Le Kir, Genepi, et le vin et snowshoes

Title of this message contains three different french drinks that i have grown to love. Le Kir is a mix between white wine and creme de cassis (currants) and was introduced to me last weekend during a dinner with another American assistant from a nearby town. The assistants name is Christa and she if from Colorado and we really hit it off. During the convo we discovered we have the same birthday.....eerie or what? Genepi is a hard liquor made from flowers that grow high up in the Alps. Usually dranken during Noel, this liquor is sweet and strong and my students brought some to class for me to try! (Shhhh, dont tell the principal!) Le vin or wine is usually associated to french culture and i think that Americans should follow the tread. Life is so much more enjoyable with a glass of wine or two in you everyday....
Last weekend my wish came true with a three hour snowshoeing hike in the mountains. I went with 4 other teachers from the high school. The weather was beautiful and even though the hike was quite steep and took me 1.5 hours to reach the summit, the view of several mountain ranges made it worth all the effort and sweat. We had a nice picnic lunch in the snow and then started our descent. I must admit the descent was far more enjoyable than the climb (go figure) and snowshoes are a lot easier to use than i thought they would be. They really allow you to grip the show and ice and with two ski poles to steady you, you feel someone invincible. We are going to go again next tuesday at a different ski resort. The high school organized an outing for several of its classes so ill get to go at no charge, which is really lucky because usually this resort is over 40 euros for the day. I hope you all are taking advantage of the weather as well! Take care!