7/7/10

This event I am working guest services. I woke up to help with the late breakfast shift. It was opening ceremony for the new event, which began at 9am. We finished washing up in the kitchen and then it was morning meeting time. Today, I vacuumed and mopped Main Chalet. I took out the trash and recycling and did laundry. We had bratwurst and veggie patties for the BBQ lunch. And since it was sunny, we had lunch outdoors! After lunch cleanup, I had an afternoon break. I worked on some of my staff challenge points that I will hopefully get signed tomorrow. Emma and I are planning on building a tent tomorrow evening so we can camp and get more staff challenge points. We have to cook for 95 guests this event, so it does take some time to prepare dinner. I sliced ham and cheese for 2 hours, it was tons of fun let me tell you. I sat and enjoyed dessert on the veranda with Jenny after we finished dinner cleaning. It was nice to observe the beautiful mountain scenery. Emma and I even had a nice chat with Christoph about tent building. I then relaxed in my bed until I fell asleep.

6/7/10-Vevey/Montreux/Jazz Festival!

Its my day off!! Elaine, Agus, Jackie and I decided to all take part in an adventure. Our first stop was Vevey, a small quaint city situated on Lake Geneva. We walked around a bit and then decided to have lunch by the lake. We also went shopping as well. After spending a few hours there, we hopped on a train to go to Montreux. Our first destination was Castle Chillon, it is about 3km south of Mountreux and it was only a 10 minute bus ride. The castle dates back to the 12^th century and was in a perfect location on the water and tucked away in the mountains. It took about an hour and a half to walk through the entire castle; we saw prison chambers, dungeons, chapels, sitting rooms, dining halls, fortifications, watch towers and even a defense bridge. It was a very beautiful castle and I thoroughly enjoyed my visit. It was even a little bit crowded by other tourists. After the castle, we took a boat across lake Geneva to Montreux. It was a beautiful day and the boat ride was lovely. We arrived in Montreux and I was ready to go see the Jazz Festival. It was the 44^th annual Montreux Jazz Festival and I was really excited to see live music. We walked along the river and there were lots and lots of market venues, shops and food. We finally got to the park and we were able to enjoy live music. It was very nice to sit down and relax for a few hours and enjoy some groovy tunes. We enjoyed bands from the USA, Switzerland and Australia. It was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed my day off and glad I was able to go to a music festival.

5/7/10

It was the final day of program and Susan and I were off to the Woodcarvers for the morning and then in the afternoon we were going to repel down a gorge. I have not been to the woodcarvers since training so I had to challenge myself and lead the hike by memory. I luckily knew where I was going…for the most part. The hike is a lot easier now than it was for the first time. It takes about 2 hours to get to the woodcarvers, it is downhill then across the road and then uphill. After the downhill portion, it took about 30 solid minutes to climb stairs and very steep hills, but once we got to the end, it was a flat walk to the woodcarvers, thank goodness. After the guests had time to browse and buy some wood items, we went next door to the Café to enjoy some Lemon cake. It was delicious, but it did ruin my appetite for lunch. After our mid-morning snack, we walked to go eat lunch at picnic tables by the river. It was very sunny and the weather felt great. After lunch, it was time for repelling down the gorge, horray. I went first so I had to go all the way to the bottom by myself. I was not nervous although some girls are scared to get to the bottom platform. I stayed at the bottom for about two and a half hours until all the guests finished repelling. I was wearing my rain pants and still managed to get them very muddy. Although it is bright and sunny outside, it feels like it is raining inside the gorge, especially at the bottom. After everyone was done, the staff allowed Susan and I to have a candy bar! I had peanut M&Ms. We walked back to the chalet, I did some laundry before dinner and then it was campfire for the evening program. The Australian guides gave me their sunhat; it has the Australian flag on it, I was very excited to receive their gift!! It was a very good day and I am very excited to go to Montreux for the Jazz Festival tomorrow!!

