Upon Return from the Austrian Alpes

What a week! An amazing adventure and an unforgetable experience. Over the past week in the charming area of Austria composed of three ski villages, Faschina, Damuls and Mellau, I have learned a couple of things:

1. German is one of the funnest languages ever. A language I will definitely be learning.

2. Apfel Strudel is truly to die for.

3.Standing at the highest point of the mountain to which a chair lift can take you, it is impossible to get a picture of the entire surrounding mountain range (which is stunning), you might as well take a video.

4. I will definitely be returning to Austria, sooner rather than later.

Through out the whole week I have got to ski the slopes of the Austrian Alpes and spend time with five different families. One of these families, les Gratiens, also have exchange students, two to be exact. A boy from India, Yosh and a girl from Toronto, Sally.

The six hour trip to Faschina, where our hotel was situated, was made a whole lot better by the fact we drove through Switzerland. A country known for it's chocolate and after tasting some I can definitely understand why. The beautiful scenery driving through the Alpes was also a huge bonus.

The first day of skiing, Sunday, was a little shakey. It was very hard to see thanks to the falling snow and thick fog, all the runs were ungroomed and there were pile ups of snow, who's size and placing varied, too much to be dubbed moguls, this making it difficult to ski. It was tough for this three time a year downhiller, but hey, things could be worse. I just had to shake it off. An after ski sauna, a hearty Austrian meal and a good sleep definitely helped.

The next four days were way too much fun. Sally, the other Canadian exchange student and I started ski school (ski schule) and the sun decided to shine on the freshly groomed runs, lightly dusted with perfect powder. Within these four days I also had my first encounter with apfel strudel, a dessert straight from heaven. I would go as far as saying don't bother coming to the Austrian Alpes if you aren't going to try apfel strudel, it's an experience in itself.

Ski school was one of the highlights of the trip, I had a great instructor (with, in my opinion, the coolest last name), Christian, drum role please, Klocker. He was a really good teacher and definitely helped me improve my skiing. To add to this, the snow, for the first 2 days was perfect. I can't think of any other way to describe it than powdered sugar, it was flawless. Not to mention the stunning 360 degree scenery, Austria is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.

At lunch and at dinner I got to enjoy a taste of Austrian food, such as wienerschnitzel, sausage, goulash and other delicious soups. Not forgetting the drinks, one in particular, Almdudler. A species of carbonated drink, with a base that is, well unclear.

And now for a little after ski adventure. One night, after a long day of skiing, the girls, Laura, Colline, Laurienne, Sally and I set out for Faschina, a five minute walk from our hotel, with a hand full of luges. After a couple rides down the bottom of the slope that entered the town, we decided to step it up a notch. We knew that the tow rope at the top of the run lead back to our hotel. So, from there we decided to climb up the ski run, find the tow rope and sled down our hotel. Something easier said than done. With a blanket of fog and an ice covered slope, we proceeded to climb, a climb which felt like it would never end. At the top we found that the tow rope path was completely iced over and steep, which made it too hard to break and too dangerous to sled. But we weren't going to give up. We then decided to sled down the side of the path, which consisted of two feet of uncompact snow. By the time we reached the bottom, we were soaking and covered with snow but besides that laughing and having too much fun.

The last two days of skiing, thursday and friday, were interesting. The sun had been out all week, therefore the temperature rose during the day and fell during the evening. Creating two types of snow, ice and soup. It wasn't the nicest to ski in but what can you do. To make things even more interesting, we had to change ski instructor's the last day of ski school (thursday). We left Christian to switch to Gerhard, who only spoke German and thought that we clearly understood everything he said. I can say it was a fun day of skiing, but I didn't learn much. On the contrary I really got to see how much German I had learned over the week.

The last day of skiing, friday, I spent with my host family. I used a lot of the day to take pictures, something I couldn't do during ski school and of course to eat one last apfel strudel.

And so it goes, the next I waved good bye to Austria as the snow capped mountains disapeared from sight. I was happy to be heading back to France, but sad to be leaving Austria. Like I said before, a country that I will definitely be returning to. So, for now..

Auf Wiedersehen,

Cathryn

Boudin

Before coming on this trip, I made myself a promise that I would be fearless in trying new foods. I made a pact with myself that I would go by the one bite rule, which is, that no matter what, I would try at least one bite of everything I was offered. I have been truly fearless and have ended up liking everything I've tried, pâté, speck blanc and whatever else that has come my way. The only thing that I was reluctant to try was boudin and possibly do to the fact that I recieved a detailed explanation of what it was before actually trying it, this, something I thoroughly regret inquiring.

Boudin: a sausage made of pigs blood and small pieces of pigs fat.

