Hello all!

This has been a very intense week as we have been training for program. Here are my Friday Five!

1. One of the programs we offer is a trip to the adventure park. This is just your regular run of the mill high ropes and zip line courses that everyone should do at least once. I was first introduced to the idea at Earth Shine, a lodge in the NC Mountains that my family visited. Their high ropes and zip lines are very similar to the ones at this adventure park, however the one main huge difference being that while the instructors for the Earth Shine lodge always handled your equipment, here in Switzerland they believe that you can handle un-clipping a carabiner So we (and soon the girls) handle all of the getting on and off the zip lines while the instructors stay at either end of the course. Apparently law suits are not as big a thing in Switzerland as they are in the states. The most challenging bit I did was the pendulum swing off a bridge. I could describe it… but I think I will just give y’all a link to a video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFENwCXvolc

2. On my day off me and a few other vollies visited Bern, the capital city of Switzerland. Bern is famous for fountains and Bears. There is literally a fountain on almost every street/corner of the city and you can (and I did) drink from them. Bern also has bears in the middle of the city. When I first heard this I thought statues of Bears, Bern means bear is German. BUT, no there are 3 live bears living in the city. They were a gift and they were also stolen and then returned at some point, I think by an animal rights group because their original pen was really small. Now they have a great pen right by the river. Two of the bears were wrestling in the water while we were there! Very exciting. There were also lots of shops and restaurants. We saw parliament, under construction like the rest of Bern, apparently they cannot do construction in winter, maybe all the snow? We saw where Einstein lived for a few years with his wife and two sons. He had a very dramatic life, much more so than I thought. He never knew one illegitimate daughter, renounced his German citizenship in his teens, and he eventually married his cousin.

3. On Friday we (the vollies) climbed Bunderspitz a very tall Mountain behind the Chalet. The hike up was long and at some point scary when the wind picked up near the very top. 8353.02 feet above sea level. However, the views were spectacular! On the way down was great because there were a lot of snow patches still. We all took out our water proof pants and slid down the patches like we were sledding. The vollie from Hong Kong had never seen snow before, but was sledding down this mountain like a pro! It was lots of fun, but by the end everyone's feet hurt and we were all ready for bed.

4. One of the things I miss most in the States is going to the movies. I know the movies are not the most fanciful of places however, especially in the summer when it is all hot outside, stepping into the cool movie theater to see a good show is one of the best things ever. Here in Adelboden there is a movies theater that I plan on going to on one of my days off. It mainly plays in German and French, but I am hoping that there will be a movie where they use subtitles rather than dubbing so that I can see one in English. The movie I really want to see that came out in the states recently was the Bling Ring. Here is a clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkQrqwWr9zI 

(Looks good right?!?) 

5. And finally I just want to tell my Dad, happy Father’s day! I know I kinda missed it by not writing this blog till Tuesday, but I was busy! Kinda. My dad is always super supportive, and he always brings me chocolate after being away on a trip. He helps with all sorts of problems whether these are life, computer, or decision. Though he won’t come visit me in Switzerland (part his dislike of travel, part someone has to stay home and comfort Lacey who misses me dearly) I am excited that next Father’s day I can be there to celebrate with my dad!

Have a great week everyone!