Based in Cypress, Canada this season, Moana Meyer is living the winter dream training and working as a ski instructor! Check out her latest update on life after the exams and in the day-to-day swing of being an instructor:
Woo!! I passed my level 1!!! EA really outdid themselves getting trainers for us; Kia and Mel are world-class. Being trained by them has been incredible; they did an amazing job preparing us for the exam. We were really lucky to have our trainers as our examiners as well. The exam was pretty much exactly like the training, so we had nothing to fear after the EA course.
We've all started work at Cypress now. Before our first shift we had the opportunity to shadow other instructors, which was really beneficial. In my shadow there were two couples taking a 'Never Ever' group lesson. One of the couples was Mexican and hardly spoke English - an everyday challenge for a Cypress instructor. There was also a large split in ability with the husbands being a lot more athletic than the wives. We had to work hard to challenge the husbands on terrain the wives could cope with. So all in all, it was a perfect lesson to shadow!
Right before my first day Cypress got another 15 cm of snow. Unfortunately, we haven't had much since; it hasn't been a good snow season so far. The snow machines are amazing though, so there's been plenty of work. I've mainly been in Scooters - the 3 to 5 year olds. They are absolutely adorable, I love working with them!! On my first day there was a little girl, Reese, who had a little break in her 3 hour session. At the end of the break I asked her if she wanted to put her skis back on.
"No", she said.
"Why not?"
"Because I have to find my brother and my mummy and my daddy and tell them how much fun I'm having."
It was just the sweetest thing ever, and the kids have been like that every day.
Once we had all started work, Kia took us rock climbing, courtesy of EA. It was heaps of fun!! There are huge walls with normal and auto-belay, as well as bouldering walls. These are smaller but more technical and you can climb up them without a harness. We all can't wait to go again, as soon as we get paid.
Our favourite local hangout is The Rusty Gull, a small pub just down the road. You can usually find a bunch of other Cypress staff there, with a bowl of the world's best chicken wings. The other Cypress haunt is The Narrows Pub, where our staff parties are held.
It was my first Christmas away from my family, but we had our EA family to celebrate with. Craig, Hugh and I hosted a potluck Christmas dinner after work; 'bring a plate' for other kiwi readers. We ended up with almost everyone bringing spaghetti with a variety of sauces. It made for one of my more unusual Christmases overall, but still immensely enjoyable. I'm loving this EA internship!
If you're keen to get amongst a winter season and leave home knowing its all sorted for you, check out here for more info on Ski instructor courses, or get in touch with the team at EA to answer any questions you might have!
