention a fundamental lack of coordination and athletic ability. But with Beta already an accomplished skier, and Gamma enrolled in a class, I had no choice but to enroll in one as well.
“I’m so proud of you, dad,” Beta told me, before I had even started classes. That killed any chance of backing out at the last minute. The things you do so your kids won’t think you’re a wussy.
But first things first: we had to make the trip to the ski resort. Alpha wasn’t going with us. She had to make a business trip to Munich, and she planned to meet us at the ski region a day after we arrived. Luckily she packed everything first. I loaded bags and skis and food and drink into the Dobl
Obertaldesschreckens? That sounds like a ghastly place!
That’s not the real name. I made that up.
The name of the final location is Gr
I love watching people ski…somehow they appear to do it so effortlessly – like iceskaters. I’ve never tried it myself. Kudos to you, Mig – you adventurous soul, you ;)
I skate about as well as I ski, alas. But I’m getting better. They’re both a lot of fun. I never would have tried either except for my kids, and I’m glad I did. Alpha said this post was too whiny, so the next one will be all about the positive side. I had a great time.
The main thing, I think, is not to be afraid. Although you have to pay attention. Like any other physical activity, such as playing a musical instrument, swimming, or riding a bike. Get a decent teacher, practice until you can do it automatically, then go on to the next level. One interesting thing I learned this week, from a teacher I otherwise wasn’t too crazy about, was that the brain can consciously control only about 5% of what your body’s doing at any one time; the other 95% has to come automatically, through repetition and practice. Whether or not the percentages are exactly right, it’s an interesting point.
When I was 20, I jokingly told my boyfriend’s father that sure, I’d ski if he paid for a jacket, hat, mittens, ski rental, and lessons, sure, why not? Feh!
That was in August. You know what happened, come December, don’t you? Me, kicking and screaming, hefted over said father’s shoulder on the way to Northstar. Which is an awesome place to learn. Skiied all the way down the hard trails my third day.
And I’ve never done it since. That stuff is expensive.
The closest I have ever come to doing a complete split was whenI was on skis. It was quite involuntary. I pretty much wrote off skiing after that incident.
So well done, Mig — you’re a braver person than I am.
I live in a very flat place now, so it’s not much of an issue.