Skiing and Homework

Ski lift on the way up

On the hill, enjoying the sun.

My host brother Zach boarding from the top

The view from the top... perfection.

This has been quite a busy few days. I have pumped out a 12 page paper, an 8 page paper, a lecture, and am currently working on a project. As the time when I leave gets closer and closer, one main thought continues to dominate my mind. Time. While I really miss my friends and family back home, I really wish I could stay a year. Within the past few weeks I feel like I have really started to get a grip on the language. At dinner, when my host parents talk German, I have started to understand almost everything they talk about, and can join in the conversation. In German conversations I can keep a conversation going, and have things to talk about besides my name and where I am from. If only I had till May, I feel like I could really get a grasp on the language, and start to study its subtleties. My biggest fear right now is losing this still very new language. When I get back to school German will phase out of my mind as I start to worry about practicing, the opera, homework, track. And I won't have that every day conversation, street signs, messages on buses and other prompts for the language. Leaving the country will be a bittersweet departure. But, I realize that if this country truly is calling my name, I will come back in later years, I would like to think I have the time.
On a more positive note, this weekend I had the opportunity to go skiing at a local ski resort name Obertauren. It was huge. The resort was on a chain of two mountains and contained over 30 lifts when fully operational. The weather here has been so warm, that only 13 lifts were open. But still... 13 lifts was pretty awesome. I went with my host brother Zach, and his mom graciously let us take the car, not only saving us time with bus schedules, but also saving me money that I would have spent on trains and buses. We left at about 7 am, (after another 3 hour session of basketball ending at midnight the night before) and the weather didn't look good at all. It was pouring when we left, but the rain got lighter as we got there. Upon first arrival, it was a winter wonderland. Snow!! Finally, and it was sticking. After we rented the equipment and got my ski pass we headed up the lift. They had a pretty sweet system in which you wear a card with a chip in it, there are gates that read the chip, and let you in on certain lifts. It was a pretty cool and efficient system. As we started to go up the lift, the clouds began to clear and an absolutely beautiful day was upon us. From that point on, we didn't see anything but the sun. It was the most incredible feeling to reach the top of the lift, look out, and realize that you were on top of the world. The view in all directions was incredible, and I paused, took in a breath and smilied. This was heaven. The mountains were beautifully covered in snow, the sun was shining, it was relatively warm (around 40), and I was skiing, which I love. We started at about 10am took a break at 1 and finished around 4. Since it was such a huge mountain there were no lights, and the resort closes when the sun goes down. The snow wasn't the best, as it was warm, and lots of trails were closed because of lack of snow. It didn't matter. Zach and I carved up the slopes and at times found some untouched snow from the night before. It was an awesome day, and for most of it, there was almost no line. We skied down, hopped on the next lift and headed off to the next trail. Even with only 13 lifts open, the resort was huge, and boasts the steepest slope in Europe (although I could not go on it because it was closed.) The snow was slush at times, and once the sun went behind the mountains it began to get icy. It was a day of pure bliss for me, and at only 65 Euros, I felt like I was on top of the world. It was a great day in the mountains of Austria, and I might sneak in another trip this weekend... we'll see.