Hello again,

A new update at last and we finally have internet which is good news so I can update and talk to everyone a bit easier now. I have also managed to upload all the pictures I have taken since arriving here so if you want to look in the album folder they are all under the Whistler section.

Last sunday we all went to the Fire and Ice show which is held every other sunday this is where some skiers and snowboarders did some flips off a jump and near the end of the show they light a fire hoop and jump through it doing tricks. It was really good to watch but sadly one of the competitors landed badly and she hurt her knee so couldn't finish her final jump. If we get closer to the stage next time I will try to get some better pictures.

I also did my two shadow days and also did my first day of teaching which was good, we have different levels here for the 'minis' (3yr olds) called Never Ever, 1 Heart, 1 Star, 2 Hearts and 2 Stars.My first shadow day was with an instructor called Grace and we had Never Evers, she was not a fan of working with this age group sadly and decided to leave most the work up to me for the day so I felt fairly out of my depth as I was unsure what I needed to be doing/teaching the children. Thankfully though my next shadow day was much better, I worked with 1 Hearts with an instructor called Lauren who loved working with the minis. She taught me many good techniques to get the children to walk up the slopes and get their ski's on and was full of energy. We were teaching 5 children and two of these (JJ and Cammy) she worked with a lot so they knew and listened to her.

The day after four of our group (Me, Lloyd, Lydia and Liz) were sent home because there was not enough work for us which was a shame but we made the best of it and all went skiing together for the rest of the day which was very enjoyable. But some of us are a bit worried about work now as a few of our group have not been given many shifts so we are all unsure about what will happen when it gets more quieter before and after the Olympics. I am considering changing from working with the 8-12 year olds and staying with the Minis as they are fun to work with and we also get some benefits such as 3 meals each day with them.

The next day I got to get my first class I was supposed to have 5 children but two didn't turn up but as it was Christmas eve that was expected for some not to turn up. When I was taken to my group after finishing my morning job of putting bibs and tags onto the children I was happy to see that I had JJ for the day which was good as I knew what level he was on and also had spent the day with him for my shadow day which meant he knew me already and was happy to see me. The two other children I had Rowan and Braden were friends with JJ and had been raised together which helped as they got on well and knew each other which made my job easier. It turned out to be a very good day although they were all very tired by the last hour and Braden was living in his head for most of the day. But I enjoyed it and helped them improve their snowploughs. At the end of the day my boss Stephen came up to me and asked to pick a hand, and I chose the hand which got me Christmas day off.

For Christmas eve the group of us who were 19 and older went out to a club for our Christmas staff party, it was enjoyable and after a few of us left after we went and met up with the ones who were 18 and could not get into the club and joined them in their apartment. After that a spare mattress was found and then we attempted to sledge down staff hill but sadly the mattress had too much grip so we are trying to come up with a way to get it to slide easier. After this we went back to the apartment and talked for a while longer.

So on Christmas we all got up and went skiing for the day, we were supposed to go ice skating but unfortunately it closed early so we didn't get the chance but we will do it some time this week with any luck. I managed to get a free burger at the top of the mountain as the staff lady made a mistake and thought I worked at the shop even though I told her I didn't but a free meal is good so I just sat down. When we got back most of us went to have a group meal at the Spaghetti Factory which was nice as they got us all sat together.

Today I was pretty tired so I didn't go skiing, instead me, Laura and Lloyd went into town for a bit and got some shopping done and we also tidied the apartment up which is nice so it is very clean. So I think that is about it for now we are about to watch the Holiday and that is me all updated. :)

xXx