When Susan and Robin, my host parents, started to talk about a skiing trip to the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania I got really excited. Finally I get to see the other side of the Untied States, not just sunny Florida. I just had one problem: when I came to Miami, I didn't bring any winter clothes. (I mean, you don't actually need them here....) Thank God my host brother's fiancé Jennifer is about the same size, so I was able to borrow her skiing outfits. Cecile came over the night before we left and we were both really excited about the trip. But in the next morning when we turned on the TV we saw something disappointing; there was an ice storm in the Northeast and almost every airport was closed! We started to make plans to go to Key West, but our flight was in the afternoon and somehow we were able to fly to Philadelphia. For a person who is afraid of flying (like me) it was pretty scary to fly through an ice storm, but finally around 6:00pm on Thursday evening we landed at Philadelphia International Airport. It was a big shock to step outside the airport for the first time - IT WAS SO COLD!!! I mean, I'm from Finland where the weather can get pretty cold, but I guess I have "Floridized" so much that it was hard to breathe in the cold weather. Somehow we got to the ski lodge (thank God the car had a good heating system) and we watched everybody's favorite movie "Father of the Bride" before going to bed. Next morning after breakfast and renting skis we hit the slopes for the first time. After the ice storm all the mountains were covered with powder snow and the weather was much better than the day before. I was a little nervous because I haven't been skiing for a few years, but I was really surprised how easy and natural it was for me. We skied only a few hours and then went to a restaurant for dinner. On Saturday morning the weather was really beautiful and the skiing center was really crowded (it's only a two hour drive from New York City and Philadelphia). Cecile wanted to try snowboarding and so we went to the rental shop and rented snow boards. It was the first time for both of us so we decided to sign up for snowboarding school. We were really surprised how hard it was to keep your balance on the board, but after about an hour of practice our teacher gave us permission to go and try our luck on the big slopes. Cecile was wise enough to give up and she went to the cafeteria for a hot chocolate, but of course I wanted to try "real" boarding, and I still have bruises on my legs and butt to remind me about that!!! On Sunday the weather was even better and we got up early and went skiing again (we gave up snowboarding!!!) After lunch we wanted to try something new again and we went tubing, which is basically sliding down a hill with a big inner tube. It was a lot of fun and I felt like a five year old again. The first plan for Monday was to drive to Philadelphia early in the morning and see all the historical sites, and then go to the airport and fly to Miami. But by the time we got to Philadelphia it was really rainy and cold. So instead of a boring afternoon in museums and tourists sites Cecile and I wanted to go to The King of Prussia Mall. We spent a nice afternoon walking around and shoping. When we went to the airport the weather had turned really bad (a weather front was passing by the Northeast) and our flight was a little late. Finally we got on the plane and headed to Miami. The first hour of the flight was one of the scariest experiences of my life; the weather was really stormy and people were really nervous. Finally, three hours later when my feet finally touched ground in Miami I was so relieved!!! Next morning getting up for school was hell, but I guess everybody has to pay a price for having fun. And being honest, I actually missed all the traffic jams, Spanish speaking people and most of all the SUN while we were gone. MIAMI, MY SECOND HOME!!!! MARJA SAARIO |
Marja Saario writes about her skiing trip to Pennsylvania |
