The CT Experiential Learning Center (CELC) is in Ludlow, Vermont this week. Living in a mountainside house, cooking all of our meals, continuing some of our regular classes, as well as spending time at local museums and a working farm.
At the moment, it is snowing outside, dinner is almost served and everyone is feeling tired, yet mighty content.
Our first full day had us on the slopes. Here are some highlights from the CELCers:
Find out what's happening in Branfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
I had the most wonderful time skiing, even though I had thought it wouldn’t be fun, because it wasn’t on one board, but two. When I put the skis on, I got very good. My instructor Matt, a.k.a. Beardy, and instructor Scott, a.k.a. Shortbeard, taught me so much about skiing: the French Fry position, when the skis are parallel; and the pizza wedge when both skis point inward. From my thinking that it wouldn’t be fun, it actually turned out fine. - AJ
The highlight of my day was skiing from the top of the mountain to the bottom. It was very windy at the top, and my face felt like it was going to fall off! The upside was that there was the freshest, bleach-white snow covering the mountain. - Cole
Find out what's happening in Branfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Today when we were skiing, many of my friends said that I was skiing very well. I was very excited about going very fast and trying to use good technique. I even went on the other side of the large mountain – we were skiing in the Okemo area and the other side is called Jackson Gore. My ski lesson was interesting because I was learning how to turn without using a lot of energy. I also purchased a very good, comfortable face-fleece that keeps in my heat. - Anton
Eating breakfast and out the door – I was so excited about skiing this morning. The best moment was the first time I went flying down the hill. I turned ever so slightly, and wooosh, I went flying right, then I straightened out. It was a smooth ride down, until AJ rammed into me! All and all, it was the best day of my life. - Liam
OMG!!! Greatest day of my life. I had a ski lesson in the morning and went from a level one skier to a level four. I also rode the ski lift. I didn’t think I would like the lift, but I loved it. I felt as if I was floating on air, until it jerked. I did about 13 runs and then went into the sugar shack, a place to get snacks halfway down the mountain. I am looking forward to tomorrow. - Julia
“Yea!” I thought as I raced down the mountain. I had just turned in the air. It was snowy, and we were all skiing in the blizzard-like conditions. Visibility was horrible, but I was still able to ski with speed.
“Come on,” Melinda said, “people are tired, and we need to go back to the lodge. We started down the mountain again, taking wider turns, making them better and better, and finally we got down. It took 5 minutes for CELC to get to the lodge and about 30 minutes for the shuttle to pick us up. All in all, we had a great time. - Jakob
It was the night before skiing with CELC. I was so excited - it was hard to go to sleep. I was awakened to Melinda singing a wake up song, which I did not at all favor. I had to quickly eat my breakfast and get ready. We got on the shuttle and when we got to the mountain, it was great! We had ski lessons, which helped, and after lunch were able to free ski. It was really nice, until my hands, face, and nose froze. We went back to the house and relaxed, getting ready for our next day – there shall be more skiing! - Nolan