4/7/10

It was an adventure day today, and I had a very adventurous day. Susan and I led the high-route hike to Elsigenalp, and it only took us about three hours to get there. It was a very nice hike and it was not as difficult as I originally thought it would be. Our hike ended just by the lake, so we enjoyed a picnic lunch sitting on the rocks right next to the lake. Katie, a guest from Virginia and I, decided that we wanted to hike all the way to the top of Elsighorn. It was an additional hour and a half to get to the top. We met a very nice Belgium family on the way. We were kind of following them, since they too were traveling to the top. It took about 2 hours to get there, since we did not follow the path correctly and we hiked an additional 30 minutes, whoops. When we got to the top which was 2,341m high, and the view was so lovely. We saw Lake Thun, Niesen, Adelboden, Kandersteg valley and many more mountains that I do not know the name of. I have attached some photos of the lovely view. This morning, it was raining, but before we began our hike, the weather cleared. And by the time we were hiking back to Elsigenalp from Elsighor, the sun came out. It was the perfect weather to go swimming. We only had about 30 minutes to swim, since we had to take the gondola down at 4:30. The water felt great, and I finally was able to swim around! We then walked to the gondola, I was still wearing my bathing suit under my clothes so I was a little bit cold. We arrived at the base of the station and then waited for the bus to come pick us up. We went back to the chalet to prepare for evening program, which was games night and we played a PIRATE game!! It was so fun. The staff dressed up as pirates and then we had 3 minutes to hide and then the guests had to find us. I climbed up a tree and I was hiding very high up, so it was difficult for the girls to find me. I finally got bored after 30 minutes and climbed down so the guests could see me. I then only got found by 2 groups, horray I did not have to forfeit myself. It was a very fun game, and at the end the winning team had the chance to splash us with water. We had to 'walk the plank' and get hosed down in the process. This then turned into a gigantic water fight. It was tons of fun, and the guests loved to get the staff soaking wet. I was drenched from head to toe. After the water fight and mopping the main chalet building, it was shower time. After my shower, I enjoyed some all-American homemade apple pie to celebrate the 4th of July. It was made especially by 2 American volunteers =). I had a very good 4th of July. I am very tired, we have one more adventure day tomorrow and then I am off to Montreux for the Jazz Festival and to see a castle, yip-pay!

3/7/10-Thun.

Today, I had the day off! I was able to sleep until lunch time and it was heavenly. After lunch, Emma and I decided to go to Thun. It was a bright and sunny day, so we were wearing our swim suits. We were ready to jump in the river and go tanning. We also were planning on going to the Bluegrass Music Festival. When we arrived by train in Thun, we could see rain clouds in the distance and the sun was barely shining. But, that was okay, we went to Coop and got some refreshing beverages. We wondered around town and then when the down pour began we headed to a bridge for cover. We decided to hang out and play some games and wait til the rain would stop. The heavy rain only lasted 45 minutes then we were able to walk the streets again. We browsed through stores then headed to the music festival. The sky was clearing up although at some points it was still sprinkling. The festival was literally on the lake, with a huge stadium and stage that was partly in the water. The bands were from Switzerland, Germany and Australia. They even sang songs in English. We sat by the water and watched the wind surfers and other water sport adventures. After the festival, we got a lift back to the train stop. We then were on a mission to find a hamburger and fries for dinner. We had 25 minutes to order our food and make it back to the train station. We were literally running all the way back so we could catch our train in time. It was quite an adventure. We had to make it on the 7pm train because we had a staff party at 8pm. It was a surprise adventure and when we arrived the festivities had just began. We had a beach fashion show, we played volleyball, we slid down the hill on ice blocks and we had a boat race. There was an enormous water fight at the end, I was soaked from head to toe. And, we all go ice cream cake for the end surprise! It was a good staff night 'in.' Sliding down the hill on a large block of ice was my favorite part of the night, as well as the water fight. It was tons of fun. It was an adventurous, long day and I am going to bed to prepare for our long hike tomorrow. Cheers.

