Hey everyone!

1. This week I am guest services again! Yaaaay..... So to counter how much time I am spending indoors cleaning and cooking, on my off days I am determined to go hiking around the area. So one day me and a few other vollies, Betsy from Hong Kong and Jana from Slovakia, hiked to Kandersteg! This required going up over a mountain range to get from one valley to another, about a 5 hour hike swiss time. It took about 6 1/2 hours. On the hiking signs there is always an estimated time for different destinations, see below: 

So the time estimates you see on the signs are in swiss time. For example this sign says it takes 3hrs to get to kandersteg. It took us 4hrs and we were going to a closer point in the valley than kandersteg so going into the town center would have been at least another 1/2 hr. These shorter time estimates are due to the fact that the Swiss grow up hiking, they bring their 6 yr olds out and up onto mountains (seriously passed a 6yr old running down the mountain not 20 meters from this sign, notice the height of this mountain pass?) When we got to Kandersteg we ate dinner there and slept over. It is a great place to hang out, I even met a group of boys there with their unit from Chapel Hill! (One was wearing a UNC t-shirt). Then in the morning me and Jana grabbed some breakfast and headed back to Our Chalet on the bus, cause we both had to work that day. Here are some more pictures from our journey:
Betsy and Jana and Kandersteg! 
Adelboden!:


2. We had a special staff night out this week! We got to go to the Circus! It is a pretty famous circus in Switzerland and features no animals. The main acts were clowns and acrobatics. The Clowns were meant to act like goofy children and came in acts between the acrobatics. Clowns are not my favorite, I am not really a clown person, but this little girl behind me found them hysterical, so I think it is just me. The acrobatics were amazing, both girls and boys participating. I was expecting older people preforming, however all the acts were preformed by especially youthful looking folks, and some very attractive might I add. So that was nice. A lot of people compared it to Cirque du Soleil, which is the really famous, amazing Circus that lots of people go to. Including my family! Without me. So I personally do not know how it compares with Cirque du Soleil, but as far as I can tell it was a good show.

(also we got photo bombed... that random guy in the back we have no idea who he is....)

3. This week was a very special week for several reasons:

1. The most diverse group evvver! two groups from Japan, one from Norway, 2 from Canada, 1 from the US, and 1 from the UK. wow! For a place that has seen a lot of North Americans in this particular event the North Americans have been out numbered! 
2. It is the largest group we will have, the total number of guests rounding right about at 100. We are typically comfortable at around 60 people.
3. It was Swiss day! August 1st is like Switzerland's July 4th! It was super exciting, firework bangs starting to go off around noon and continued until 6am (not as cool). At night we made a Chalet precision into town where we sat and listened to an important person speak, about what I do not know I do not speak swiss-german. There were free sausages and bread, which were delicious. There was an alpine horn show and yodeling. Finally after the Swiss national anthem we gathered and joined the parade, which was oddly enough a majority of non-swiss people waving swiss flags. The other groups in the parade included the UK girl guiding group staying somewhere else in the valley and a group of Scottish boy Scouts who brought and played bag pipes in the parade. So it was a bit bravehearty... Then after the parade we sat and watched the spectacular firework display! Then home to bed. 
4. It was also the CHALET'S 81st BIRTHDAY!!! We had a carnival were we did different stations and crafts, games, you name it. At the end of the day we had a huge cake, lots of candy, and the chance to make great smore's! We decorated the place head to toe, and gave out invites with schedules. I think everyone had a good time. My roomie (Alison) and another vollie (Aisling) made the cake! Take a look: 

4. I have been hearing a lot of new information from Nottingham! I now know my dorm, Derby Hall, which is where a friend who went there suggested I stay at and where she personally stayed for two years! It is super central, but also very close to the bus stop so you can get to town really easily! I also now know my classes: American Chaps and Maps: American foreign policy since 1950, American Film adaptions, IPE and the political economy, and Democracy and it's critics. This ends up being 20 hrs credit so I will have to drop one... but I am into all the ones I wanted which is what counts! It is nice now that the summer is barreling to an end to have something else exciting to look forward too! 

5. The last thing I want to mention is that tomorrow I plan on completing my personal challenge! For our staff challenge you have the chance to come up with your own personal challenge which you can then earn points for. Mine is completing a white blue white trail. There are three types of walking trails, road, white red white, white blue white. We only take guests on roads and white red white trails. The white blue white is supposedly a big jump from red. Blue trails are supper exposed and usually falling of them can be very detrimental to health. However, I will be careful and slow up the white blue white path, and it is supposed to be a challenge. I have seemingly developed a little bit of vertigo as I have grown older so hopefully it won't be too terrible... I guess we will just have to see tomorrow!