Abroad Updates

We have an unusually large number of people abroad this fall.  It's sad and lonely without them, of course, but we're happy that they're all off having great adventures.  I've gotten a couple updates so far - here's a quick overview of who's where and what they're doing:

Orion is in a small city in China - sadly, I've forgotten the name.  As far as we know he hasn't been chased by any rabid bats lately, so that's an improvement over Montana.

Luca is in Switzerland - again, I can't remember the town.  I am a very provincial New Englander and can't be expected to remember complicated things like the names of foreign cities.  He's living with a very kind host family and is really stretching his comfort zone by trying lots of new foods - he proudly reports that he's eaten everything he's been served so far.  Studying abroad really does contribute to personal growth!

Christian is in Bergen, Norway.  He's finding all the good training, including a rollerski workout at Holmenkollen.  Last I heard he had just come back from a weekend field trip of clambering over glaciers.  Rad.

Cirque is in Cape Town, South Africa.  He's studying hard and doing a lot of surfing.  I am very concerned about shark attacks but so far so good.  He's found some great trails overlooking the city - here's a photo of the view:

Fiona and Lily are both studying in Grenoble, France.  Fiona flew over a bit early and met up with long lost ski friends Ellie and Hannah (Miller) for some hiking in Switzerland.  Here are a few photos:

Apparently Hannah is British now.  All I know about Lily so far is that she got lost on their first trail running workout, so she's clearly feeling right at home.  But she brought an exergenie, so fake gold star for her!

I'm definitely noticing a void with all these big personalities overseas.  It's going to be strange once we start team practices without them.  But I'm super excited that they're having these great experiences - can't wait to hear their stories!

Summer Recap

Fall 2018 is underway - students are back and classes have started!  It's been fun catching up with the skiers and hearing about their summer experiences.  Here's a quick rundown of some cool things our people did this summer:

- Sara manipulated fruit fly DNA in a lab on campus

- Russell built and tested medical micro devices at Michigan Tech

- Fiona taught summer school for homeless children in Portland

- Noah led mountain bike trips and worked events at Galena Lodge

- Lily did her canoe thing in the Ontario wilderness

- Ian worked as a qualitative analysis intern at LL Bean (most Ian quote ever:  "Didn't sleep much last night because too excited for intern BBQ.")
- Gabby, Elliot, and Christian attended the Eastern REG camp, where they did some quality training and crushed the fitness testing.  On the strength of these efforts and last season's results, Gabby and Elliot were two of just 14 juniors nominated to the National Elite Group - outstanding!
- And, of course, everyone had all kinds of unique training adventures in interesting places around the country.

I'm really proud of our skiers for the way they balance training with so many other fun and worthwhile endeavors.  The best part of coaching Bowdoin Nordic is working with all of these talented and interesting people - so glad to have them back!