Day 2: First day of training!
Of course I am the last one out of bed....I don't do well with mornings still but I managed to wake up on time for breakfast. After some downtime, we began the day with a flag ceremony in our Girl Scout/Guide uniforms. Luckily I remembered my vest but not my socks. Ironically I forgot all of my socks which was an unfortunate discovery but I have been getting by and borrowing some socks from some other vollies haha.

We made a circle around the flag pole which is located between the main Chalet and Speaker house. Miniature flags from different countries were handed out. One of the summer vollies and I were chosen to raise the Swiss and Girl Scout flag while the "Our Chalet" song was sung. We had a few technical difficulties because of the wind but it worked out alright. Then, Koka read the words that one of the founders of Our Chalet said 80 years ago which as really cool. We also became a part of the Our Chalet family when we got pins (that also haven't changed much since the opening). Then we took a picture with all of the miniature flags with the flagpole. It was cool to be inducted into Our Chalet...it was a good official start to our volunteer journey.

Afterwards we had a morning staff meeting to delegate tasks and go over the plan of the day. Our morning was then dedicated to getting to know the grounds. We watched a presentation on the history of Our Chalet and then we toured the grounds. I am going to break down the grounds building by building:

Main Chalet: 1st floor: the T-bar! The T-bar has computers and free tea, hot chocolate and coffee all of the time....one of my favorite rooms! The only downside is the wool rug and furniture haha
                                   Program cellar - all of the supplies are stored here
                                   Laundry room - self-explanatory I think
                                   Food pantry - lots and lots of food including chocolate!
2nd floor: WAGGS room - a nice sun room with comfy furniture and different cool artifacts.
               Dining Room - large wooden tables, it has cool artifacts in it including a large wooden cabinet with a hidden compartment
              Kitchen - land where delicious food is made
              Library: a room filled with different types of books in various languages and gifts from other countries
              American Room (I think that's the name): it has some original furniture, Helen Storrow's (one of the founders) bed, chair and other items along with gifts from various places.
3rd floor: Guest rooms
4th floor: the attic loft aka my new room for the next few weeks
Speaker: Reception, staff offices, conference rooms, and guest accommodations
Main Chalet is on the left and Speaker is on the right in the picture below

Stockli: the staff house...I have yet to see my new abode


Squirrel house: a tiny and cute place for guests to stay fully equipped with a kitchen

Then across the grounds is...
Baby Chalet: the first building. It is an adorable and tiny place for guests to stay...there is even a tub on the second floor bathroom which I find amazing

There is also another place for guests to stay that is also small but cozy...I forget the name of it though haha

What I found interesting is that to access the second floor of almost all of the guest houses outside of the main Chalet and Speaker is that you have to use stairs that are located on the outside behind the buildings!
Red Tent: it currently houses the fire circle

Best part of the grounds: the landscape! I tend to stare at the mountains constantly and I enjoy being outdoors!

So there is a staff challenge to get 80 points by the end of our stay here by doing different activities that have various points associated with them. The list varies greatly and I accomplished one during the break before lunch....climbing under a table in the dining common without touching the ground! A few of us tried but only other vollie and I were successful. It was made possible by the bar underneath the table that crosses it. I made my way to laying down on that beam and then somehow pushed myself up! it was difficult but worth that whole 1 point.....79 points to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I also met the last summer vollie to arrive while I was climbing the table haha....it was an interesting first impression for sure!

After lunch we got most of our uniforms: polo shirts and gilets (a vest). Our neckerchiefs are still to come!
Then with Katie, the Programme manager, we did an ice breaker and played a get to know you game with some Swiss chewy candy. I enjoyed getting to know all of the other girls! We then went over expectations and did an activity where we listed various expectations independently. Then with Koka we went over the structure of the staff which is helpful for vollies to know so we know who to ask if we have questions.

The last big event of the day was watching Inception with some of the spring vollies. That movie always blows me away. Though another possibility of the ending was brought to my attention: the whole point of the movie may just be to create argument and be a paradox. I had never thought of that before but I still think that the top fell at the end. Who knows haha.

This was a little bit longer than I expected but I tried to make it easy to read.... :)