ALMOST THAT TIME!

So it is almost here...my first day up on the slopes to teach the little munchkins is only a couple weeks away. November 25th I take my first run done the Crooked mile. The Crooked Mile is the mile long run I take about a million times a season as the ski teacher for the Alf Engen Ski school at Alta Ski Resort. It is me and about a class of 10-12 little cuties from around the world. I will be blogging alot about the experiences I will be having this season. I will say it is one of the most exhausting jobs I have ever took on in my life. A day consists of checking in at 8:45 and ready to ski by 9:15 am. I meet all my class mates down in the cubs den at about 9:00 am. You can only imagine the looks of terror these parents have on their faces as they are in a foreign place about to release their child to a stranger that will be taking their kids down a very steep mountain. Sometimes it is the other way around..the parents no matter how tight the child is gripping their little paws to their leg they are ready to just let me have responsibility of thier little monster. They take off and the child stares at me with tears and snot streaming down their faces wondering where the hell am I...why is this girl putting me on these slippery double planked metal things and why do I have to fly down the hill on them...why!!! Some children are so excited they want to keep their snow clothes on and ski's while we wait for line up for 30 minutes..no matter how hot they get..they are ready to go. They immeditaly look to you as your best friend and fight to sit with Miss Abbey on the first ride up the ski lift. Some children are crying so hard that the snot from the cold weather is starting to stick to their faces as they repeat mom over and over again until I want to stick a shot gun to my head. The only thing that helps is the stash of starbursts I continue to bribe them with in my coat pocket for them to just be happy. Sometimes it works..sometimes it doesn't. There is usually a slow start...their gloves aren't on right...their coat is not zipped up and there parents have given them goggles and ski equipment from 1971...The children are bundled up with about 400 layers of clothing on a beautiful ski day. Sometimes the kid is chinese, russian,jewish,french,mexican..ect and their parents have no idea what they have come to expect in this foreign country in the great white snow of Alta Utah...not only is the child crying but I can't communicate with them because they don't speak my language..so I say moi bien all day hoping they all understand spanish..which means...ver good! I cary a book with me of translating other languages hoping that I get half the word out right in the first place. The child stares at me like I am a martian from outer space. Alot of the time the poor child can't even see out of these over sized goggles because they are fogged up from sweat steam. Their socks are tucked into their pants...no wonders they are crying. Despite the fact that I have to repeat over and over don't eat the snow please Johnny! Or come on dude you can get up! Please! No matter how many times I have to pull a class of seven up a hill while they are holding onto my poles.... because they all went opposite directions and I have the job of retrieving them out of the trees one by one...I feel blessed to be in these little ones lifes as a teacher because they teach me alot more than I teach them..I teach them how to hold a pizza and french fries as they go about 50 miles hour down the hill with their arms flaying everywhere laughing their heads off. They teach me beyond words to explain and that is why I take the duty on every season since 2004 and plan on forever. I enjoy every minute of playing eye spy on the lift, cleaning up about 25 cups of spilled hot chocolate after telling them to sit on their bums when they drink it and hugging these little puffy snow suited cuties. They trust me and they know they are safe. I love to be a ski teacher. Miss Abbey is the favorite....no doubt! If you want me to ski with your child this year...please just buy them goggles their own size and rent their ski's other than grabbing and dusting off some ski's you baught at a yard sale in 1970. Happy Skiing!!!!