What comes to your mind when you think of Canada’s winter? You will definitely recall lots of snow and ski, ice skating, and other many winter sports. Last semester, when I studied in Canada as an exchange student, I spent whole semester anticipating going skiing after finishing final exams. Particularly, it has been snowing a lot in this winter, so whenever it snowed, I couldn’t wait to go skiing. Finally, after long, long final exams finished, the time to prepare going there came. I was very excited to find the place I could go, and prepare all equipment I needed. Fortunately, I could be given ski clothes from my homestay mom, but I forgot to buy ski gloves. I didn’t expect that this little mistake would make me regret all day, trembling with totally frozen hands even until I rode the shuttle bus.
In the shuttle bus, even though I didn’t slept very well and woke up very early in the morning, I wasn’t sleepy at all, and rather, I couldn’t stop thinking about how awesome it would be skiing. As soon as I arrived at the ski resort, I was so surprised at all steep slopes waiting for me. Even though I expected of slope to some degree, it seemed more serious than roller coaster I failed to ride before. At that moment, I started to feel uneasy for the first time. However, with friends’ shout and expectation, I became overwhelmed by excitement again. After renting all equipment we needed to ski, we went to a line for lift. Thanks to very cold weather and constant snow, there were not so many people than expected. From this moment, everything started to make me frightened.
Contrary to Korean ski resort, there was no guard net under the ski lift. All the way to going up, I couldn’t look down because it constantly made me imagine what if I fell off. Besides, when the ski lift reached middle, lift stopped all of a sudden. Without even knowing the reason, it was the moment that made me scared even before skiing. What was waiting for me after arriving at the starting place through panic was unbelievably steep slope. Even though I wanted to start at primary level, it was closed that day. At the moment I looked at the slope, my confidence with experiences in my childhood disappeared, and I trembled with fear. A woman who noticed me trembling approached me and said “Do you want help?” She was the only gleam of hope because all my friends already went to much higher level course. “Are you first time? Do you want to follow me?” I answered “Sure!” Even though my answer was so short, in this answer, all my relief, desperation, and panic were contained. She explained how to go down to me. “Make me pizza shape!” She said I had to make triangle in order to slow down.
No matter how hard I tried, it was really hard to make triangle and turn at the same time because she said I should go down diagonally, not straight to slow down. To make matters worse, at both end of the slope, there was no fence to protect from falling down. Every step made me frightened and I was not able to be relaxed. When I felt a little bit relief from the fact I came down the first hill, I fell with a bump. During that short moment, my hat flew away, I miss my poll, and I rolled down many times. My face became covered snow and it was hard to open my eyes. At the moment, I was so surprised and it was really painful. The woman turned back because of my shout, and came to me for help. “Are you okay? You can do this. Don’t be scared and give your legs strength.” She encouraged me to try again and cheer me up.
Of course, it was not my last fall. I rolled down so many times after then as well. However, at the time when I left just one hill, I started to feel excited and confident. As soon as I arrived at a point of arrival, I went to a line for lift. Even though all my body was covered by snow and I decided to stop skiing in the slope a little while ago, I wanted to try again with excitement. The slope that I looked down secondly seemed really steep just as it did at first. However, I took my first step. I tried to make triangle and go down diagonally in both direction. When I didn’t focus a little bit and give my legs strength, it started to be fast and I couldn’t control my body. I fell down and rolled many times in this try as well. However, I started to get the feel of the way rather than being afraid of falling down.
Even though it was getting dark and cold, I didn’t stop and started to have fun at that moment. In the middle of coming down, I met the woman that helped me a lot. She was very surprised at my significant advance. “On my god! You look so great. I told you can do this.” At the moment, I was so proud of myself. I am the faint of heart, especially when it comes to many sports and amusement park rides, so I could give up at once as original. However, in this time, I didn’t give up trying new and scary thing to me, and it seemed that I could everything as long as I try. I think there will be a few slopes in my life as time goes by. In my life journey, I would definitely fall down sometimes just as I fell down in this ski trip, but I will stand up and go to a new line for my future without giving up.
Nice connection between your learning to ski and learning in life.
ReplyDeleteTenses get confusing in spots, like when you wrote about the past in Canada using present progressive tense: "Particularly, it has been snowing a lot in this winter, so whenever it snowed, I couldn’t wait to go skiing."
Another grammar suggestion: watch out for long sentences like -- "In the shuttle bus, even though I didn’t slept very well and woke up very early in the morning, I wasn’t sleepy at all, and rather, I couldn’t stop thinking about how awesome it would be skiing." Break them up into more than one sentence. They'll be easier to understand.
Finally, I really enjoyed reading this because I have been skiing since I was very little so I understand about making a snowplow and turning. It was fun to read about your experience.
