Tiny bit hungover & very sore.

WOW, Zermatt has been nothing but incredible. Absolutely incredible.

The people that I've met here rock. My hostel is amazing, even though it's very simple (and the cheapest accommodation in town)and so far I've become friends with 2 Swedes, 3 Australians, a few Brits (including a Welsh guy and of course many people from England) and 1 Japanese guy.

First night I met Sara, a nice and bubbly Swedish girl who was hungry, so we went out to eat and talked about life-- she's a ski racer and lived in Colorado last winter for the season and now she's studying in Germany and came down to Zermatt to practice on the glaciers-- and how awesome this town is. Second day I spent with her because we both had to go shopping (I found the cheapest pair of hiking boots!)for skiing.

However that night I met Jimmy (the most amazing Swedish guy), George, and Matt and we all went out to have a drink and get to know each other. Saw this crazy guy playing piano with his butt and drinking white wine while wearing a chicken hat (plus he was really squat and spoke German). Talked about politics, outlooks on life, sex, promiscuity, open-mindedness, beer, people and NONE of it was superficial. We all listened to each other, and engaged, and it was so rewarding. In one bar we were sitting in there was a really, really drunk man (in his forties/fifties maybe) who was stumbling around and didn't know where he was, and found his way outside, but was trying to put his jacket on, and his arm was caught in his hood. Kept trying for ten minutes, couldn't figure it out. So I went outside and got him in his jacket and zipped it up (it's really cold out) and walked him back to his hotel. We all need a little help sometimes.

Yesterday I went out on the glacier by myself in order to teach myself how to ski. And it was terrifying. But i looked at the giant slope and said "It's not going to ski itself". So after skiing around the walking area to get the feel of it, and going down the first baby hill, I took the chair lift to one of the steepest slopes (I didn't know!) and shook my way down, falling, and eating snow as I went. BUT by the end of the day I was successfully skiing without falling, back and forth, controlling my speed, and I'm going out today. I cannot even tell you the accomplishment and gratitude I felt when I was skiing down a glacier in the Swiss Alps with the mountains and snow around me. I almost cried.

After skiing, in the gondola, I met a Swiss man probably in his sixties named Ulrich who has been skiing for over forty years. He invited me to have tea with him in the mountains and told me about his traveling, and that he's been to every Olympic game since 84' or something. His wife was coming in the evening. It was a very nice chat.

THEN (keep in mind this is all in one day) I go back to the hostel, and engage in an amazing conversation with the Japanese guy (I don't remember his name, but it was a bit complicated) and Jimmy about culture in Japan and the rigid manners that everyone abides by (you can't hug a friend in public-- very rude) and the diminishing numbers of Geisha's, and how sushi costs 50 cents and that there's these capsule hotels that are SO cheap ($10/night with Japanese breakfast and Manga's included, ha) where you literally sleep in a tube. Comparing Sweden to America to Japan to Europe overall. Amazing.

And then two Australian guys show up, Gal and Dan, and they're pretty cool guys. Snowboarders, live in Melbourne, and Dan is really into music and plays the drums in this band called Artisans (http://www.myspace.com/artisansmelbourne) so we exchanged music tastes. Some French guy named Lloyd broke us off a piece of his hash, and we rolled a (fragile) spliff (tobacco with chunks of hash in it) and smoked (didn't really affect me, sadly). Then Sara, Jimmy, Dan, Gal, me and Aaron (another Australian that showed up last evening that we invited out) went to a pub together, and looked for dancing but couldn't find any. Took some pictures. Laughed a lot. Gal, Dan, and Aaron headed back early, and the three of us left went to find dancing. We were hell bent.

So we go to this place where there are a good amount of people sitting at the bar, but the dance floor is empty. Of course the three of us just let loose and start dancing like we've never danced before, like no one was watching. The Sara gets tired and leaves and it's up to Jimmy and I to keep it going. I go out into the bar, and start pulling pepole from their chairs and friends, speaking in haphazard French/German saying that they can dance it it'll be fun. Jimmy and I would dance with each new person so they wouldn't feel embarassed. We successfully got about eight more people onto the floor, dancing like no one cared. It was amazing. I was dripping sweat by the end of the night.

Jimmy left this morning, sadly, but it's how life goes. Really great friend. He woke me up to say bye, and said that what I've taught him about letting go and living your own life without caring what other people are doing in theirs will "stick with him forever". I was very complimented, and feel very successful in changing my outlook (I've been trying really hard since my first epiphany at David's), and with the responsibility of growing and knowledge and finding a good way to live a happy life, there is the responsibility of passing it on.

On that note, I will end with saying that I'm going back to sleep, and that muscles I didn't know existed hurt on my body. At 11 I go skiing again with the boys! WAHOO!