While my classmates and I were studying abroad, one of the most adventurous, fun and beautiful places we had visited was Switzerland. As we traveled by bus to the city of Interlaken, the Alps blew me away with their radiant slopes as well as their snow-covered peaks. We were all very excited to spend the next few days in the gorgeous country and perhaps do some outdoor activities that we would remember for the rest of our lives. Some of these activities included para sailing, paragliding, skydiving, bungee jumping, canyoning and canyon jumping. Of course at the time I was contemplating between so many of the choices that it was hard to decide which one to do. After talking with my classmates and figuring out the prices for each activity I came to the decision that I was going to go paragliding. One of my classmates, Mike, decided he too want to try paragliding, so the two of us called SkyWings (a paragliding company) to come pick us up to start our paragliding adventure. Once the van had come to pick us up right at our hotel, three other individuals were in the van also coming along on the journey to experience this fun-filled event. As we drove to the top of the Alps climbing higher and higher in elevation, my nerves began to shake inside me. That's when I told myself, "Were in this for fun! Don't worry about it. It's going to be awesome!" Instantly, my nerves disappeared like a flash and I was so pumped to do it! As part of our journey up the mountain, all five of the paragliding instructors were riding with us. One of them said "So as part of paragliding, each rider gets to choose which instructor they would like to ride with. This means the girls get to choose first!" Of course myself as well as one other individual riding with us was female. I told him it didn't matter to me so he lifted up five sheets of paper and told me to draw one. The one I chose was named Bobby, the gentleman giving us instructions on how to fly. Once we stopped at the top of the mountain, stepping out of the van to look out at the scenic view was so incredible. Looking down on the beautiful town of Interlaken thinking "Wow I'm going to be flying over that in a few minutes" just blew me away. Bobby and I and all the others hiked to the edge of the cliff were we started setting up the equipment to go gliding. First, the instructors laid out each parachute and attached the bungee cords to it. Second, Bobby told me to put on a red jacket to keep me from getting cold, put on a harness that looked like a sagging backpack as well as a helmet. While I continued to put on my equipment, Bobby finished putting the final pieces together for take off. I began to think "I can't do this.. I sooo can't do this..." my knees were beginning to shake and before I could figure out how to calm myself down, Bobby told me to come over to the parachute so we can take off. Bobby attached his harness to mine and the parachute to begin flying. "So were going to take a few pictures before we take off so you can always remember." He pulled out a camera he was going to use for the flight that was attached to a long stick and snapped a few.
After a little while into the flight, he asked me if I want to try flying the parachute. I told him yes definitely! As I grabbed the two handles one on each side he said "Ok, to turn left, pull down with your left arm and lift up on the right arm." I began thinking "This is going to be hard to pull." but within a few seconds I did what he told me and began turning left. "Wow that's so easy!" I told. He continued to let me drive the glider a few minutes longer enjoying the beautiful view, until we reached about halfway down the mountain.
"Alright, I got a question for you," Bobby stated, "Do you like roller coasters?" I told him, "I absolutely love roller coasters!" Bobby then said, "Alright then you are in for a fun ride!" Again within a few seconds he pulled hard on one side of the parachute then the other, creating a waving motion that made your stomach drop just like the peak of a roller coaster. Before I knew it felt like I was free falling! It was absolutely fun and I couldn't believe you could feel like this when you para glide let alone a parachute! Soon enough he slowed down the heavy waving motion as we were getting close to the ground. I began to think "What?.. Its almost over?..." I was having such a fun time I didn't want it to end. Bobby instructed me to lift my legs a bit when we get close to the ground and that I may have to run a little bit to slow myself down. As we approached the ground I lift my legs up and basically just stood up. "Wow that was a super easy landing. I thought that would have been a lot more complicated." I said to Bobby. "That's actually what most people think. I like to try to make the landing as easy as possible if I can." He said. After about 10 to 15 minutes that passed by most of the instructors had all the equipment picked up and in large backpacks to take the next set of paragliders. I waited for Mike to land of course share our experiences about the ride. Together, Mike and I walked over to pay for the ride and the photos of the trip and all I could think about was that what I just experienced was the the coolest thing I have ever done in my life. I was in shock by how much fun paragliding is and the breathtaking view I got to experience while doing it! I told myself several times someday I want to do it again even though I may not be able to in the beautiful country of Switzerland. Anyone who loves to sight see or go on roller coasters I recommend you go paragliding! It was one of the best moments in my life! I would like to thank the NDSU Center for Global Initiatives for providing such an opportunity to experience paragliding as well as the continent of Europe in 5 weeks! I couldn't have had more fun checking one of my bucket list items off the list! If you would like to learn more information or see what other kinds of experiences study abroad students have had visit http://ndsu-studyabroad.blogspot.com/
Thanks for reading!
Michelle
P.S. Watch this video of me paragliding in the Swiss Alps!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl6kGBRfu3w
you go michelle! - Ali
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