The One Whole Year Abroad

Holy smokes 365 days go by fast! Just over a year ago I was living two blocks from the hospital I was born in, working at the very daycare I grew up at, and spending my days basking in the intense Chico sun that had become as much a part of my summers as hot dogs and fireworks. Jump forward a year and here I am on the other side of the world, scoffing at the idea that how I spend my days is considered ‘work’, and freezing my tail off in the dead of winter where I’ve become accustomed to spills on black ice and frosty breath (even inside the house). Have things changed a lot since I’ve begun traveling? You betcha.

Physically I’m the same person that left Chico (longer hair and what I insist is a goggle tan aside) but I can honestly say that the experiences I’ve had over the past 12 months have been so profound that I can’t help but be changed by them. I’ve had the world at my fingertips, quite literally. Everyday is an adventure and if the adventure gets boring, there’s always skydiving.

They say its not the destination but the journey that counts. However corny the saying, its absolutely true. My journey from California to Queenstown has been an eventful one, and one that I never would’ve predicted. According to my best-laid plans I’m supposed to be working somewhere in warm sunny Australia right now – who knew I would be one of the “locals” living in a adrenaline-crazed town spending my summer in the snow?

Getting outside my protective bubble has opened my eyes to a lot of new and often very different things. I’ve become all-too aware of my American-isms while slowly adapting to my new surroundings. Words like “cheers” and “keen as” have made it into my vocabulary, and I’m still picking up oddities like tea drinking and eating my new all-time favorite food: marmite on toast!  I’ve also observed that bad drivers exist in every country, Mexican food gets better the closer you are to Mexico, and that if there ever were to be an official Beer Olympics, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia would medal respectively. Sorry USA, you wouldn’t even make the semi-finals…but at least we would beat Canada!

As the 20-day countdown to leaving New Zealand quickly approaches I’m trying to make the most of my dwindling time in this incredible country. My days are spent on the ski fields, my nights enthusiastically watching rugby games, and every once in a while an impromptu mission into the bush is in order! After a year spent down under, I’m gutted to be moving on but also very excited to be starting a new journey: Asia!

The One putting ABILITY into disability!

One smile from 12-year-old Ethan and I knew the next few days on the snow were going to be good ones. Choosing his words carefully and speaking slowly, Ethan was happy to tell me that he was from Sydney, Australia and that he DID NOT want to go skiing. Not one to back down from a challenge, I happily informed Ethan that we were going to give it a shot anyway!

Using a combination of wedge supports, tethers, and constant reminders to Ethan that we were not racing in the Olympics just yet, we spent a few wonderful days getting our ski on! Watching Ethan evolve from being frustrated with the task of actually putting his skis on to progressing enough to make it down the slope nearly unassisted was absolutely awesome! But there was more – when we weren’t sliding down the snow on our ski’s, Ethan and I were sliding with other options: hurling down hillsides on our slick pants and spinning wildly on innertubes! I’ve never seen such an incredible smile as Ethan’s when he was flying on his innertube down the hill in the midst of laughing and shrieking with elated joy. The dark-haired freckled boy reminded me of why I love throwing caution to the wind and letting myself be a kid again!

And then there is Mia…future Paralympian extraordinaire! Mia is 14-years-old and already has the competitive drive and intense determination of someone destined to do great things in this world. Although I am technically supposed to be assisting Mia with riding on her monoski, I’m pretty sure she’s actually the one helping me out. Thanks to Mia’s mad skills, I’ve been forced to keep up with her and in turn, have been progressing quite a lot since starting to ski with her.

Because Mia doesn’t own her own ski just yet (anyone interested in donating $ to a good cause?), she’s been banned from hitting rails on the rental gear…but nobody said anything about jumps! You think Shawn White looks cool doing Double McTwists in the halfpipe? Small fries people… Mia hitting jumps and catching air on her monoski takes the icing on the whole friggin cake! The other day when Mia landed a jump that I wouldn’t even think of doing, I’m pretty sure I was more excited then she was!

With each day spent on the snow Mia has been charging faster and hitting it harder and I have no doubt that in four-years time we’ll be watching her representing New Zealand in the 2014 winter Paralympics! You go girl =)

-Ash

“To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.”