J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by AllyG

shsh....

Ian honestly, I've only just joined this site, I don't want to get chucked off it already!

You're as bad as my daughter. When she was 5 she nagged me into telling her that a certain person in a red suit doesn't really exist, and when I picked her up from school I got called into the office (the only time ever) because she'd whispered it to her friend in morning assembly so loud that the whole hall heard, and the teachers had to spend all day doing a damage limitation exercise.

Ally

Well,
It's a bit of a clue if you look at what Tony wrote,

Ally

Ian,
It was an ad originally (don't suppose I'm meant to say what for), and the Admin man cut it.

Ally

Hi Eljay,
My French used to be like yours. I did French O'Level at the age of 15, over 30 years ago.

We were ski-ing in La Rosiere last year, at Easter, and we wanted lessons morning and afternoon. The afternoon lessons are only in French. So I asked my daughter if she could cope with that and she said O.K. She ended up in a French speaking lesson in the afternoon, but the teacher could actually speak very good English, so she'd give her a summary in English, and all went well.

I ended up in a French speaking afternoon class with a teacher (who was very nice) but with practically no English. And I got very frustrated with myself, because I'd forgotten a lot of my French. I spent my spare time back in our flat studying French vocab and grammar ready for the next lesson. I was ski-ing in an English speaking class in the morning, which helped, because I was basically learning the same things, in English in the morning and in French in the afternoon. It was great fun but very challenging.

So, when we came back I decided to go to adult French classes, and I've been going ever since. I now do 3 hours per week. They do say that learning a foreign language helps to prevent senile dementia, and seeing as I've reached the point where I can't remember where I've parked the car, what I walked into the kitchen for etc. it seems like a good idea all round.

Dave Mac - I'm most impressed that you can speak French, German, and English. Congratulations.

Ally

Pablo is quite right, and sometimes the language barrier can be a problem.

I forgot to say, that one of my new methods to help me understand my French instructors, has been to go back to school and learn some more French. This has been very useful because when they don't know the English word for something I can generally explain it in French, and then together we can come up with the correct English.

I am very proud of teaching my instructor the expression 'emergency stop', which I translated with the help of my dictionary as 'arret en cas d'urgence'. I hope all her future pupils appreciate this.

I would rather learn French than go ski-ing in America - because apart from anything else I'm trying not to fly anywhere on holiday. And it's nice being able to speak another language.

I have thought it would be a good idea to produce a simple dictionary specifically for ski-ing, with things in it like 'plantez le baton'.

Ally

Pablo,
What's your essay on? I am very good at writing essays (you may have noticed!).

Ally

Pablo,
Actually, I hardly ever understand anything instructors say to me at all.

My first adult lesson on the dry ski slope the instructor said we were to walk down the side of the mat to the bottom (carrying our skis) and wait for them. I looked at the sign that said it was forbidden to walk on the mat, and decided she meant we had to walk down the rubber undermatting, and promptly slipped over on the greasy surface and damaged my backside so badly I could hardly sit down for a couple of weeks.

And I find the foreign ones even harder to understand. In my experience most of them just say something like 'do it like this' and disappear down the slope. I'm not even very good at understanding the exercises. I've been shown a weird one where you step with your ski as your turn, and I still have no idea how to do it (neither did anyone else). That particular instructor just shouted at all of us and gave up. And I remember another one where you were supposed to traverse touching your boot, and I was the only idiot touching the wrong boot.

I unintentionally insulted another French instructor, by saying that it didn't matter if I didn't understand French because I never understand what instructors are saying anyway.

The only way I seem able to learn is by watching the instructor, actually ski-ing myself, and possibly reading a very simple book about it.

The last French instructor I had, in the morning, was the best by far. She was my instructor for that photo I have now as my avatar. I'd never been over a 'proper' jump before so I asked her what I was supposed to do. She said I could snowplough before it to slow my speed down, as long as my skis were parallel when I went over it, and to bend my legs before the jump, and make sure I landed on both skis. And all went well.

My daughter pointed out that none of her instructors had ever told her that you have to jump when you go over a jump. Once she tried doing this it was much easier.

Mind you, I am well known as being a very difficult person, and almost impossible to teach, so maybe it's me and not the instructors.

Ally

Pablo,
I have been to the other half of La Thuile - La Rosiere, for a week's ski-ing. The problem with it is that it still has lots of drag lifts. One of them was so steep that the ski instructor asked us women if we thought we could manage it - at one point you were practically dangling by your arms. And another one has a very sharp bend in it. And there's a very long flat drag lift between La Thuile and La Rosiere. If you fall off it (like one poor person I saw) it's a very long walk. I don't know if there's another link in between. And sometimes the link is shut.

And the lower run at La Rosiere is very pretty through trees but often shut because of lack of snow, and the return chair lift is very slow. I skied it in a lesson and I couldn't believe it because at the bottom the snow was missing, so we had to take off our skis and walk.

I think the La Thuile side has the better ski-ing, and more modern lifts.

Ally