A picture to contemplate #1.

Sometimes its just a face that strikes, or the scenery. The happiness in a middle schoolers' eyes during a ski race. In the US, he'd be decked out in a spandex suit, with velcro straps on his poles. Might be looking dead tired, or gritting teeth. And he would have been skiing for 10 years.
But in Svaneti, jeans and a sweater are the norm. Even in dumping snow and sloppy conditions, racers smile, take cocoa and coffee breaks mid-race, and some listen to the same American song on repeat through cheap over-the-ear headphones. Kids are happy on donated skis from Williams College and other places, but still often choose toddler Madshus skis and run rather than glide. Dynafit bindings are a foreign concept, and a national championship in slalom can be won on 15 year-old boots and skis with no edge left. Even as we've made skiing and racing about gear and speed in the US, our distorted reality hasn't followed USAID to other areas of the world. There's competition, and pre-competition arm wrestling, and podiums. But the racing is in good fun, skis are a community asset, and laps are done on a 1.5k course for fun, not training.