I had a life-long friend (at 19 years) that moved out to Park City, Utah to work after high school. He convinced me (rather easily) to come hang out for 10 days to do some snowboarding and see some Sundance films; he had a place for me to stay and he could get me lift tickets because he worked at a resort... how could I possibly say no?!
So I landed in Salt Lake City, send my friend a message that I was ready to be picked up. 45 minutes later, he politely texts me back to let me know he is real sorry, but he's working, so he can't pick me up. It's okay... I'll get a shuttle. He didn't say where he was working, but he worked two locations in the mall, so I figured as long as I got there I could find him. After an hour long shuttle ride, I dragged my suitcase, backpack and snowboard bag into the first store... he wasn't working. So I hauled my load across the parking lot to the second place, low and behold, he doesn't start work until 4 (it was 12:30). While waiting for him to show up for work, I desperately scramble to figure out what I'm going to do about the newly learned information that 1) He was kicked out of his apartment and doesn't have a place for me to stay and 2) He quit his job at the resort and cannot get me lift tickets...
Long story short, a nice gentleman was renting out rooms on Craigslist for $50/night. Good thing, because hotels during Sundance are much more costly. My good old friend ended up not returning any of my calls and I got my ticket back home switched to an earlier flight. The good news is, it forced me to overcome any fear I may have had of meeting new people. And I did meet a great Kiwi (Daniel from New Zealand) and a few other people that made my visit extremely worth while. It is a fantastic melting pot of culture there as young people come from all over the world to work. The snowboarding wasn't bad, either. The snow was a bit heavy (relative to Colorado and Montana), but I can't complain... because my usual ski hill is more often covered with ice than any amount of snow, heavy or light. I didn't see any Sundance screenings because they cost a bit of money, but I did go to a few Slamdance movies! I do really try to appreciate independent arts and the shows were... unique-ish. I do think there are plenty more things to see and places to go before I head back there!
So I landed in Salt Lake City, send my friend a message that I was ready to be picked up. 45 minutes later, he politely texts me back to let me know he is real sorry, but he's working, so he can't pick me up. It's okay... I'll get a shuttle. He didn't say where he was working, but he worked two locations in the mall, so I figured as long as I got there I could find him. After an hour long shuttle ride, I dragged my suitcase, backpack and snowboard bag into the first store... he wasn't working. So I hauled my load across the parking lot to the second place, low and behold, he doesn't start work until 4 (it was 12:30). While waiting for him to show up for work, I desperately scramble to figure out what I'm going to do about the newly learned information that 1) He was kicked out of his apartment and doesn't have a place for me to stay and 2) He quit his job at the resort and cannot get me lift tickets...
Long story short, a nice gentleman was renting out rooms on Craigslist for $50/night. Good thing, because hotels during Sundance are much more costly. My good old friend ended up not returning any of my calls and I got my ticket back home switched to an earlier flight. The good news is, it forced me to overcome any fear I may have had of meeting new people. And I did meet a great Kiwi (Daniel from New Zealand) and a few other people that made my visit extremely worth while. It is a fantastic melting pot of culture there as young people come from all over the world to work. The snowboarding wasn't bad, either. The snow was a bit heavy (relative to Colorado and Montana), but I can't complain... because my usual ski hill is more often covered with ice than any amount of snow, heavy or light. I didn't see any Sundance screenings because they cost a bit of money, but I did go to a few Slamdance movies! I do really try to appreciate independent arts and the shows were... unique-ish. I do think there are plenty more things to see and places to go before I head back there!
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