Austria : M&M Learns and Conquers the Snowboard

Hello. This is M&M and I am going to tell you about my 5 days in Austria learning to snowboard.

Day 1: So I woke up on the first day all pumped up and anxious to start to learn. I got all bundled up in my gear. I was wearing 2 leggings, one of them being leg warmers, and then some snow pants. Then I had a shirt, jacket, then coat. Then I had a baklava, goggles, helmet, and gloves. I was all ready to go. We drove to the resort which was like 10 minutes away. We got out of the car and went to the renting place. Monster, Little A, and me had no skis or snowboards. So we rented boots for all of us, and 2 skis for Monster and Little A, and a snowboard for me. The person at the renting place was a guy and he was so gross. He had his pants like half-way down and it was super gross! We were glad to leave. We waited in the line/crowd of like 100+ people waiting for the gondola. It took about 40 minutes. The ride up was like forever. I was a bit worried as we got there because our last experience at lessons was terrible in Korea. We just got up and stopped then fell again, repeat. That was terrible, and it was only for 2 hours there! So I was super worried about the lesson because it was an all day thing. We got there and met our instructor while Mom and Dad situated Little A and Monster with their instructors. Big Sis found her instructor and then it was just Mom, Dad and I. We left to find our instructor. The instructors and helpers wore bright red jumpsuits so we had to ask a person where Mia was. His name was Hans and he was the leader of the advanced snowboard class. He took us all the way up the hill to the middle of the park and we found our instructor. I got to climb the hill to the point where our instructor was teaching 2 other people.  Her name was Mia. She is sooooooooo great. We got there a bit late so we made a mental note to wake up earlier.

I had so much fun with her. I started to learn how to go down and stop and turn a bit. It was a bit challenging. I fell a lot and I was getting annoyed because everyone was getting it but I wasn't!! My teacher, Mia, helped me a bit and I started to get the hang of it. I was getting really hot while I was working. So I took off my Baklava and a jacket. I put them in the snow near us and kept working. Our lesson ended and I got them from the snow. We went down to lunch at the Cafe there. The line was like a hour wait!! It was ridicules! We finally got our food and even then, it was expensive. We ate got back to lesson and continued learning to stop, turn, get up, and go. Our lesson ended like 3 hours later. We went down the gondola and went to the car. Then we drove and got back to our house.

My butt, wrists, and legs hurt because I fell a lot. We drove to the village to eat dinner. The dinner was very empty when we got there but it was packed when we left. We sat with another family that was also skiing and snowboarding. They had very tiny kids that were like Monster age so I was super bored. I was so bored while we had dinner and I was glad to leave because I was bored out of my mind. The food was great though. I had spaghetti and sprite. Then salad and there was this weird desert that tasted weird and looked like a scoop of sour cream with syrup on top.

We drove home and we choose to make our gingerbread houses. We spent like 2 hours making them. We brought the gingerbread supplies and already made gingerbread cutouts with us so we could make them in Austria and easily throw them away. We decorated them with candy that we had got from our friends the Walkers. They sent so much candy in the care packages they sent us that we still had leftovers after we were done decorating. We got ready for Bed. There is like big horseflies in the hotel so that was gross.  I went to sleep aching. It was very cold too so I was wearing two pajamas.

Day 2: The next day was bit better. We didn't wear as much layers to day, so I was not as hot today. We learned to go up the pull thing that took us up the mountain to the almost top of the mountain where it went down to the starting point. Our lesson spot was right next to the pulley thing so we just had to get down and start again. We were learning to go and stop. The ride up the pulley thing was so hard. Big Sis and Little A were already going up it and they just cruised as it took them up. The bottom was a disk that went in-between your legs and pulled you up. The skiers just sat and cruised up. For snowboarders, it was a LOT harder. We had to ride up turned. Our leg was in front and our snowboard was to the side. We had to ride parallel to it and we had to keep our balance as we rode up or we would fall. If you fell, you had to walk up. It sucked. I barely made it up 1/4 or it! I fell, so did Mom and Dad. We had to walk up and meet them up top. It was super hard and I wanted to give up a bit after we went down the first time. I kept falling and biffing into the snow piles the cornered the pulley track. It sucked. I had a hard time turning and stopping in time. The others were just getting it and I wasn't. I had to endure falling the couple times we went down the hills.

