Les Alpes

 Racklette

 Miso and our Host Parents

 Miso and I

Prologue:     Miso was supposed to live with Pascalyne, my first host mother, and went there for two weeks. The Dupont family was Miso’s first family and her forth family as well but as her third host family didn’t work out well, she moved to the Dupont’s two months earlier. We are lucky enough to be host sisters for two months until I move to my fourth family. When I returned from my Vacation Host Family on Saturday, Miso was moved in. We left for the Alps on Sunday.

               We hit the road on Sunday morning at 5:30 to traverse the country which should normally take 11 hours. After ten and a half hours of sleeping, eating, little pit stops, watching some guys on scooters showing off, and driving through the beautifully wonderful mountains, we were only half an hour away and I was so excited to arrive. We went to turn onto the last road and it was CLOSED due to a ski slope that passes over it during ski season. We stopped at a nearby café and they informed my host dad that this was a problem he encountered at least three times a day because Google Maps doesn’t know that the road is closed during winter. We had to drive around the mountain which took us three more hours. We peed in the forest and got on our way. We arrived at the Foux d’Allos Ski Station in the dark and were keen to ski the next day. I was looking around and the mountains that surrounded me looked bare, I thought it must be because it was so dark. We unpacked and revved up for our first day of skiing.

               Any skier with kids (or Miso) knows that the first morning of skiing is always really draining.  My mom didn’t ski during the vacation; she walked in the mountains each day. My dad, Miso and I left the condo early to rent skis, get passes, register Miso for lessons and hit the slopes. It was Miso’s first time skiing and her lesson wasn’t until the afternoon, so my host dad and I dropped her off at the condo and we went out alone for a few hours. As we were going up the ski lift, there was literally no snow. I thought you myself, ‘where the heck are we going to ski?’ When we got to the top, there was just enough snow. It was well maintained and you could tell they were really trying to keep it. The slope was covered and the rest was brown or green. Spring skiing.  We went back for lunch then Miso went to her lesson. She was so cute. We went up to the top of the mountain and it was unlike anything I’ve been before. It was wonderful. We could see mountain tops for miles from the summit and I felt like I was on the top of the world. We skied with Miso for a bit and then went in. She was not horrible, but it definitely needed some more work.   That night we went to a little restaurant where we each got a massive pizza.  In France, it is impolite to ask for a ‘doggy bag’ and they mock American movies when someone takes restaurant food home.  After a fighting our host parents to let us take the rest home for lunch tomorrow and laughing for 20 minutes I composed myself and asked for a box. The waitress yes ‘oui’ without hesitating. She was obviously used to tourists. I was such a funny bonding moment with my host family.

               The second day was really tiring. I am out of shape which means that skiing in the soup like snow was hard, really hard. The snow was usually alright at the top of the mountain and in the morning. But when I had to ski with Miso, at the bottom of the mountain, it was so tiring. My host dad and I dropped Miso off at group lessons in the morning and headed to the top of the mountain. It was a little brisk but by midday the temperature was in the plus and a winter coat was far too much. Miso made more progress the second day and we had a lot of fun. She fell a lot and always fell face first so I had a good laugh about every 3 minutes.  We played a complicated card game, ate dinner, connected to the internet and went to bed at a good time.

