learning to fall...

Hej all,

Wow time has flown by. I can't believe that it will soon be April!! Lately we have been very busy with hosting guests and such.
Recently I have taken on the task of learning to ski. One of our friends has graciously offered to teach me how to ski. So almost every Saturday for the past few weeks, we make the 1 hour trek south to the ski resort know as Kåbdalis. As most of you know... I am not the most coordinated person, so me plus really slick things attached to my feet will most likely end in with a major wipe out and I have never down hill skiied in my life.
So here I am surrounded by people who have been skiing all of their lives and surrounded by kids who can be no more than five years old flying past me on the big hill, which doesn't help with my nerves. After going down the barn hill, aka baby hill, twice, my friend/ski instructor, Fredrik, tells me that it is time to try the big hill. I have never been so terrified in my life. The cause of my terror can be broken down into 3 parts. 1. I still couldn't turn let alone stop, 2. the ski lift isn't like the ski lifts at home, it's an upside down T that pushes you up the hill and if you lean back and try to sit on it you will fall and 3. I am not a big fan of embarrassment.
So after much convincing and reasuring that it is impossible to die while going down the hill and that no one will laugh at me, we made our way to the lift. Finally it was our turn, we got up to the lift, Fredrik put my side of the upside down T behind me, told me to hang on and off we went. I soon realized that it wasn't as scary as it looked and rather enjoyed the ride up. Once we made it to the top, we skiied over to the hill that I would be attempting to go down. It looked so much bigger than it did from the bottom of the hill. After a few more instructions and more reasuring, I faced my skis downward and took off like a rocket....unfortunately, I still hadn't mastered turning or stopping, so when I got scared, I just bailed and rolled down the hill. Let me tell you, I was so embarrassed. Fredrik quickly came to my rescue, helped me up, gave me some more advice and told me to try again. So I did, and it went the same as before, but this time I was even more embarrassed. So once again Fredrik came and helped me up and told me to try again. So I faced down the hill again and took off...as the Swedes would say...it ended in an epic fail. By this point I was super embarrassed bacause I thought everyone was laughing at me and I was frustrated bacause the little kids were showing me up. So I took off my skis and sat there trying to patch the wounds in my pride and regain composure. This time Fredrik skiied down and sat down next to me. He could tell I was frustrated, so he gave me some helpful advice. He told me that the only way you learn is to make mistakes, everyone falls, but not everyone gets back up. Most people just get angry and quit, and I don't think you are a quiter. It will come in time. Even the greatest skiers fall, but they learn from their mistakes. They get up and laugh it off. He also told me to clear my mind and forget about the other people on the hill, you're new at this, so you have to start somewhere.
It was then that I realized that it is okay to laugh at myself. Everyone on the slopes knows what it's like to just be learning how to ski, so there is no point in being embarrassed. With this in mind, I attached my skis back on to my boots, and with some help, got back up. I faced down hill again and took off. My skills hadn't changed, so I ended up falling and tumbling down the hill, but this time I was able to laugh it off and get back up and try again.
Let's just say that I'm still not the greatest skier in the world, but it turned out to be a good day full of laughs, epic fails and some pretty interesting bruises.
If it hadn't been for my friend/instructors encouraging words and persistant ways and unwilligness to let me give up, I'm pretty sure I would have given up, but it's a nice feeling knowing that someone is that dedicated, willing to help and spend their day trying to teach an Amercian how to properly ski. Who knew that a 17 year old Swede could be so wise.
In the end I learned that it's okay to laugh at yourself and laugh with others at yourself. I also learned there is no need to be embarrassed when you are trying something new. I will always remember those words of encouragement and share them with all my friends who are struggling with being able to laugh at themselves.