 Mia then took us up the mountain to go all the way down to the cafe!!! The mountains like a 5 layer cake. The bottom is layer #1. The Cafe and the gondola end is layer #2. Our lesson point and the Pulley thing is layer #3. Then there is the top which is layer #4. Then the other trails and the back of the mountain  is layer #5. We went up to like layer #4 and went all the way down to layer #2. It was SOOOOO FUN!!!! We did the falling leaf with is when you go side to side on the steep parts. It was so fun.

The class ended for lunch break. We went back down to the cafe and ate some egg sandwiches that we had made that morning. I got this idea of using the bread and eggs we got every morning from the hotel to make egg sandwiches for lunch. So we made them and brought them with us that morning. We ate then went back to the lesson with Mia. We saw the other kids and we said Hi as we passed Big Sis, Little A, and Monster. We kept doing the turns and stuff. I was so depressed I started crying. I just couldn't do it! Everyone was so far ahead and I kept biffing it and falling. I just kept on trying and feeling horrible. Dad told me that it is ok and I should keep trying. I asked Mia to help me some more and I kept trying. The lesson ended and I still was horrible on the turns and I had to keep working on them tomorrow. We got home and had dinner.

Today was New Years and we watched fireworks and shows at the towns square. We also did a candle ceremony, where all the kids were given a candle and then by the light of just one candle they were all lite.  We had to go up to someone that had a lite candle and light our.  It was cool. It was so fun. I went to bed and had a ok nights sleep. Big Sis woke me up at like 11:59 and we watched the fireworks just then they started. Our hotel was on the top/side of another mountain and we had a good view of the city below. We watched the fireworks for like 10 minutes it was so cool. There was so many colors. Mom joined us in the bathroom, which was where we were watching the fireworks because it had a good view. Mom then said we could watch from the bedrooms window but we had to be quiet because Dad and Monster were both asleep. We were the only ones in our family that saw the fireworks.

Day 3: Today was fun. We made it about 15 minutes early to the lesson so we went up the pulley thing and did some stuff going down like turns and stops. Sense everybody stayed up late watching the fireworks, there was almost nobody at the resort the next morning. The people started coming around lunchtime because eaten slept in. It was also weird because the sky was filled with the smoke from the fireworks so we couldn't see all the way down the mountain and the village from the top . We had a good start to the lesson. We all could make it up the pulley thing. Mia took us down the mountain again. We met up with the older group at the bottom. Mia asked Mom if she wanted to go with the more advanced group today Mom left with them to go down the whole mountain and do turns down the hill. Dad and I stayed to keep working on turns. It was good and I was glad to have Dad with me still. We kept working on the turns until lunch time. I was finally getting the hang of it.

A boy named Matthew who was also in our group went with Mom to the advanced group because he was also ready to go down the mountain. We got a new person today and she was really nice. We kept going together. I was having lots of fun today. I could do some turns but I just needed to stop a bit earlier. We had lunch at the cafe, but we didn't eat the food there. We did my idea and brought with us the sandwiches with the egg in it. The bread was the good round rolls that tasted soooo good. We were much more filled and it didn't cost any money. We also bought with us the Korean chips our friends kept sending us too. They were good. We also brought fruits and veggies with us as well. Lunch was much cheeper, healthier, and more yummy today. We did that every lunch after. Dad and I went back up to the lesson with Mia and we kept working. I was super proud of myself every time I made it up the pulley thing without falling and making it down the mountain with very little falls. I was super happy when we left for home cease I was doing so good. I was a bit jealous though because Big Sis was already going down the mountain on the black tracks which were like the hardest with her group. I was only on the blue tracks. So that was a bit annoying. But dinner was good. The desert was like cheesecake and it was pretty good. I went to bed a bit late because Dad, Mom, Big Sis, and I played the game Sheriff of Nottingham. It was fun.