2/7/10

Today was another town day at the chalet and our final destination was Thun. We first went to Niesenbahn and road the funicular train up to the top of Niesen, which is about 2,300m high. When we arrived, we gave the guests a debriefing about time and logistics and then let them free. Katie, Lesley and I set out for a little stroll, then decided to hike 10 minutes away to another mountain cliff to eat our lunch. It was very lovely and on the other side of the mountain it was a rocky straight down shot all the way to the bottom, so we were careful. We enjoyed the view and our lunch and then it was time to go meet the guests to go back down the train. It is only a 30-minute ride. After we arrived at the station, we walked to go meet our bus, but our bus driver was late and we had to wait about 20 minutes in the heat! The bus then took us to Spiez, we hopped on a boat and road all the way to Thun. It was about a 50-minute boat ride, the sun was hot, but the breeze was nice. I did manage to get slightly pink on my legs. We had about 2 hours free/shop time in Thun. It was nice because I was able to go to the bank and grocery store without walking up the mega hill to the town of Adelboden. I restocked my snack supply and got a cold refreshing drink. I had a lovely day in town and I have the night off since Megan wanted to work and go on the twilight hike, so we swapped shifts. I am relaxing and enjoying the quiet of Stockli house. I have off tomorrow and a few girls and I are going to Thun for a Bluegrass Festival and swimming in the river! I get to sleep in since the festival is in the afternoon, horray!

1/7/10

The day has come and it is July one. It is very crazy how an entire month has virtually flown by, I feel like I have only been here for only a few weeks. Today, I was the staff member that went whitewater rafting! I was very excited when I woke up because it was a bright, sunny day. The forecast was set to be about 26C in Interlaken. We loaded the bus at 5 past nine and began our journey to Interlaken. We arrived in the touristy town and immediately went to the Chocolatier for a chocolate show. The rafters were first since they had to eat their lunch after the show. As we walked in the room, it smelled heavily of rich, dark chocolate. The smell is overwhelming and I try to limit my chocolate intake as if I eat too much, I will feel sick later in the day and I did not want that to happen since I was rafting later. After the lovely chocolate show, we enjoyed our lunches out in the grassy and flowery field. We saw paragliders land in the field and we got a glimpse of the Jungfrau mountain behind the clouds. After the second chocolate show was over, we loaded the bus and we were then dropped off at Alpine Raft. Horray, our whitewater rafting journey begins. We first sat in somewhat of stadium seating and listened to a safety briefing and what gear we need. Then, we changed into full wetsuits, pants and jackets, we also had a life jacket and helmet. We then formed a congo line and danced to the bus that took us to the rafting spot. The guides unloaded the rafts and then gave us safety instructions, we even practiced as a group about how to paddle, hold on, go right, go left, etc. We were the caboose raft, so we departed last. The rapids were Class III/IV and they were not scary at all. We paddled, hit rocks, went down many rapids, and got soaking wet. At the end of the journey, we had a chance to slide out the raft and cruise on down the river. A girl on our raft managed to lose her paddle, but down the way we found it and captured it again. During our journey there is a part of the river that is illegal to raft as it is a nature preserve, so we had a temporary pause in our rafting adventure. We rafted to the side, loaded our rafts on the bus, loaded the bus, traveled about 3 minutes and then got back into the river to experience our class IV rapids. The water was a little chilly but with the hot weather and the full wetsuit, it felt great. We finally landed on the other side of Interlaken in Lake Brienz. Interlaken means between two lakes so it is between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz. We then paddled until the loading area and picked up our raft as a team and carried it all the way to the boat. I was on the raft with the Australian guides and the scouts from Virginia. It was a lot of fun, and they bought a CD of the pictures that I loaded on my computer, so the photos are actually from the rafting company. We got back to the facility and changed into dry clothes, caught a lift to town and then loaded the chalet bus. It took an hour to get back to the chalet. We had an afternoon break for tea and then it was dinner time. Kate, Lesley and I were in charge of Swiss night. Fritz came to play his alpen horn and we had surprise chocolate fondue in the dining hall, since the event was outdoors. It was a lot of fun. I was exhausted from the day so I went to bed to get ready for the next day.