My first season teaching skiing at Okemo was also the first season that the resort began to hire foreign instructors, all of whom were Australian at that time. Since then, the number and diversity of our foreign teaching staff has grown and evolved considerably. Apart from fulfilling an important role in the business of running our resort – we depend on international recruiting for housekeeping, lifts, snowmaking, hotel staff and others in addition to instructors - our international staff does a great deal to enrich the Okemo experience of our guests and our American staff alike. My purpose in writing about this is not to address the issue of visas for temporary foreign workers, though that is a major issue for the entire snowsports industry this year. Rather, it’s to note that what goes around comes around.
Not surprisingly, at home I own a car which I drive to get to and from work, to do errands around town, to conduct my social life, and to get the heck out of Dodge when needed (Ludlow is a small town, after all). Okemo is very close to downtown Ludlow by car, and Ludlow has a very compact town center with the market, bars, restaurants and necessary stores all very close to each other and to staff housing. The five minute drive from the resort to town, however, involves a very long, very steep access road with no sidewalk. So, over the years I’ve always made sure to give friends and colleagues a ride home when needed and the occasional early morning pick-up on powder days, and I try to shrug it off insisting that it’s no trouble.
Here in Wanaka, New Zealand, I do not own a car. Today, my day off, I’ll walk from the house where I’m staying into town which will take about half an hour, then to the gym from town which will take another 20 minutes, and then back home, another 45 or more. Thankfully, after several gloomy days up on the hill, it’s sunny and warm outside and the long walks along the lakefront will be most welcome today. I may stop by an outdoor café where I’m likely to see friends, pop into an internet café to check email, read the newspaper and check on the Vuelta a Espańa. I’ll generally enjoy the slow pace, making the walk more about strolling along than about locomotion or transport, in particular given that I’ll likely be stopped in my tracks by the views of the Buchanan Range from across Lake Wanaka.
There are many evenings, however, after the staff transport drops me off at the gym after a long day of work, when the long walk home on an empty stomach is the last thing I want to do. When I need to do my grocery shopping, I arrive at the market with a backpack and only buy enough food to fit in it without turning my walk home into the Long March. Especially when the winter days are cold and short (and they are very short this far South), I frequently get lucky and find friends willing to give me a ride. I try not to be a burden and I do ‘hem and haw’ about asking, but I find people are very happy and willing to go a little out of their way for me. In this way and in so many others, folks here in Wanaka and at Treble Cone specifically understand that many of us travel a great distance to spend time here. They are prideful of their place and genuinely excited to share it with us, and assisting with a lift here and there is therefore a natural thing to do.
It’s funny being on the other side of this equation here and, while do I occasionally drive around Wanaka in a borrowed car reveling in the freedom it provides, it’s a nice reminder of how far a little help can go to make visitors feel welcome. For the next month until I depart New Zealand, I’ll continue to benefit from the kindness of my hosts here in many ways large and small. Once I’m back home in Vermont, the coin will flip and I’ll be able to return the favor. When that happens, I’ll enjoy not having to bring a backpack to buy groceries and I’ll still insist that providing a ride is no problem at all.
Not surprisingly, at home I own a car which I drive to get to and from work, to do errands around town, to conduct my social life, and to get the heck out of Dodge when needed (Ludlow is a small town, after all). Okemo is very close to downtown Ludlow by car, and Ludlow has a very compact town center with the market, bars, restaurants and necessary stores all very close to each other and to staff housing. The five minute drive from the resort to town, however, involves a very long, very steep access road with no sidewalk. So, over the years I’ve always made sure to give friends and colleagues a ride home when needed and the occasional early morning pick-up on powder days, and I try to shrug it off insisting that it’s no trouble.
Here in Wanaka, New Zealand, I do not own a car. Today, my day off, I’ll walk from the house where I’m staying into town which will take about half an hour, then to the gym from town which will take another 20 minutes, and then back home, another 45 or more. Thankfully, after several gloomy days up on the hill, it’s sunny and warm outside and the long walks along the lakefront will be most welcome today. I may stop by an outdoor café where I’m likely to see friends, pop into an internet café to check email, read the newspaper and check on the Vuelta a Espańa. I’ll generally enjoy the slow pace, making the walk more about strolling along than about locomotion or transport, in particular given that I’ll likely be stopped in my tracks by the views of the Buchanan Range from across Lake Wanaka.
There are many evenings, however, after the staff transport drops me off at the gym after a long day of work, when the long walk home on an empty stomach is the last thing I want to do. When I need to do my grocery shopping, I arrive at the market with a backpack and only buy enough food to fit in it without turning my walk home into the Long March. Especially when the winter days are cold and short (and they are very short this far South), I frequently get lucky and find friends willing to give me a ride. I try not to be a burden and I do ‘hem and haw’ about asking, but I find people are very happy and willing to go a little out of their way for me. In this way and in so many others, folks here in Wanaka and at Treble Cone specifically understand that many of us travel a great distance to spend time here. They are prideful of their place and genuinely excited to share it with us, and assisting with a lift here and there is therefore a natural thing to do.
It’s funny being on the other side of this equation here and, while do I occasionally drive around Wanaka in a borrowed car reveling in the freedom it provides, it’s a nice reminder of how far a little help can go to make visitors feel welcome. For the next month until I depart New Zealand, I’ll continue to benefit from the kindness of my hosts here in many ways large and small. Once I’m back home in Vermont, the coin will flip and I’ll be able to return the favor. When that happens, I’ll enjoy not having to bring a backpack to buy groceries and I’ll still insist that providing a ride is no problem at all.
One brief note about the photo above: It’s not unusual to have a herd of cattle or a flock of sheep in the middle of the road on our way to or from Treble Cone. At least the cows are on the correct side of the road. Would they be on the right hand side in Vermont?