But remember, specific details. Think of the five senses and tell your reader how something felt, what it looked like, how it smelled, maybe by comparing it to something else (That huge scary mountain was a rocky monster, bigger than Mt. Everest).
Relax and have fun!
JBH
Unexpected slope
ReplyDeleteWhat comes to your mind when you think of Canada’s winter? You may probably recall lots of snow and ski, ice skating, and other many winter sports. Last semester, when I studied in Canada as an exchange student, I spent whole semester anticipating going skiing after finishing final exams. Particularly, it snowed a lot in this winter, so whenever it snowed, I couldn’t wait to go skiing.
Finally, after long, long final exams finished, the time to prepare going there came. I was very excited to find the place I could go, and prepare all equipment I needed with my friends. Fortunately, I could be given ski clothes from my homestay mom, but I forgot to buy ski gloves. I didn’t expect that this little mistake would make me regret all day, trembling with totally frozen hands even until I rode the shuttle bus.
In the shuttle bus, even though I didn’t slept very well and woke up very early in the morning, I wasn’t sleepy at all. I couldn’t stop thinking about how awesome it would be skiing. As soon as I arrived at the ski resort, I was so surprised at all steep slopes waiting for me. It was a tremendous cliff covered with lots of snow. Even though I expected of slope to some degree, it seemed much scarier than roller coaster I failed to ride before. It was the moment I started to feel uneasy for the first time. I felt like I was being dragged to a slaughterhouse when my friends led me. After renting all equipment we needed to ski, we went to a line for lift. Thanks to very cold weather and constant snow, there were not so many people than expected. From this moment, everything started to make me frightened.
Contrary to Korean ski resort, there was no guard net under the ski lift. All the way to destination, I couldn’t look down because it constantly made me imagine what if I fell off. Besides, when the ski lift reached middle, lift stopped all of a sudden. Without even knowing the reason, it made me scared even before skiing. What was waiting for me after arriving at the starting place through panic was unbelievably steep slope. It was like a cliff. Even though I wanted to start at primary level, it was closed that day. At the moment I looked at the slope, my confidence with experiences in my childhood disappeared, and I trembled with fear.
ReplyDeleteA woman who noticed me trembling approached me and said “Do you want help?”She was the only gleam of hope because all my friends already had gone to much higher level course.“ Are you first time? Do you want to follow me?” I answered “Sure!”Even though my answer was so short, in this answer, all my relief, desperation, and panic were contained. She explained how to go down to me. “Make me pizza shape!” She said I had to make triangle in order to slow down.
Besides, she said I should go down diagonally. No matter how hard I tried, it was really hard to make triangle and turn at the same time. To make matters worse, at both ends of the slope, there was no fence to protect from falling down. Whenever I reached the ends of slope, I felt my legs weaken. Every step made me frightened and I was not able to be relaxed. When I felt a little bit relief from the fact I came down the first hill, I fell with a bump. During that short moment, my hat flew away, I missed my poll, and I rolled down many times. My face became covered snow and it was hard to open my eyes. The woman turned back because of my shout, and came to me for help. “Are you okay? You can do this. Don’t be scared and give your legs strength.” She encouraged me to try again and cheered me up.
Of course, it was not my last fall. I rolled down so many times after then as well. However, at the time when I left just one hill, I started to feel excited and confident. As soon as I arrived at a point of arrival, I went to a line for lift. Even though all my body was covered with snow and I had decided to stop skiing in the slope a little while ago, I wanted to try again with excitement.
The slope that I looked down secondly seemed really steep just as it did at first. It was getting cold. Besides, I fell down and rolled over the snow field so many times, I looked like a match girl who had fought through blizzards. However, I took a deep breath and took my first step. I tried to make triangle and go down diagonally in both direction. When I didn’t focus a little bit and give my legs strength, it started to be fast and I couldn’t control my body. I fell down and rolled many times in this try as well. However, I started to get the feel of the way rather than being afraid of falling down.
ReplyDeleteEven though it was getting dark and cold, I didn’t stop and started to have fun at that moment. In the middle of coming down, I met the woman that helped me a lot. She was very surprised at my significant advance. “Oh my god! You look so great. I told you can do this.” At the moment, I was so proud of myself.
I am the faint of heart, especially when it comes to many sports and amusement park rides, so I could give up at once as original. However, in this time, I didn’t give up trying new and scary thing to me, and it seemed that I could everything as long as I try. Looking back on this ski trip, it reminded me of my life. I think there will be a few slopes in my life as time goes by. In my life journey, I would definitely fall down sometimes just as I fell down in this ski trip, but I will stand up and go to a new line for my future without giving up.