So, I was in a bit of a dilemma over the past week or so, as Stephane's mother invited me to come skiing with her and the littlest sister (she's 8) for the first week of my spring break. A chance to go to the Alps (where I have never been) for FREE and learn how to ski for a week was quite a temptation, but then there are the cons: sharing a room with the two of them and one straight week of Stephane's mom. And although she is quite a wonderful person, she is not without her quirks.

In any case, the free trip (to a Club Med, nonetheless...how Euro of me!) won out over the possible psychological damage the trip might cause. I am psyched to learn how to ski. After my first skiing disaster at age 14, I never wanted to do it again. Basically, for those of you who don't know the story, while me and a whole slew of 6 and 7 year-olds were learning how to do snow-plow turns, I decided to go for the gold: hunched over, poles under my arms, I went straight down the mountain towards a bunch of trees. I was like a flash of lightning zipping down the slope. Panicking, I sat on my skis and rolled into the woods. Fortunately, my brother had witnessed this humiliation and came to find me, which was a good thing, because I hadn't gotten to the part of the lesson where you learn how to stand up. So I was just rolling helplessly in the snow, cursing the skis. Refused to go back up the mountain and spent the rest of the day in the lodge, mumbling about how stupid skiing and skiers were.

The second time I went (age 19) I was definitely better. I was getting confident! So I am hoping that after one week of skiing lessons (probably again with a bunch of nose-pickers) that I will be ready for the Olympics. SO, I depart the 10th of April. Please help me to manifest snow for that week, which is pretty late in the season. Without snow, I will be trapped for one week in a room with a bored 8 year-old and an exasperated mother. And that is when a free trip can become expensive.