So some of you may be looking for more than just random pictures to see what I'm up to. For you good people, here's a little sneak peak into my life.
NEW AND EXCITING
So first of all, I got accepted into the first stage of AmeriCorps National Civilian Conservation Corps (NCCC) a few weeks ago. In other words, they decided that they do want me to do AmeriCorps. Confusingly, the next stage is for them to then randomly (yes, RANDOMLY) assign me to a base location. The two places I can get assigned are:
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| Denver, Co |
OR
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| Sacramento CA |
Hopefully I'll hear back from them in the next couple of days. It might be another 2 months before I know though. (Patience is the name of the game.)
Back to the Present
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| Work |
Little backstory: I was hired to be a part-time Uncertified Snowboarding Instructor. That meant that I would get work 2-4 days a week, and teach mainly on the magic carpet.
Currently I work 5 days a week, and get somewhat decent lessons thanks to my Certification and work ethic. Usually I am teaching on the magic carpet, but sometimes I get to choose if I want the 6 year old, or the 11 year old surfer, which is nice.
The work is definitely cool, but it's also kind of hard. The cool thing is kind of obvious, I teach people to snowboard in South Lake Tahoe. My "Office" so to speak is where most people pay thousands of dollars to vacation to, and I get to spend 5 hours a day on the snow! The other cool thing is that the kids who come to snowboard almost always chose to come and learn. (Skiers on the other hand, are sometimes forced to come by their parents). Also Ski Instructors have to teach "Firecrackers" which are 4-5 year old kids who occasionally pee their pants. Snowboard Instructors can have "Blasters", but they are 5-6 years old, and are much less likely to pee their pants...
The hard thing is that I teach a lot of beginners the same thing (how to put on their board, stop, etc...), and it does get a little old after a while. During these lessons, I spend most of my time off my snowboard, holding kids hands and helping them get the feel for snowboarding. There's also the holidays, where I have about 7 kids, and the mountain is PACKED with people who have NO idea with what they are doing. It's like trying to teach kids to walk, through a minefield, and you have to keep it fun.
Fortunately, this (^) is mainly what first year instructors do (at least, the beginner-lesson part is). As you gain experience (and certifications) you get more priority and begin to teach more upper level lessons. I have had a few lessons where I spent almost the whole day on the upper mountain with my snowboard on. Those lessons are SUPER COOL, and keep me motivated to keep a good attitude and try to come back in future seasons... This being said... Whether or not I will come back to Heavenly is a big question I'm trying to answer right now. More on this further down \/
Either way though, working in Outdoor Rec is the bomb!
After Heavenly, and
Alaska Mountain Guides
Sadly, I still know very little about what my work in Alaska Mountain Guides will be outside my blog post about it. I know I need to get there before April 24th, and Heavenly's season ends April 17th. I still need to talk to Heavenly to figure out when I can expect to work until, and what things look like after that point.
On this note...
NEXT YEAR?
Long story short, the big question is whether or not I do AmeriCorps or not. If I don't, I would get to come back to Heavenly (iA) and teach more advanced lessons, and then (again, iA) return to Alaska Mountain Guides and actually become a field instructor. As it has been my dream to be a field instructor (NCOBS/NOLS style) since I was about 16, it's kind of a big deal.
Currently though, as only 18-24 year olds can do AmeriCorps NCCC, I'm leaning towards that option.
Anywho, thanks for reading!
Enjoy!
Chris
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