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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It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.
- Confucius
The next day, our group was scheduled to go cross-country skiing.
Oh, joy!
It sounds harmless and appears to be quite easy, as long as you watch the athletes doing it on TV. But let me tell you: looks can be frighteningly deceiving!
Oh, I am not talking about the initial problems beginners might have! Since we were all seasoned skiers, none of us had difficulties standing or even moving along on the slightly different, much narrower contraptions.
No, the problem lay in the gliding.
Or lack thereof.
Because, you see, no matter how hard I was trying to push my arms and feet, I seemed to be hardly moving forward at all!
I was reminded of my failed attempt at running all over again. It actually did feel a lot like it, too! (Someone I talked to once claimed that you use every single muscle while engaging in this sport. I don't know whether this is true, but my body sure hurt enough for me to believe it.)
Scowling beneath my woolen scarf, I glared up at the sky, which was completely invisible behind a thick layer of fog. It hid the mountains surrounding us, therefore all I could see was the almost completely flat, vast valley floor in front of me, fringed by dark woods. The trail snaked and looped along its edge, occasionally leading through one of the lines of trees, which were planted across the fields to mark their edges and break the wind.
Already panting and feeling exhausted, I was sorely tempted to take the next junction in the trail and head straight back home.
If only that was possible! Our group-leader, Prof Hausmann, would certainly give me an ear full if I ever did that...
I watched in desperation, as the distance between my classmates and me gradually increased. Prof Hausmann was so far ahead; she was actually about to ski out of my sight, as she was moving on the part of the trail which curved slightly to the right, following the outline of the valley.
Mist!
Why, oh why did I have to be blessed with the one teacher who was not only the fittest of them all, but also the most eager?!
Besides...my skis must not have been waxed properly, I decided, puffing out my breath in exasperation. Everybody else seems to have to put in so much less effort!
"You know, I give up! I simply cannot go on anymore!" Sarah suddenly shouted from behind me, voicing my thoughts. I stopped for a moment to turn around, secretly grateful for the short reprieve. And even more grateful to discover that I was not the very last, after all! Reassuringly, Sarah and Elisabeth were even slower than me.