Upon recieving this information, I subtly kicked myself, why had I made myself that darn promise? That evening at dinner I tried, reluctantly, a small piece of boudin. Suprisingly, once you get over what it is, it's pretty darn good, I even ended up having a bit more. Maybe that subtle kick wasn't neccesary after all.

Volleyball in Canada vs Volleyball in France

I am glad to say I've found a place to play volleyball during my stay in France. It's only a short drive from my host family's house. I haven't been to a practice yet, but do to the fact it's a quick drive from where I'm staying, my host mother, Linda, took me to the begininng of a practice to meet the coaches, get an idea of what a practice looked like and to meet some of the players. We arrived a bit early but immediately knew we were at the right destination, because there were players standing around outside, waiting for the gym to be opened. It wasn't until we got a bit closer to the huddle of teenagers that I notice one of them smoking. I then thought to myself, smoking? I guess that girl must be a friend or sibling of one of the players, how can you smoke before practice? But the closer we got the more people I noticed smoking. After we parked the car and got out I came to realize that the people smoking were the players and the fact was, most of the players were smoking. As people say, there's nothing like a little pre-practice smoke, but I think I'll pass.

Salut de Lyon

Salut! I apologize in advance for any odd grammar mistakes, I'm still trying to figure out this mixed up french keyboard. After two unforgetable, yet very tiring two days in Paris, where we visited Notre Dame, the Eiffel tour and many other well known landmarks, we, the other OSEF students travelling to Lyon and myself, made our way back to Charles de Gaulles airport, to catch our TGV (a train that travells at 263 km/h hence the name TGV, which in french translates to, very, very fast train) to Lyon.
We arrived in Lyon 45 minutes en retard, which I think was due to a broken down train in front of us. At the train station I was met by Mme Salesse, otherwise known as Linda and Laura and was immediately introduced to la bise, the way in which people in France greet each other, by kissing the person you are greeting on both cheeks. For everybody reading this that have been to France or plan on coming, you will learn or have already have learned this greeting technique very quickly.
We then drove for a meer fifteen minutes to arrive in the charming village of le Tour de Salvagny where I will be staying for the next three months. What amazes me the most about le Tour de Salvagny is how it feels so much like an old, quaint, southern European home in the country, where all the houses are archaic, with red tiled roofs and gorgeous views of hilly fields, where the local farm animals enjoy grazing in the warm sun, and that even though it feels so much like I just described it, we're only minutes away from the large city of Lyon that lies on the banks of le Rhone. Le Tour de Salvagny and it's near regions are an outstanding mix of big European city and quiet European country, all of this topped off with the warmth of the sun that always seems to be shining.
We (now myself and the present Salesse's) arrived at the Salesse family home after a quick stop at the local boulangerie (which smells absolutely delicious!), to pick up some baguets for dinner. The Salesses house is lovely, with windows that open like doors onto the porch, which offers breathtaking views of the the grassy hills, speckled with red roofed houses, alluminated by the soft glow of the sun. *Sigh*, I could get used to this.
Laura and I then rode bikes around the village, all the way to College Jacques Coeurs, where I now go to school. After returning home I was even more pooped than before and started to unpack my bags. Later that evening we had a big french dinner with all the family, Laura, my exchange partner, Linda and Jean Jacques, my host parents, Elsa and Alex, Laura's older siblings and Allan, Elsa's boyfriend. It was a really great dinner, I even tried patté, which isn't actually that bad. At the end of a fantastic and delicious dinner, exhausted I went to bed.
Before I knew it, it was 6:30am and I was up in a flash, or at least I would like to think so, ready for my first day of school, which I was a bit frightened about, not going to lie. Laura and I took the bus to school, where I did la bise more times than I can count on my fingers and toes. I have met many new people, who I can soon hope to call my friends. They are all very friendly and welcoming. At school I stuck out like a bit of a sore thumb, I wore a bright green sweater, whereas everybody here, I have learned, prefers to stick to more neutral colours, oh well. Because of this and the small Canadian flag pin on my back pack, everyone at school knew that I was the Canadian exchange student, although at first most of the students thought that I was German.
School was great. I enjoyed most of my classes, which all flew by, because they are only one hour long. The only class I didn't understand what the heck we were supposed to be doing was french, hopefully it get easier. Here, for gym, we get to go rock climbing, play ping pong and other such activities, no push-ups, planks or runs, how unfair is that?
To sum it all up, I am having a great time! I miss you all and hope that you are doing well. Feel free to post a comment or send an e-mail, I would love to hear from you.

Cathryn :)

Off to sleep, my flight leaves at 7:00 am tomorrow morning from CR. I'm ready, I think. Either way it's going to be a fantastic adventure! I just hope I don't forget anything.

Four more sleeps!