So it is exactly a month since we started working at the ski school and to mark the occasion our boss gave Pete and I our first day off work. How amazing! It was just so lovely this morning to not set an alarm clock, to put on normal clothes and have a leisurely breakfast. And then we went to a hot springs spa – bliss!
As I swam up the outdoor pool you couldn’t see more than about a metre with the steam rising off the pool and the low lying fog. Once the low fog cleared, suddenly you could see all the gorgeous, snow covered, surrounding mountains – and also the people swimming towards you !
Last night we were reflecting on our first month of teaching skiing. We have had some genuinely lovely clients, we have had some incredibly trusting students who do every drill and exercise you suggest and then there have been the others…..
Like the guy who needed no instruction, just a guide around the mountain, who proceeded to try to put his skis on backwards and then couldn’t make the first turn on a blue run because he was too scared.
Or the guy who insisted Pete take him to a more advanced run, because he was so bored doing the easy stuff with his girlfriend, who then crashed and wouldn’t put his skis back on.
Or the lady who wouldn’t ski on the child’s nursery slope because it was too steep and scary.
Or the guy who booked a lesson to learn to parallel ski but when I asked him to make a snow plough turn to show his control, he couldn’t turn and hit the fence at the side of the run.
Or the kid who could usually ski red runs but this blue run just got too much for him.
Or the kids who don’t want to learn to snowplough or turn – what’s wrong with just straightlining everywhere?
But thankfully our pleasant and good students by far outweigh the “crazies” (as our boss likes to call them).
We have learned some interesting stuff about South Korea, Isreal, Romania and Greek cultures, their people and their countries. We have learned a lot about ourselves and our patience and flexibity of approach. We have been in awe of some of our kids that can speak four languages by the age of 8 or even by the age of five can speak two or three languages fluently.
Every day is a learning day, for us and our students. We have certainly learned to test students ability rather than take their word for their capabilities. We have learned to ski backwards and catch people if necessary. We have learned to ski forwards looking backwards the whole time to make sure your group aren’t going to get wiped out by human cannonballs coming down the busy slopes. And we have learned tiny bits of Bulgarian, Romanian, Isreali etc. We hope to keep learning every day – every day is a school day after all.
