March 21, 2012
THE Great Escape
Epiphanies do not happen often, but boy when they do it is something magical. Picture this: the third day of XC ski/snow shoeing trip in Parc du National du Megantic, three hours south of Montreal. And you're wishing that the extent of your French skills went beyond two weeks in 7th grade. Sharing small quarters with a diverse group of people. Not showering. Pepperoni for breakfast. Reaching the summits of three mountains in one day. So hot in the cold that on the second mountain you strip. Laying on the ground and pouring your heart and soul out to people you have just met...this is the recipe for an epiphany. Week long trips cannot solely be about the expedition...how many miles you've travelled...how intense the terrain was...even how beautiful the landscape. All of these things merely become backdrops to important stories. As I comfortably stripped in front of my comrades I realized that only 3 days ago I was shy around them. However, after long and intense hikes we felt the need to collapse on the mountain and unload. Soon our stories poured from our lips like the water in our water bottles. Stories that are far too personal to share, and stories that made us closer and more intimate with each other. I realized that the people I was with were amazing, and not solely in skiing, they have beautiful souls and even more beautiful visions of how the world should be. They have survived hardships that most people can never dream of. So yeah, it was a sweet view from Mont Megantic, you could even see the White Mountains, and yeah we skied 18 km in half a day, but those things I forget so easily. So on this beautiful Wednesday evening I listen closely to the stories my friends share, and I offer my own stories. I find my own voice ,and I feel more confident then ever before. So the epiphany or the ah ha! moment of the trip really came to me today. I realized that there are two faces that we see in our Bowdoin bubble. The first face is the popular face. It is the "hi, how are you" without waiting to hear the person's response. It is the smiles and laughter. The everyday mode. However, underneath that first face there is the rougher one. The one that gets emotional, that doesn't feel like smiling. It is also the realest and the prettiest of faces. After seeing the second faces of my two companions I realized that I wanted to know more about people's behind Bowdoin's closed door faces. I wanted to see frustration and sadness. That is why humans are wonderful in my eyes, because as one of my comrades kept insisting "people have layers" I was blessed to peel back some of my partners layers, and only hope that as I finish my journey at Bowdoin that I am able to peel back more layers of more people....hopefully while hiking a beautiful landscape.
March 8, 2012
Lovely. The first word that jumps to mind when describing the countdown to our trip. Not only was the weather lovely, but also the entire gear checking out process was lovely. Emma was super patient, as La'Shaye and I stumbled around the gear room, in search of the perfect poles. To top the evening off we learned first hand about fire safety as we tested out our state of the art whisper light. While the flames danced in the wind, piercing the darkness surrounding us, we laughed about the time a fire truck came to the BOC, because they thought there was a real fire. At least now we know how to work the stove. Mont-Megantic you don't scare us...we know you will be LOVELY!
THE Great Escape
Epiphanies do not happen often, but boy when they do it is something magical. Picture this: the third day of XC ski/snow shoeing trip in Parc du National du Megantic, three hours south of Montreal. And you're wishing that the extent of your French skills went beyond two weeks in 7th grade. Sharing small quarters with a diverse group of people. Not showering. Pepperoni for breakfast. Reaching the summits of three mountains in one day. So hot in the cold that on the second mountain you strip. Laying on the ground and pouring your heart and soul out to people you have just met...this is the recipe for an epiphany. Week long trips cannot solely be about the expedition...how many miles you've travelled...how intense the terrain was...even how beautiful the landscape. All of these things merely become backdrops to important stories. As I comfortably stripped in front of my comrades I realized that only 3 days ago I was shy around them. However, after long and intense hikes we felt the need to collapse on the mountain and unload. Soon our stories poured from our lips like the water in our water bottles. Stories that are far too personal to share, and stories that made us closer and more intimate with each other. I realized that the people I was with were amazing, and not solely in skiing, they have beautiful souls and even more beautiful visions of how the world should be. They have survived hardships that most people can never dream of. So yeah, it was a sweet view from Mont Megantic, you could even see the White Mountains, and yeah we skied 18 km in half a day, but those things I forget so easily. So on this beautiful Wednesday evening I listen closely to the stories my friends share, and I offer my own stories. I find my own voice ,and I feel more confident then ever before. So the epiphany or the ah ha! moment of the trip really came to me today. I realized that there are two faces that we see in our Bowdoin bubble. The first face is the popular face. It is the "hi, how are you" without waiting to hear the person's response. It is the smiles and laughter. The everyday mode. However, underneath that first face there is the rougher one. The one that gets emotional, that doesn't feel like smiling. It is also the realest and the prettiest of faces. After seeing the second faces of my two companions I realized that I wanted to know more about people's behind Bowdoin's closed door faces. I wanted to see frustration and sadness. That is why humans are wonderful in my eyes, because as one of my comrades kept insisting "people have layers" I was blessed to peel back some of my partners layers, and only hope that as I finish my journey at Bowdoin that I am able to peel back more layers of more people....hopefully while hiking a beautiful landscape.
March 8, 2012
Lovely. The first word that jumps to mind when describing the countdown to our trip. Not only was the weather lovely, but also the entire gear checking out process was lovely. Emma was super patient, as La'Shaye and I stumbled around the gear room, in search of the perfect poles. To top the evening off we learned first hand about fire safety as we tested out our state of the art whisper light. While the flames danced in the wind, piercing the darkness surrounding us, we laughed about the time a fire truck came to the BOC, because they thought there was a real fire. At least now we know how to work the stove. Mont-Megantic you don't scare us...we know you will be LOVELY!
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