I realize now how incredible the perks of this job are. In the first few confused days, the brilliance was obscured, but now I am in constant awe of the fact that I have free snowboarding and ski gear, almost free (very comfortable) accomodation, a free lift pass that applies to all of the surrounding resorts as well, and if I run into anyone on the slopes I don't like, I can take away their pass (as a ski teacher). Awesome. Also, the location is totally incredible. Ehrwald is situated at the foot of the Zugspitze, which is the tallest mountain in Germany and Austria. The incredible peak rises majestically above the little town, and is mirrored across the valley by various other incredible peaks. The whole place is just jaw-droppingly beautiful. Every time I go out side I have to take a moment to be stunned, and often I will come out of some trees on the ski hill and just stop and stare for a while. There is nothing quite like this place. Stunning.

And I am learning so much. Besides German, which I am picking up sehr schnell (very fast), my snowboarding is getting way better, as is my skiing, and my more ambitious snow sports.

As for snowboarding, I went out with "the boys" which consisted of me, Patrick, Berry, and a friend of theirs who is an INCREDIBLE snowboarder. We went to a nearby resort that is a bit smaller and was totally deserted, and snowboarded all day on Saturday (our one day off). We made an incredible group, cutting expertly down the hill in perfect form (at least they did, and I tagged along, looking cool). I have never, ever skied with such an impressive group. It was very fun, and being around people at that high level, I am rapidly increasing in skill myself.

Skiing, though, is even more intense. Yesterday, I was at the Sonnenhang (one of the main hills) just trying to get some practice, when I ran into the incredibly intimidating Martin. Thinking he was giving a lesson, I asked for a quick bit of advice on my form, but it turned out he wasn't giving a lesson so he decided to give me one. It was so intense. He is an incredible skier and was incredibly demanding about my form, using very technical terms and insisting that I do everything exactly right. He also sped down the hill incredibly fast and I had to struggle to keep up. Which I did, barely. We slalomed right through a lesson that Nadie was giving, and I realized that I was rapidly becoming one of the better skiers on the hill, thanks to his tutelage. With his guidance, however exhausting and demanding, I will improve rapidly. I also survived Coordinazion, which is the weekly lesson where the ski teachers get taught how to teach. This is very intense because they are all of course really good skiers. But again I tagged along and again I managed to keep up and not make a fool of myself.

As for the ambitious activities I mentioned above, if you know me then you know I am not necessarily much of a daredevil. But today after work Berry and Nadie decided they wanted to go make a jump (a kicker) and take some pictures, and they insisted I come along. Thinking at first that I wouldn't have the guts to jump, I ended up going crazy and jumping dozens of times, and under Berry's instruction actually getting quite good, or at least better and better. Nadie took a bunch of pictures and I was so excited by how badass I looked that I immediately put the pictures online to prove to everyone who knows me how badass I am. So now you know. But seriously it was a real challenge and a real thrill and I was so happy to bite the bullet and throw caution to the wind and have a great time. And it is another thing that I will rapidly improve at.

Everything to gain, little to lose.