 |
| A summer storm rolls in with Snowmass in view; Old Snowmass, Colorado |
It’s been tough watching Cardrona Alpine Resort and Treble Cone’s opening days of the Kiwi winter season from here in an American summer. This is my first actual summer since I began working in Wanaka, New Zealand for the Kiwi winter in 2007! It’s not so much Fear Of Missing Out that gives me the blues as it is that I genuinely miss my friends. I am very fortunate to have a wonderful group of people around me in Wanaka – I do not use the word “whanau” lightly; I mean it, they feel like family.
So, just to focus on the positive, here are my Top 10 Reasons Why It’s Good To Be In America This Summer/Winter instead of Wanaka, New Zealand, in no particular order:
1. Summer is terrific - abundant sunshine, no need to bundle up, wearing flip-flops outside, and my road bike finally getting a full-season. Then again, there’s nothing quite like rising up through an early winter Wanaka inversion to help us appreciate the real value of some sunshine, and the warmth of the people makes up for the cold. Oh well.
2. I get another year to get used to Treble Cone having been acquired by Cardrona and now being in the Cardrona family. After my five seasons working there, it took several winters in the warm embrace of Cardrona to recover, and now … Then again, I’ve been quietly chatting with my friends at TC about how great it would be to work together again, the place is a genuinely inspiring mountain to ski and ride, and the whole TC community deserves the same welcome I received when I switched resorts. And sunrise at Treble Cone is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. Oh well.
3. Brewed coffee, on demand. Sorry, no qualifier there. Kiwi’s are oddly proud of their barista-made espresso coffee, even though none of us foreigners can figure out why. Still, I do really love grumbling about the Kiwi espresso coffee with the other foreign staff while in the locker room – it’s like a sport unto itself. Oh well.
4. I do not have to put up with Cardrona Carol grabbing handfuls of my rear when she sees me around the Cardrona base area. Then again, it comes from a heartfelt place, it’s usually accompanied by a world class hug, the woman is an absolute gem and a legend, and she gives so much love and attention to me and everyone else, guests and staff, that it’s genuinely amazing. And I may actually enjoy it. And I miss her. Oh well.
5. I do not have to worry about keeping the Wanaka Ski Club members happy. I’m lucky to have coached their locals’ programs at both Cardrona and TC over the years, and the club members are a big part of how I’ve become so happily anchored in the wider community, not just the resorts. Wait, I don’t get to coach my master’s program?! I love coaching them! Darn it! Oh well.
6. I do not have to mortgage my life to buy avocados or bell peppers in the supermarket; I don’t have to budget the additional half-hour of time in the supermarket for the many friends I encounter there; and I can spend the summer working on my screenplay for a Miami Vice spoof about smuggling avocados to the South Island from the Bay of Plenty in a cigarette boat. Then again, slowing it all down, taking the time to stroll to town to shop, and enjoying the feeling of being a part of such a great community while shopping is one of the things about Wanaka that I genuinely enjoy. Oh well.
7. I do not have to agree with Rachael Milner – my manager - that, yes, her uber-stylish, red, onesie ski suit she wears on retro day still fits and looks good. Then again, she really does rock it, she so obviously feels great when she dusts it off and wears it to work that the grin on her face lights up the place, and her participation alongside the staff in all the silliness is one of many reasons it’s great to work at Cardrona. And she’d lay down in traffic for the staff, me included. Darn it, Rach. Oh well.
8. I do not have to explain about all things Kiwi to the new staff from dozens of countries. Cardrona, in a normal season, includes staff from all over the world and I’ve become a bit of a “great explainer” over the years. Pot-luck pizza dinners are a common occurrence and it’s typical that they take on the appearance of a model United Nations. Those dinners are where we hash out the vagaries of winter bach living (think drafty, damp, uninsulated Kiwi summer holiday homes). Then again, my English friend Dave makes truly great pizza dough, my Finnish friend Hanne runs the kitchen like a Swiss clock with a smile on her face, my friends are always charitable in their professed enjoyment of my sauce, the Italians always appreciate the effort, and the evenings are always light, fun, and a welcome break from our busy working lives. Oh well.
9. When I’m home, I do not get stopped in my tracks by gorgeous views every time I step outside to go anywhere. I spend my time in America in some pretty beautiful places – the Rocky Mountains in Aspen, Colorado, the Green Mountains of Vermont, the New England seacoast – but there really is nothing quite like the view over SoHo basin towards the Southern Alps, or from Treble Cone over the top of Lake Wanaka, or from the Mitre 10 parking lot, along the Outlet Track, the Clutha River, Glendhu Bay … Ugh. Oh well.
10. My staying at home in America help keeps my friends, colleagues, and all Kiwis safer, and that’s the most important factor this year by a long shot. Over the thirteen winters I’ve spent working in Wanaka, the place and its people have become home and I miss it and them. They are a part of my life and my family. If staying home in America for a summer means I am doing my part to keep them and all New Zealanders safer, so be it.
Kidding aside, I am proudly American – I was born on July 4th and I actually have an Uncle Sam, dearly departed. I am proud intellectually, culturally, and personally. Critically, remaining home this summer allows me to feel and participate on a deep and meaningful level in our national discourse during this turbulent and difficult time. That is a welcome challenge, and a deeply felt blessing for which I am very grateful. #blacklivesmatter
No comments:
Post a Comment