Skiing and Dreaming

Travel blog of Gabriella. Niseko based ski instructor living in Kutchan, Japan. Hitting the powder and writing the things.

[chasethewinter]

Packing

Packing. Packing is the bane of my existence. Packing probably comes pretty highly on the list of 10 things I hate most, up there with heart break and spiders.

How much must one pack when going to live as a ski instructor in another country for over 5 months? I have absolutely no idea. Guess I better pack everything!

Packing shouldn't even be so foreign to me. Due to copious divorces and moving house a truly ridiculous amount of times I have gotten used to storing all my crap and living out of a suitcase. This doesn't make it any funner or easier however, just as frustrating as it's always been. Do I bring a pair of high heels? How much snow will there really be on the streets of Kutchan? How many pairs of jeans should I bring, knowing that I hate pants, and how many pairs of my stockings still have holes in them? All very trying philosophical questions.

There also comes a point where you have to decide how much you're going to pack emotionally. Just how much baggage can you possibly carry when you're already lugging around 40 odd kilos? The answer is not much. Travelling and living overseas is a great way to reconnect with what you want from relationships, friendships and family. By being away from these bonds it is easier to examine them and determine how necessary they are, and how much happiness they may or may not bring to your life.

And in my experience? It's better to pack light emotionally, but pack heavy physically. Because at some point you are guaranteed to need something you wished you had packed, and those friends that mean so much to you? If they are true friends they will contact you while you are away, even if it only sporadically. Most importantly, they will always be there when you get back, no matter where you have gone or how much you have changed.

Travelling is best done on a light heart. Whatever happens while you away is no longer your problem, you have your own adventures to find once you are gone.

On a purely practical note, my luggage does exceed 40 kilos and by god I had to beat everything into submission to fit it into my two suitcases. At least I'm not desperate enough to wear my ski boots onto the plane.... yet.

[chasethewinter]

First Entry!

In less than a week I will be moving to a Niseko, Japan, to be a ski instructor. Even typing that makes my heart beat quicken and my thoughts turn to fancy. It feels like a dream, as if the good fortune was supposed to happen to someone who deserved it, someone who certainly wasn't me.

I started ski instructing this year at Perisher Blue in Australia and loved it. I was the biggest rookie anyone has ever seen and geeked my heart out all season with an amazing room mate from back home. We drank, we laughed, and most importantly, we skied. Moving to Jindabyne (the tiny, amazing little town close to the Snowy Mountains) was the catalyst that sparked a huge change in me. Being away from Sydney, as much as I might love it, did me a world of good. I had space and a lot of time to figure out who I was and where I wanted to go. I made amazing friends that I will never forget and learnt more about myself than I ever have in such a short period of time.

I learnt that I actually love working with children, that skiing will never, ever fail to make me happy and that you can find beautiful friends in unexpected places. You can make friends you'll never forget anywhere. More than anything, being a ski instructor and moving away from Sydney was like freedom. Now that I've tasted that freedom I can't stop, so I went to a job interview one unassuming rainy night and got offered a job to be a ski instructor in Japan for a start up company. All I remember from the interview was babbling about how much I love Japanese toilets, but evidently I must have done something right because I was offered the job on the spot.

Cue a very emotional twenty minutes where I re evaluated where my life was going to go and cried on the phone to everyone I cared about. I think my room mate Nina was more excited than me in many ways, because for weeks it didn't sink in and I sort of waited for the other shoe to drop. Then my partner decided that he wanted to come with me, and cue an even more emotional week where I wept like a child with happiness and disbelief that anyone would give up so much for me. Really my life is just a lot of crying and stumbling into amazing opportunities.

So on the 19th of November I will be jumping on a bargain flight to Sapporo (only $400 dollars from Sydney, can you believe it?) and then making my way to Kutchan, where I will be living for the next 4-5 months. It's been a long time since I visited Japan, and even longer since I lived in a town that actually gets choked with snow.

I cannot wait to start my adventure. I cannot wait to explore more of Japan and most importantly?

I absolutely cannot wait to ski all the powder!

So my name is Gabriella, writer, level 2 APSI ski instructor, certified trouble maker and all around nuisance. I can't wait to share my journey with you.