I have a lot of people ask me what a typical day in my life is like right now. It varies depending on whether or not I’m working. I usually work 4-5 times per week. If I do go to work, I get up at 6:45 AM to eat breakfast and get ready. I start walking to the station building for the bus in town at about 7:15 AM. It’s only about a 10 minute walk from my house. It can be really cold and sometimes icy. Two of my roommates work at Coronet Peak with me. We have definitely had a few slides and falls down the hill which always proves to be hilarious even at an early hour. We hop on the bus with all the other Coronet Peak staff and head up the mountain. It’s about a 20-30 minute ride depending on the weather conditions. At one point, the buses were picking us up at 6:45 AM because it took so long to get up the mountain and we would be late opening if we left at a normal time. I sometimes get a nap in or just listen to music. I get to work and have coffee with co-workers until the 8:30 AM start. Things are pretty chaotic in the administration office, so I stay really busy the whole day between Web site updates, PA announcements, following emergency procedures for missing people, and so many other tasks. I can either go to lunch or take a ski break. After work, I either come home and hang-out with my roommates, go out with friends, or night ski on Friday and Saturday nights. I usually try and give myself a midnight cut-off so I feel ok for work the next day.
If I am not working, I’m playing! Usually on my days off, we will all go skiing/boarding. My lift pass gives me access to either Coronet Peak or The Remarkables, so we switch it up. Coronet is more family-oriented and with more guests. It’s anywhere from 3,000-4,500 per day during the winter holidays. Lindsey Vonn, the U.S. Olympic skier is actually training at our facility right now!! The Remarkables has more park areas as far as rails and jumps. I almost pulled my leg out of socket going over a jump the other day so I haven’t built the courage back up to try again. It’s really cool to watch others though!
If we don’t go skiing, I’ll usually try and just relax, do some errands and laundry. If I’ve got some energy, we try and be “touristy”. Most of my friends are only here for the season and don’t want to spend too much money since they don’t have jobs. We splurge every once in a while. Last week, we went on a cruise around Lake Wakatipu. It’s the third largest lake in New Zealand and crystal clear. I really would like to be here in the summer so I can swim in it! If we aren’t being tourists, we generally just hang-out together, go get a treat (J), or watch movies. There is still a lot of adrenaline activities I want to take advantage of so stay tuned!
My life is pretty simple, but I’m really happy right now. I hate thinking about what I will do after the season is over since all my friends will go back home, but I just have to reassure myself that there is a plan for me and I will find another wonderful city! Who knows, I might even stay in Queenstown for a bit longer! I’m just going to go with the flow.
Hugs and kisses! Miss you all. Love to hear from each and every one of you! Don't forget to check out the tab with all my pictures!
July 31, 2011
July 18, 2011
Praise the Lord, I have a home! Yes, that’s right. I’m writing to you from my new house! My friend Hayley and I just moved in tonight along with EIGHT other people. I know it seems crazy, but that’s what everyone does here. We live in a four bedroom home that’s just a short walk from the center of town with a killer view of the mountains and Lake Wakatipu. Hayley and I share a cozy little room. I never thought I would appreciate shelves so much in my life. I’m so happy to unpack! I haven’t met all my new roomies yet, but they are all friendly people so far. A couple of them even work on Coronet Peak with me. It’s nice to always have someone around to hang out with too.
Not too many new updates as of now. I’ve been working my little tail off. For the first couple of weeks, the large amount of snow and ice caused bad road conditions. Since the bus drivers had to drive really slow and chain up the tires, all the NZSki staff would have to catch the 6:45 AM bus to go up the mountain. It was still dark when I got to work, but I would get a good sleep in on the bus ride. Luckily, they changed it back to 7:45 AM. My job is going great. It’s been so absolutely chaotic in the administration office. I don’t have a single second of down time. I really enjoy it though. It keeps me on my toes. We even had to go over avalanche procedures today which I’m supposed to help handle if it occurs. Let’s just hope that doesn’t happen under my watch. It’s supposed to die down after the New Zealand school holidays are over. At that time, we will get to take ski breaks during lunch. I usually go skiing on my days off or on Fridays and Saturdays for night skiing.
This morning on the bus ride to work, I truly realized how amazing New Zealand is. I often take that time to think about how lucky I feel to be here and how this experience is once-in-a-lifetime. When we reached the top of the mountain, I looked up and the sun was coming up on one side in front of pink and purple clouds, and on the other side, the moon was still shining bright around a lit sky. Right below the mountains, I stood above a thick layer of clouds that really looked like snow. It was so amazing and unlike anything I’d ever seen. All the staff got off the bus and just began to take pictures (see my pictures tab). So with that said, I continue to remember to never take this experience for granted. Obviously I have my ups and downs, but lately it’s all ups! I hope everyone takes the time to see the beauty of what’s out there because there really is so much.
Not too many new updates as of now. I’ve been working my little tail off. For the first couple of weeks, the large amount of snow and ice caused bad road conditions. Since the bus drivers had to drive really slow and chain up the tires, all the NZSki staff would have to catch the 6:45 AM bus to go up the mountain. It was still dark when I got to work, but I would get a good sleep in on the bus ride. Luckily, they changed it back to 7:45 AM. My job is going great. It’s been so absolutely chaotic in the administration office. I don’t have a single second of down time. I really enjoy it though. It keeps me on my toes. We even had to go over avalanche procedures today which I’m supposed to help handle if it occurs. Let’s just hope that doesn’t happen under my watch. It’s supposed to die down after the New Zealand school holidays are over. At that time, we will get to take ski breaks during lunch. I usually go skiing on my days off or on Fridays and Saturdays for night skiing.
