ADRENALINE

January 18, 2011

Bus Ride: Interlaken, Switzerland to Bologna, Italia!

            Really, my only time to pen thus far has been on plane rides and bus rides. I’m to busy, to busy exploring, adventuring, hitchhiking, skiing…LIVING in the WORLD.

            Our bus driver wears a suit- Paulo- very customary. No tobacco chewing, spitting out the window. Jackie threw up because of the winding Alps, but now we are already in Italia. We stopped at Chelsea’s favorite joint in Italy, “Auto Grill.” We have probably stopped at half of the auto grills in Italy and they just keep getting nicer. I bought a Maxi Mortadella- delitzioso! I also bought the best tasting apples in Switzerland-“You go all the way to Switzerland and buy apples” Todd said to me as I ran onto the bus with a pack of apples. I do love apples. I was shocked by the fresh, crisp taste- just like the Swiss air.

            There is a significant difference in the air quality of Bologna and Interlaken. Honestly, I do not even know how Paulo can see through the fog. (This baffles me just as much as I wonder how this bus fits in Italy). The fog is eternal- lasting from morning till night.

            I am filled with happiness as I look at one of my two purchases in Switzerland: A Swiss Army Knife for my brother seven-year-old brother Manny.

            This second day in Interlaken was mostly spent at Swan Lake. Not really called Swan Lake, but really Nehaus- was a jewel of an afternoon. The lake was a hidden jewel- with the Swan princess to greet us. Me, Lee, Ellie, Sarah, Chelsea, Stacy, Kristin and Gia.

            From the lake I could see small German houses, which from a closer point of view are not so small. I wandered lonely as a cloud around. I wandered with my new friends. The Swiss Alps all around, I was in heaven.

            NO FEAR, “Angel Gabriel”. The first, a saying of my father. – And the imprint on a broken zipper piece I found yesterday before I skied my first Blue slope ever with Gia in Switzerland. A pink zipper piece with the words NO FEAR must have been stepped on and snowed on by millions. Yet, it caught my eye and I picked up from the ground, read it, put it in my pocket and followed behind Gia and yelled, “I was born ready.” The first, a sign of the mentality to maintain while going down the slopes with Gia. “Gia’s ideas are never good ideas.” The second, the name of a heaven sent man miraculously heading to Interlaken who picked Gia and I up. Mami and Papi, please do not worry—What started off as a joke from delirious desperation- and not really knowing how far Interlaken was from the train station (really far!!) made Gia and I hike our thumbs up, while our other hand held our skis, poles, and snowboarding gear. The Interlaken highway to our left and a river way down below to our right.

            Angel Gabriel stopped his car and Gia and were in disbelief but ran to his car at second thought- “…” He then spoke and told us he used to be a hitchhiker when he was younger but that he usually does not pick up hitchhikers because they seem to smell…but we didn’t look like we smelled, and we didn’t look American (I do not know what he meant by the second statement). He said he almost didn’t see us- Gia and I were about to put our thumbs down. I could barely hold my skis in my numbed hands and my feet felt unattached to the rest of my body. The ski boots were heavier than overweight elephants and it hurt to take each step. The scenery was indeed scenic and kept my mind off the pain. I sat in the front seat silently praying to myself and repeating over and over NO FEAR NO FEAR NO FEAR… we finally made it to Interlaken about 30 minutes later. Amen. “Gia’s ideas are never good ideas,” but this seemed like the only option, and we did not know it at the time, we didn’t even know it was an option… but Interlaken was cities away!

            On the train ride back from skiing, Gia and I met a man who was part of the Swiss army and his lovely wife. We saluted him. They owned an apartment on the Alps and gave us trips on where to travel (as we asked everyone we met for local tips on traveling). The lady said she as spoiled after saying she had an apartment on the Alps. I agreed, but I too know I am spoiled. Gratefully spoiled.

            Side Note: The food in Italia is the King; the food is the peasantry class. Even the food from Italian gas stations is royalty…especially after a day of skiing and hitchhiking with one meal in my stomach (probably no longer there).

            Gia is like my Ali Golik on the trip. They are different, but share many personality characteristics. Gia is a true compassionate person- her compassion for others is genuine, as I first handedly experienced when I FELL OF THE SLOPE! (For the first time- in preparation for the next fall). She made sure I was okay, physical and emotionally as I trembled, not from the cold but from shock. I didn’t know blues were so intense and so long. I took ski lessons with Todd’s two children, Carlo and Liam…and with Kyle too. It took me a while to learn but I did. I did not feel under confident nor did I feel overconfident. In fact, I don’t know what I felt. But Kyle and Neil (the instructor) went off for a blue and the children went off to lunch so after the lesson I found Gia who asked me if I wanted to do a Blue slope with her- she would take it easy and slow with me. And so I agreed. Slowly but surely I went. Turn, pizza, open, pizza, slow. I seemed to have it, until I sped passed Gia and could not stop. I couldn’t make the turn and tumbled down the side of the slope. Underneath me was the underworld. A flowing river of rocks and freezing water. And Alpine Trees. NO FEAR. Seriously, this is time to fear!!!! Help! HELP! HEEEELP! Gia came to my rescue… but first took a snapshot of me because she said this was such a “Kodak Moment”…looking back at the picture I am smiling but I really think I was smiling because this could have been my last picture. She helped me up and pulled me by my skies and my hand. I seemed to be quite the entertainment for the other skis. I started to laugh…out of fear. Gia had such patience with me from the beginning, a beginner skier. She could have gone off and done the slopes, as she wanted at her own pace.

            Standing on the Swiss Alps (once I could stand again) was incredible. I pushed my boots back into my skis and said aloud, “No Fear.” 

            On the train Gia said that studying abroad is an experience that will change us. Lee said he wanted this and he needed this- Studying abroad. He was bored of the sameness, the monotonous of everything he already knew. I too thirst for invigorating new waters. My mind wants to be enlightened, to be new.

            Viaggiando Vento pushing me- the Alps. Gia’s breathe, Lee’s breathe, Francesco’s breathe, the Bologna (foggy air), The Swiss Air, Chelsea’s nudge on the street so I don’t get run over, Neil’s push on the Alps to keep going on my ski’s that I will eventually learn to stop (sometimes you need to learn to stop in order to go- if I hadn’t learned to stop- which I don’t believe I ever fully did- I wouldn’t have been able to ski the blue- although I ended up stopping with a crash. I’m learning to ski- I’m learning to be.