Warning!
This is a book for the open-minded only!
If you feel that you already know all about the mysteries of our existence, your view of life is set and you would like to keep it this way, then this book is not meant for you. Don't bother reading...
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When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.
- Harriet Beecher Stowe
The next morning at breakfast, we were sorted into three groups: the beginners, the advanced and the excellent skiers.
Prof. Hausmann looked at us, sizing us up: "Please, be honest with yourselves! If you join a group whose level is beyond your capacities, you will be the one to suffer! Only those who can do perfect parallel turns should be in the excellent group," she cautioned us, walking from pupil to pupil while handing out our ski-passes.
Although I was only three years old when I stood on skis for the first time and in spite of having been on skiing holidays with my parents every winter since, I could not claim to be able to do perfect parallel turns! My skiing technique was rather basic, to be honest, but I was fast and had no problems descending any hill, no matter how steep. Only... style was another matter altogether...
You see, I had never had actual training. My parents had never put me into a ski school for children, - not on purpose, I guess they simply had never even thought about it - which was why I was basically self-taught.
In comparison to the runway-style of parallel turns, where your knees are supposed to touch the whole time, your skis are barely a few centimeters apart, your body is facing downhill and your knees do all the work, my own skiing posture looked quite barbarian: with skis so far apart, they were virtually strangers, my body bent forward instead of straight and only the occasional sweep, I was a far cry from the perfect skiers you would see on tv.
A fact that had never really bothered me... until now! Somehow, it hurt having to be in the second best group of a sport I had always considered myself good at!
I glanced at Lisa, who was sitting beside me on the long table we were sharing with most of my classmates, who were busy devouring their breakfast consisting of bread with butter and jam or cheese (I do have to insert at this point that hotel breakfasts in Austria have come a long way since those times...!).
"Which group are you going to join?" I wanted to know.
She considered for a moment, before answering: "The second group."
"At least we are going to be together," I smiled, feeling a bit better about the situation.
I was sipping my hot tea, when Lisa threw me a solemn look. "Yeah, but we have Prof. Hausmann as our group-leader."
"Prof. Hausmann!" I almost choked on my tea at the news. Groaning, I let my head sink into my hands. I liked her, I really did, but she was infamous for being rather merciless and sometimes even ruthless in her demands on her student's endurance. Probably, because she was quite fit, herself.
