A few months ago, I met Jennifer Kaneda through a common friend. The three of us started talking about skiing over lunch and Jenni mentioned the Nisei Ski Club (NSC) and their weekend trips. What got my attention was the fact that the bus leaves at 6:30pm on Friday night. Unlike the other clubs who leaves at 4AM on Saturday morning. And by the way, I love my sleep.
On mid-February, I decided to go on Trip #3. I’m known as a social person among my friends but I was a bit nervous about the trip leaving on Friday afternoon. I was a complete stranger on this trip.  I started to think “Who is going to sit next to me on the bus?”, “Is the food on the bus going to good?”, “Who is going to be my roommate?”, “Will I be skiing alone?. The NSC members surpassed my expectations by leaps and bounds.
I was sitting near Joel and Debbie on the bus. They introduced themselves to me and we hit it off right away. The food (breakfasts & dinners) on the bus were nothing but exemplary. Ham & cheese croissants sandwiches for breakfast, Christmas couscous w/ BBQ chicken for dinner. Mango Pudding for dessert, all home cooked by Karen Soo and Tom Lee. And the best part is that the meal is served at your seat! I preferred eating on the bus while we’re heading to Reno rather than stopping and eating at a local McDonald’s. Yes I am very picky about my food.
As we were heading to the resort Joel says “I am great company for socializing but I am not great company if you want to cover the slopes”. Within a few minutes, he talks to the 3 Davids on the bus and they volunteer to have me join their group. I had a blast skiing with David Miura, David Uyeda, David Tom. Sidney Mar, Jaret Sakauye and Lansing Lee. Even though they were more advanced skiers than me, one of them always checked up on me to make sure I was doing OK on the slopes.

I also had a great roommate who put up with my coughing all night and never complained.

I definitely made some new friends this weekend and I couldn’t have asked for greater company.

Thank You NSC for making my first trip a wonderful experience.