               It was hard to get up the third morning and then I had a bad morning. (Mom, Dad- I’m sorry if we ever made ski morning like this for you.) My host parents went on a hiking adventure so Miso and I set out early and were waiting in line for tickets at a booth closer to our condo. We waited for them to open late and then found out the credit card machine was not working. We were late for lessons so I skied down to the village quickly while Miso made her way down slowly. I had to go down a million stairs, wait in line and then run up the stairs to give Miso her card before her lesson left without her. It was boiling hot and I was not happy. I got Miso off to her lesson and then got on the chairlift without realizing which one it was. It is a long lasting competition between my sister, cousins and I for who can get chairlift number one. After a morning de merde, I was on chairlift number one and all of my negativity from the morning drifted away as I recalled all my ski adventures with my family at Owl’s Head. It was really weird skiing alone and I was a little nostalgic. At home, even if I wanted to ski alone, it wouldn’t be possible so that was different. I met a few people on the chairlift and had a 10 minute boyfriend who lives in the Alps and makes the signs for the mountain… hahaha.  Actually I just wish he was my boyfriend so I could live in the Alps.  Miso and I both made food that our mothers send us for lunch, she made Taiwanese noodles and I made Kraft Dinner. Miso bought strawberries and we just had a relaxed lunch which was muchly needed. We had a little nap and then went back out for an afternoon of ski. That evening, Miso and I started walking to the Village Center which is normally a 30 minute walk, because it is through the mountains.  I taught Miso what hitch hiking was and then as a car passed we stuck our thumbs out jokingly.  The car turned around and pulled over. After it had turned around, we couldn’t say no, and there was no where they could have kidnapped us to, so we got in. They were really nice and dropped us off right in the center. There was a little market where I found this honey, jam and spreads maker whose last name was Jacquemain (My mom’s maiden name). I bought some honey. After, we had hot chocolate in a little café where we were trying to figure out how to say ”ta guelle” which is a very vulgar way to say shut up. We repeated it numerous times before we figured out how to say it. We were like, “Oui, ga guelle, c’est ca!” But we were saying it really loudly and then realized this family was looking at us. The dad told us of we wanted lessons in French swear words; he was the guy to ask. The kids were laughing so hard. Miso and I were laughing for at least ten minutes and it was the hardest I’d laughed in a while. It was such an exchange student moment. We met up with our parents and had dinner at a restaurant. At the table across from us, I saw my first real Raclette. Normally we put the cheese on a little dish and then into an appliance that heats it. I hadn’t  known but the real Raclette it is block of cheese on a stand and a heater that melts the side. I was so impressed that I went up to them and explained that I was Canadian and had never seen it before. I asked them if I could take a photo and we they said oui! I had a crêpe with cheese and ham and then one with Nutella after. They were delicious, as per normal.

               The last day of skiing was great. It was really warm and sunny. I had a nice, sun glasses, tan by the end of the week and lost a lot of weight from sweating so much. I skied alone after I dropped Miso off and met a retired man on the lift who has a house in the Alps and another one in Nice, France. What a perfect life. So he skis all winter and then relaxes on the beach in the summer. I want to a retirement like that. Miso and I had a quick lunch after she had finished her lesson and then headed back out.  We did a few runs and then stopped at a little bar at the top of the mountain. We had apple juice and enjoyed the sun in reclining chairs. Each day, I took a video of Miso skiing to see her progress and to laugh. We took her last video where she did a beautiful face-plant. It was perfect. But she actually did make a lot of progress over the week. We did a few last runs, I went off some jumps and then we went into the Village to find some souvenirs. We bought some stuff then ran for the bus to take us back to the condo.  Miso and I had a deal the whole week that if I carried her skis, she’d give me a massage each night, so I carried her skis back to the rental shop and we returned our skis. We had a quiet evening and watch all the videos from the week. We had dinner, went online and got some of our stuff packed up.

               We headed home on the Friday morning and it was a long day in the car. I was really tired and anxious to get home as I had a bad headache due to the French, fatigue and altitude change. We had lunch in the mountains on the ‘Route de Napoleon’ at this little restaurant. We stopped in Paris at my host uncle’s house for dinner. He has two daughters who are seriously obsessed with a British Boy Band called, “One Direction.”  The one girl, who was 13, was in a contest that closed that night at midnight. She was getting votes to win a One Direction sweatshirt so the whole meal was based upon that. We continued home and arrived around midnight.

               My ski trip in the Alps was absolutely amazing and I am so lucky to have had the chance to ski in the Alps. I am so happy to have developed a good relationship with my host parents and happy to have done it with Miso with me. The mountains were so beautiful and the atmosphere in the village was really cool. J’adore Les Alpes. I'm so lucky!