Ok! So this is my first post. Today is my fourth day at Our Chalet, the Girl Scout and Girl Guide Centre that will be my home for the next few months. I started this blog because though I have a small diary, I can hold myself more accountable to writing down my experience! Though slightly narcissistic, the blog is an optional read.  But let's start back at the beginning of this journey....
Note: The next few posts will be long because I need to catch up on the past few days but I'll split it up day by day till I catch up. I also tend to go into a lot of detail so feel free to skim if you want haha
Day 1 Part I: Journey to Our Chalet
On Sunday, I left my parents at the airport in Boston, though security took longer to get through because peanut butter is considered a gel.. :(  After waiting a bit, I boarded the plane to Zurich. On the plane ride I talked for the first half of the trip to my fellow airplane companion who was a recent graduate from WPI. Other than that, the plane ride was not too bad; not much longer than travelling to San Francisco. Unfortunately I only got an hour of sleep because I got sick half way through the flight but the First Aid kit I packed came in handy. Once we started flying close over France and Switzerland, I was glued to the window (good thing I had the window seat!!). The landscape is exceedingly beautiful here, much more so than I ever could have imagined.

After getting off the plane, I figured out my way through the airport, lugging my heavy lime green suitcase and backpack with me to the train section. I needed to buy train tickets. I first stood at a train ticket machine for 20 minutes trying to figure out which type of ticket to get! Then, after annoying many people waiting behind me, I got out of line without a ticket after I realized that I could not use cash to buy a ticket from the machine. Then, after waiting in a different line, the teller told me that I needed a picture for a half fare card. I found a photo machine nearby and I spent another 30 minutes taking my picture for the half fare card. It took longer than I expected because 1) The instructions were in German 2) I kept blinking or moving which is not conducive for an ID card. At this point I was exhausted (with a six hour time difference between MA and Switzerland), annoyed and had just wasted a lot of time and money  trying to get this train ticket! Alas, I finally got the correct ticket and grabbed some food before heading down to the train platform. Though I noticed that there was a super market in the Zurich airport. Who knew that there would be a super market in the airport!

Anyways, the train came exactly on time. The transportation system is highly efficient. I sat in a one of the seats (they were in groups of four) near an older couple, though at the next stop they ended up moving...probably because my lime green heavy suitcase took up most of the space. I stared at the landscape during most of the train ride before boarding the next train. I also took in the landscape of Switzerland on the second train ride. The mountains hug the horizon and the trains that I took were taking me closer to the snowy tops of the looming Alps.

After taking a bus, I finally arrived in Oey, Adelboden. I found a sign for Our Chalet so I started to hike up a  hill. I saw a wooden house but it was not Our Chalet. I kept struggling up the hill and passed some cows and horses. I did not see Our Chalet at all still. I was truly confused and all of the houses looked the same. I sat down on my suitcase near a playground. The slide looked like fun but I was not in the mood. I asked a person walking by if they knew where Our Chalet was but they did not know either. I called Our Chalet and I moved to sit near a cross walk and waited to get picked up. I got a few strange looks though haha. After getting picked up, I found out that I went the opposite direction that I was supposed to. Our Chalet is on the other side of the valley!

This is a picture that I took when I thought I was at Our Chalet but I actually had started climbing the wrong side of the mountain haha