My Newness

I have this Activation under way. I'm going downhill skiing for the first time in my life. That sounds like enough, I'd recommend it for an Activation activity for sure. What I'm looking at today, though, is the range of new neural pathways I'm experiencing in the process of getting to the mountain.

First there was the foreign foot experience. Buying ski boots was an utterly foreign foot expereience. Zhort, the extravagantly handsome Hungarian athlete who fits ski boots at the Sports Basement in the Presidio, instructed me. I stood in the rigid structure that is known as a modern ski boot. "Lean forward in the boot," Zhort said in his crisp accent, "push with your shin. Now your toe should come back in the boot."

I sat with the boots clamped onto my feet, settling in, watching for spots that hurt.

Sensory input traveled along to my brain. They're tight. They're rigid. My brain is listening.

Now we are traveling along I-80 in heavy traffic headed for the mountain. This is something else I have rarely done. Highways in heavy traffic is not a brain activator for anyone who commutes regularly -- seriously not recommended. But for me, today, I am taking in visuals and sounds and cultural stories left and right.

Night settles in and a half moon lights the slopes. I get my first look at snow.

We meet new friends at a mexican restaurant in Truckee, and make merry with Charley's son and his crew who have just finished dinner. New sights. New people. New stories. Dendrites galore!

A wonderland of experiences await. I'm contemplating the description of going in a long, slow "S" down the hill, letting the skis take me. Tomorrow, the slopes, and who knows what else!

to be continued...

Suzanna