By Lynne Schott Teacher at OHCHS

A few weeks ago my husband and I asked Max if he wanted to try skiing. Max was very excited and eager to get started when we got to Shawnee Peak. We had to get him outfitted with equipment and ran into our first hurdle, how to convert metric measurements to American sizes. We figured out his height and weight, but needed the shoe sizer for his boot size. Max also discovered that multiple layers of socks, long underwear and pants take up space in the boot, so we had to make adjustment to his atttire to get the stuff on him. Tromping around in the equipment made for hot work, so the jacket came unzipped, the hat came off and he wanted to jettison the gloves until a gloveless fall made him aware of the importance of hand coverings. With Adaica’s, Bob’s and my help Max learned the difference between Pizza and French Fries, the “joy” of sliding backwards down the Rabbit Run and the excitement of putting up the bar before you get off the lift. He learned how to turn, but had a hard time shifting his weight to begin the opposite turn. He did very well on Easy Turn, but decided to put off trying the “Flying Hill” until he could turn on demand. He said Skiing was much more difficult than he had anticipated and by about 2:30 we were back in the lodge drinking hot cocoa, learning Chinese and talking to a lady whose husband had recently returned from China. When Bob finished giving his lessons we retired to the bar to have a beer. The whole day was filled with information about China and new Chinese words. When we got back to school,Max thanked me for the lesson and said his “taste ” of skiing was enough and he did not have to go back to try the “Flying Hill.” We can hardly wait to take him rafting with us this spring.