My first day skiing

Although I stayed out pretty late the night before, there was nothing that could have stopped me from going on the Ski/Sauna Resort trip today! So I woke up at 5:45am, ran to Jimena’s room (which the locks don’t work) and opened her door to jump on her like it was Christmas morning, and said, “Jime c’mon wake up! We are going skiing today!!” She was still sleeping haha. So I went to the kitchen and made her some breakfast which I sat at the end of her bed. “Here eat this and get dressed” I said. I ran back down the hall and put on the ski clothes that my Swedish friend Martina so kindly lent me, and was ready to go. Jimena and I found out about this trip from a flyer found on our accommodation wall. I saw that it was on my birthday and I was sold, so we called the number and paid online. Then we met at Science Drive, a building on campus, with all the other random friends we were about to ski with. We took a bus to a Ski resort only about 30 minutes away, it was great because it was so close, but still felt like a brand new place. I got a pass for the slopes and rented skis for the day. So finally, I was at the top of the hill, all strapped in and geared up. I don’t know why I felt so confident, but I just went for it, and pushed off with my ski sticks down the bunny slope (which by the way was extremely steep for beginners.) As it was my first time, you could imagine that this series of events did not end well for me. Ha. I was unaware that you should absolutely never go straight down a hill, instead you turn from side to side (kind of like a snake) so yes, there I was, the first time ever skiing, in front of probably 40 people, flying down the hill at Olympic speed and trying to stop by stabbing my flimsy ski sticks into the snow in front of me, that did not work. So I bent my knees and crouched down, like you would in roller skating and losing your balance. Too bad in skiing, that makes you go even faster. Just when I thought this moment would never end, I just plopped my butt down in the snow until I skid down the hill to a halt. That was probably the most exhilarating/stupid thing I have ever done. It was so worth it.

After that, the rest of my time skiing consisted of me taking it easy and staying on the flat snow practicing my turns and stops. Once that portion was over, it was Fika time. Fika is officially my favorite Swedish word. It is more used as an expression than a single word and means, “Let’s grab some coffee or lunch” or whatever you want it to be. I have had fika with Swedish Chocoballs and café, some strawberry juice and a brownie, and also a snickers latte with a croissant. Fika is a way of life here. Even when I was in my French class, my professor stopped mid-lecture to excuse the class for a 20 minute fika. Then we all came back to our seats and she continued the lesson while sipping on her warm vanilla latte. Gotta love it.

Back to my ski day, after Fika we all piled back onto the bus and headed to the Sauna resort.  This turned out slightly different than I had imagined. When we arrived we walked into a small cottage looking house with a kitchen, sauna, and two showers. The sauna probably could comfortably fit maybe 5 people, and we fit about 12. Ha. Also, the Jacuzzi was I think the world’s first Jacuzzi ever invented. It had a furnace where you had to light a fire underneath it in order for it to heat up. I felt like a pot of boiling chickens. There was a bit of trouble lighting this fire, so the water was more like a luke warm bath, and with the snow surrounding us, it was seriously cold. I am not upset though because it turned into quite a bonding experience for all of us. We all huddled together to keep warm and kept talking about who would get prunier fingers first.  Then we would jump out and run to the lodge where we would rinse off and go sit in the sauna. This was my favorite part. We would all cram in this little steamy wooden room and share stories. Then, once it became unbearably hot, we would grab our towels and bolt out the doors to jump into the fluffy snow. It was insane, but then we just plunged right into the now hot outdoor Jacuzzi. We continued this cycle 3 or 4 more times before it was time to shower off, get dressed, and catch the bus home. The ride back I played The Shins, Chutes Too Narrow Album.  It was the most relaxing bus ride I have ever had. And a great night’s sleep.