Day 4: Today was challenging and hard. We made it like 30 minutes before our lessons started. So I went up to the lesson point with my family. I went up the pulley thing and made it up. I did some pretty good turns. Our lesson started and Mom left with the older group. Dad and I kept working with our group and Mia on the turns and stuff. The older group/ more advanced group came. Mia said Dad and I should try going down with them so we did. We went up the mountain and started going down. I was so scared because we had to do turns going down. It was super steep and I was so scared I would face plant and tumble all the way down and hurt myself. The other people in the group went down one by one and they were so good. We had to do turns down to Hans, who was our instructor. Mom went down and did great. Then I went. I tried to but I fell Every Time!!! I was having such a hard time I started crying. I couldn't stop! It was super weird. I kept falling and I was doing so bad. I kept falling on my wrists and my but. I was hurting so bad and I wanted to just give up and go home. We finally made it down. We had lunch and I was just so depressed. I was so sad and angry. I was still crying when we made it down to the cafe. Dad said I should maybe stay with Mia and keep working with her. I did and I felt so much better. I was alone so that wasn't the best but I still had fun. We had a German boy named Randy join us and we were friends. Yes I couldn't really understand him and he couldn't really understand me but we could still had fun together with Mia and our other classmate who was a girl. I nailed it going up the pulley thing. We took turns following Mia or going on our own. I did turns and I didn't fall!! We went up over and over and I got down doing almost perfect turns and not falling. I felt so much better with her and I decided I would stay with her group. We had so much fun and I was much more happy. The class ended and we went home. The snow was melting. On the first day, the trees all the way up the mountain were covered in snow. But when we ent down, all the snow was almost gone. We made it down and went to dinner after we had showered and changed. It was good and we had fun. We got home and went to bed.

Day 5: Today was the best!!! I stayed with Mia and I did some pretty perfect turns down the half part of the mountain. It was so great. Mia gave me some pointers and I was doing so great. We had a race with the other group. We set it up and it was fun. We were in the same race as the older group but we got placed with our group. I would either get 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place in my group because it was just Randy, Me, and our other friend. We did it individually and it was fun. I went down and did some good turns. Randy went and he was FAST!! I think he won first place because he went down fast. I was ok with that. I went up with Mia and some of the other younger snowboarders and we ate at Buckhouse. I ate with them because I wanted to try the pancakes up there that everyone was saying was the best. I missed my family a lot while I was up there but I had fun. The pancakes were so good! They were like French Toast and German Pancakes + Normal Pancakes all together. It was delicious. Sense Buckhouse was on the top of the mountain, we had to snowboard down and meet my family at the bottom. It was fun. I was finally doing good. I was going down doing turns and stuff. The other people in my group were a bit behind and I was just zipping down. There was this one part of the mountain that had snow clumps that made you jump a bit. I was going over them and having so much fun. I had to stop multiple times to wait for the rest of the group. I was so good! I was having so much fun. Today was the best. We got down and went right back up again. I was glad I stayed with Mia and didn't go with Hans. Mia was so great and I felt happy and safe with her when my parents weren't there. We ended the lesson. We went down the mountain to another restaurant where we were going to get medals to our place in the race. I got 2nd and I had fun. Yes I wished that I got 1st but I was glad I got 2nd and not 3rd.

Dinner was great. Desert was soooooo great!!! It was ice-cream in a huge cup with huge on top of a chocolate cracker "straw" tube. It was the best desert Yet!!!! But when we were leaving we found out we had to pay for the drinks! We got drinks every day because they asked if we wanted drinks and we had already pre payed for the meal, so we thought drinks were included. So we got sprite and water and Coca Cola every night. We then found out they were not included and poor dad had to pay like 90 dollars for the stupid drinks. Then we found out the bread and eggs were also not free. The lady asked us if we wanted them at the start and we were like YES! But we found out they do that then tell us they are not free and we had to pay for that too! That was like 100 dollars too! So that was ridicules.

I had so much fun here in Austria and I was so happy I learned to do some snowboarding. I totally want to come back here next year and learn some more.