This morning on the bus ride to work, I truly realized how amazing New Zealand is. I often take that time to think about how lucky I feel to be here and how this experience is once-in-a-lifetime. When we reached the top of the mountain, I looked up and the sun was coming up on one side in front of pink and purple clouds, and on the other side, the moon was still shining bright around a lit sky. Right below the mountains, I stood above a thick layer of clouds that really looked like snow. It was so amazing and unlike anything I’d ever seen. All the staff got off the bus and just began to take pictures (see my pictures tab). So with that said, I continue to remember to never take this experience for granted. Obviously I have my ups and downs, but lately it’s all ups! I hope everyone takes the time to see the beauty of what’s out there because there really is so much.
July 11, 2011
Well we finally got a dump… a snow dump that is (hehe). That’s right… it finally snowed A LOT! YAY!! I arrived in Queenstown a couple of weeks ago. It was perfect timing because Winterfest just started. There were all sorts of things going on like dodgeball tournaments, drag queen drag races, and tons of bands playing. There was even a Japanese James Brown band which was totally awesome. I want them to play at my wedding.
Queenstown is by far my most favorite place in New Zealand. The scenery is breathtaking. It’s just a cute little snow town with tons of activities always going on. I even did a bungee jump. I can’t even begin to describe the adrenalin rush. It’s 134 meters high with about eight seconds of free fall. I honestly didn’t think I would be as scared as I was, but it’s so incredibly intimidating. Not to mention I was the last one to go, so I had to wait for about 15 people to go in front of me. I’m not sure I even remember the first few seconds, but it was truly amazing. I want to go again!
Good news. I officially started my job! I’m working for NZSki as the Coronet Peak Administrative Assistant on the mountain. I get tons of perks like a free ski pass for both Coronet Peak and The Remarkables which runs upward of about $1,400. Lucky me! I work in the office with all of the ski area managers and other admins who are all really nice. So far so good. Some of my job duties include updating the Web site and snow phones, finding missing people, and making PA announcements which I struggle with. The entire mountain hears my voice and I always stumble on my words. I accidentally even said “y’all” when I radioed patrol the other day. I’ll never hear the end of that. It’s a chaotic job, but goes by super fast every day. You wouldn’t believe how many missing people there are! As long as the snow keeps up, I should have a job for the rest of the snow season. I was supposed to go skiing today on my day off, but due to high winds, they closed all the mountains.
I’m staying at a hostel right now which is definitely the nicest one yet. It’s only a year old and centrally located. I met a good group of friends who are also staying here most of whom are British. I love to hear them talk. Do you fancy this? Do you want to have a sit down? Do you need to throw away your rubbish? They get a kick out of me saying “y’all”, which I guess I never realized how much I use the word. As much as I enjoy hostel life, I finally found a place to live! It’s a brand new, 4 bedroom house about 5 minutes from town. I’m sharing a room with my friend Hayley. There are 2 people to a room, so I will have several roommates. We have a great view of the mountains and Lake Wakatipu. I’m pretty pumped!
Thanks for all of the recent e-mails! Keep them coming! I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July. Unfortunately, I didn’t do too much for the holiday because we were all too tired, but I celebrated in spirit! Love and miss everyone. :)
Queenstown is by far my most favorite place in New Zealand. The scenery is breathtaking. It’s just a cute little snow town with tons of activities always going on. I even did a bungee jump. I can’t even begin to describe the adrenalin rush. It’s 134 meters high with about eight seconds of free fall. I honestly didn’t think I would be as scared as I was, but it’s so incredibly intimidating. Not to mention I was the last one to go, so I had to wait for about 15 people to go in front of me. I’m not sure I even remember the first few seconds, but it was truly amazing. I want to go again!
Good news. I officially started my job! I’m working for NZSki as the Coronet Peak Administrative Assistant on the mountain. I get tons of perks like a free ski pass for both Coronet Peak and The Remarkables which runs upward of about $1,400. Lucky me! I work in the office with all of the ski area managers and other admins who are all really nice. So far so good. Some of my job duties include updating the Web site and snow phones, finding missing people, and making PA announcements which I struggle with. The entire mountain hears my voice and I always stumble on my words. I accidentally even said “y’all” when I radioed patrol the other day. I’ll never hear the end of that. It’s a chaotic job, but goes by super fast every day. You wouldn’t believe how many missing people there are! As long as the snow keeps up, I should have a job for the rest of the snow season. I was supposed to go skiing today on my day off, but due to high winds, they closed all the mountains.
I’m staying at a hostel right now which is definitely the nicest one yet. It’s only a year old and centrally located. I met a good group of friends who are also staying here most of whom are British. I love to hear them talk. Do you fancy this? Do you want to have a sit down? Do you need to throw away your rubbish? They get a kick out of me saying “y’all”, which I guess I never realized how much I use the word. As much as I enjoy hostel life, I finally found a place to live! It’s a brand new, 4 bedroom house about 5 minutes from town. I’m sharing a room with my friend Hayley. There are 2 people to a room, so I will have several roommates. We have a great view of the mountains and Lake Wakatipu. I’m pretty pumped!
Thanks for all of the recent e-mails! Keep them coming! I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July. Unfortunately, I didn’t do too much for the holiday because we were all too tired, but I celebrated in spirit! Love and miss everyone. :)
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