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.

30/6/10

This morning I woke up and made a packed lunch out on the veranda. I was very excited because there was tuna!!! Last program, they did not serve tuna and I never got a tuna sandwich. I then enjoyed breakfast in Stockli and took my coffee to morning meeting. Kate and I were off to the adventure park and the climbing wall for the day! It was a beautiful and sunny day and the adventure park was tons of fun. I zipped back and forth across the zip wire and did the high ropes coarse. I challenged myself at the end on the wood planks to not hold on the rope and see if I can balance. I can only manage to cross about 7 planks until I have to hold on the rope. Due to the large group of people, I sadly did not get to jump off the bridge since there was not enough time. But no worries there is always next time. We made it safely back to the chalet and although the weather was forecasted to rain and thunderstorm, it did not! That was very exciting. I was off evening program for the night, so I hung out and relaxed in my bed. I recently found out that Momma Mac (Kappa Delta house mother) passed away so please keep her and her family in your prayers. She will be truly missed. Tomorrow I am off to go WHITEWATER RAFTING!!!! I am very excited. I will post some photos of that tomorrow!

29/6/10

Good day everyone! Today was On-Site activities day! And I was in charge of the orienteering activity, which is my favorite activity. We began the morning at the program morning meeting and discussed the logistics and plan of the day. After meeting we had the opening ceremony which officially marked the event as open. It is very exciting to be on program again...and time flies because it is almost July!!! It was a sunny day so we had a BBQ lunch for the first time OUTDOORS! Wahoo! After enjoying Bratwurst, apples and toblerone chocolate, we continued the activities until 5:30pm. I even made a WAGGGS poster for one of my staff challenges! We then had international night as the evening program and had a SWAPs session afterward. I have now acquired many Australian badges and bookmarks. We even had an evening thunderstorm well thunder actually and some rain! I was very excited to hear thunder!! It was a good day and I am looking forward to the rest of program!

28/6/10

Today, I only worked a half day. I did manage to watch 4 episodes of The Unit. And we ate lunch outside again! Kate, Susan and I were working the ‘meet and greets’ so I had the chance to walk up the hill THREE times today! We have guests from Denmark, Australia, Texas, Virginia and New Jersey! And there are guests from Houston!! It was very exciting and after dinner we gave the guests a tour! It was fun and honestly that was the extent of my day. I am very tired and this is why my post is so short! Program starts tomorrow and I will be on the orienteering section again!!! I am very excited. 

27/6/10

It was a normal day at the chalet. We had no tours, I helped out during the later breakfast shift, and I cleaned the bathrooms in Spycher. We ate lunch outside again since the weather has been sunny and beautiful. For this event, it is the guests last night at the chalet so evening program was campfire. After dinner cleanup, I enjoyed my dessert, peaches and cream, while I talked to Christoph about his trip back home to Germany. He went to go see a movie at a ‘Space Cinema’ where the movie is projected outdoors on a giant dome shaped object. It was pretty cool, he also told me about a cinema opening next week in the next valley. It is a unique cinema because they project movies on a lake that is crystal clear. He may take some of us to go see a movie, although it would be in German, it would still be fun. After dinner I enjoyed watching The Unit in bed and I had time to skype some friends as well. I am working a half day tomorrow, it is arrival day and my roommates and I are in charge of ‘meet and greets.’ Yay, I get to walk up the chalet hill 3 or more times tomorrow. The photo is an alpenrose!