Skiing

Yesterday I went up to Ilgaz with friends for a day of skiing. Ilgaz is small - a big lift and a few...um...Dad? What was it that you used when you learned to ski back in the 60s? Yup, those. Unfortunately they weren't running, so it was up the lift and down the run, up the lift and down the run, up the lift and down the run, up the lift and down the run. No, I did not actually count the number of times I went up the lift and down the run.
I did learn that skiing here is a different type of adventure than what I grew up with. To start with, I met everyone just before 7 am at the skating rink in town. We boarded a rented small van (larger and more comfortable than a 12 passenger van but smaller than a short bus) and off we went towards Kastamonu. And on said bus, I expirienced my first "bus çay." We have building çay, evening çay, çay during lessons, etc. Now I can say that I have had bus çay down to making sure there were sweet things and savory things to eat.
We got up to the mountain at about 10:30. The lifts had been running for about an hour and a half, but that did not mean crowds running over and 20 minute waits at the base lift. It did take us quite a while to figure out exactly what we were doing with rentals, where to stash our stuff, etc. By 12 I was skiing. A little late, but it was the first lift up and run down. I raced my friend and won! From there on out it was ski, ski, ski until I decided to try and show another friend how to ski. Ever try to teach someone how to do something in your second language that you have almost no vocabulary for? Lets just say, she did get a couple turns in, she made it down the mountain and we're still friends.
Here there is a group mentality. We do things with the group. Yesterday I did ski on my own quite a bit, but I ate with the group, rode with the group, rented with the group, laughed with the group. It wasn't too much different that when I was in college running up to Bridger or Big Sky. Then we were all about the group, too.
Here I saw too types of skiers. There was a ski race going on the same time we were there. I saw the serious skiers from Mid-East Tech and Ankara University. I saw those who had never put on skis before and were trying for the first time. So really, how different was it from what I was used to? It was everything we had when I was growing up, only compact into one run.
So what was different? My own thoughts. Part of me wanted to ski the whole day. Lets leave at 4 am just so we can be up there by 8:30 in time to rent gear and catch the first lift up. Stop for lunch? That's what Clif Bars are for. But there really is something to the outside grill, friends' laughing, and then being able to share stories later.
And I think before I give another ski lesson in Turkish I might want to take one from someone who speaks Turkish. Vocabulary is not overrated.