14 July - 14 August 2017

This time I will write about a lot more days, because most days in campsite are starting to be the same and it wouldn't be interesting to read it over and over again. A normal day starts with a thought for the day (TFTD), where we get some information about the day or something later on. Then the campsite staff that work that day gather outside the workshop, take some towels and walk together to the campsite office, where we get a briefing about the day. Every day starts with cleaning of the toiletblocks. We make a handwashing and a power washing team and start cleaning. Since we have a lot of guests the coming weeks, all the toiletblocks are open. The handwashing team cleans the tower, temporary shower block and the Kanderlodge showers, while the powerwashing team cleans the Old Toilet Block (OTB), Uncle Sam's and the Rovergelände. That's sounds like a lot of boring work, what's true somehow, but the highlights of these mornings are driving Angela (the small tractor), the music, the good conversations we have and and last but not least, the friendship between Kristy and me. After cleaning we have a lunchbreak from 12 to 2 PM. We eat a hot meal and most days I just relax a bit in the staffroom or I do a nap. In the afternoon we have a lot of weekly tasks to do, like recycling, cleaning shelters, but also a general walk and check-ins. I like the afternoons more, because of the diversity and the sun getting higher from behind the mountains. We stop working at 5:30 PM and have dinner with all the staff. We're off in the evenings and I spend them with chilling in the staffroom, watching a movie, talk with other people, some crochet or I read a book. Every week we have one and a half days off and I will write about how I spend them and other special moments.

On Friday, the 14th of July, I had an unexpected assessment how to drive Angela, what was quite easy, but also fun. She's a cute, small, blue tractor where we put the trailer with the powerwasher on. It was also the first time I was driving a trailer back into the parking space and it only took me three times to succeed. I think that's pretty good! This evening was also the first time I could join an international campfire, what I really liked. The skits and songs were nice, but the best one was the staff skit. So funny!

On Saturday I was in the Recycle Centre in the morning, what was quite difficult, because there were a lot of small kids who didn't speak English very well. During my lunchbreak I decided to take my bike and make a small trip, what ended in an adventure ;p. I cycled up a road what seemed to be the start of the Cheeseryhike, until the nice viewpoint. After that the nice and wide road turned slowly into a small path with a lot of steps. But of course I didn't give up and took my bike on my shoulders at the places where it was impossible to cycle. And like a miracle I was even back in time! In the evening it was Staff Night Out and we went to the ski jump place, where we slided down in an airtube with about 85 km an hour. Very scaring, but also very cool. I didn't like the steepest part, because I felt like I was going to die, but at that moment there was no way back...

The next day, Lisa had the Sunday Surprise and we did a fun game. We stood in a circle and had to replace the foot that the previous person had touched to one of the next persons feet. This went on until someone touched the floor with something else as his/her feet. That was funny and some people seem to be very flexible. In the evening we didn't join the BBQ, because it was Campsite Night Out and we went to Doris for dinner. We had some nice snacks, followed by a lovely soup. The main course was schnitzels with French fries, what tasted very well! We had a good time together.

Monday was a real cleaningday, also with some deepcleaning and I used the powerwasher a lot until I was completely soaked. And I cleaned one of the waterfountains. Very necessary.

On Tuesday I had my first swap day to catering. I had a PM shift, so I could sleep in. After lunch we cleaned everything from lunch and emptied some trolleys into the freezers and dry store. After that we started cooking dinner and I did the soups and croutons. Apparently some bread was still frozen and when I put it into the breadslicermachine, it got stuck in there. Oeps. So I sliced the rest of the croutons by hand and seasoned them before they went into the oven. After dinner we cleaned everything again and finished before 8 PM, what is a record apparently.

On Thursday I had a morning in the office, what was very quiet, so had enough time to crochet a bit. And I started on the keychain for Ding-Yu, because I'm her Secret Santa for Summer Christmas. In the evening I was roted on the Light Trail, what is a reflective activity, where the guests follow lanterns and think about certain questions. For me it was waiting a long time, so that's why I didn't like it that much.

Saturday the 22nd of July I had my appraisal with Anna (FI), what went quite well and we spoke about how I feel and the goals I had set. I used the same goals as I had set before I left, because I still want to work on them. In the afternoon Josh (ZA) and I went to empty the big ashbin in a record time and as the tradition goes, we made some black stripes on our faces with some ashes. And of course we had a Staff Night Out! On top of the Sunnbuel Cablecar there was a small festival, but it was pouring rain, so I didn't like it very much. We went inside and after a while I went back and because it was already dark we had a nice view over the lights in Kandersteg. Beautiful! Something less fun was that we stopped three times because of the weather, but we could also see a nice thunder behind a mountainridge a bit further away. In Gemmi's it was nice and warm and we (Arthur, Allan, Indy, Nina, Kristy and I) drank a beer and I talked a lot.

By the way, a few days ago during a conversation with Daan, I decided to cycle on to Greece and Poland, like I planned. Because a while ago I was in a bit more sad mood and wanted to go back to the Netherlands and Daan, but he convinced me to finish my trip through Europe and when he finishes his study we will cycle together through another part of the world. I want to discover so much more!

On Sunday I had a longer lunchbreak and in the evening it was my job to be in the woodcompound and recycle centre. It was very quiet, but I had a nice Dutch conversation with an explorer of Haarlem.

I was off on Monday and didn't do something very interesting, because it was raining a lot. I did crochet, watched a movie and in the evening Teresa had convinced me to go to the International Evening. It was fun, but also a lot of people, so I didn't stay long.

The morning of Tuesday was very normal, but in the afternoon my rota said 'special'. Together with Moemi, Belinda, Dhanu and Ariel, I helped packing away the floor from the Sunnbuel festival. It was still raining, but we were pretty fast. When everything was done, we drank some tea and had good conversations. We also got a Swiss Speciality: Kaffe Luz. More alcohol than coffee, but I was a good guest and drank it politely. When we went back down we went through a thick cloud, with nothing else to see than a bit of the cables of the cablecar. So cool!

On Wednesday we watched with a small group the movie 'Die Welle'. A movie about anakratie and a dictatorship in a school. And after that we had a discussion about how this relates to scouting. That was very interesting!

The 27th of July is Daan's birthday and I have a day off. Whoop whoop! Of course I slept in and after I made a packed lunch I went up to the Ueschinental with my bike. It was pretty steep and I took a lot of breaks, because it was also turning hot. Apparently I drove a bit to far, because when I went looking, I could see on top of the Upper Hut, while my goal was actually to go to the Upper Hut itself. Luckily I found the right path a little while later and rested a bit at the hut. And then I went down. Super nice! Three hours up and 20 minutes down.

On Friday I was in the office again in the afternoon and finally it's getting a bit busier. After dinner I was On Call, what meant that I was available to help Duty with campsitestuff, but it wasn't busy. I got some firewood for Dutch people and joined the Campfire. A lot of fun!

On Saturday I was on duty again, so I woke up early and cleaned the Staffroom with Emil and Carly. After that we had normal work and the afternoon was pretty busy, because about 800 people arrived. During duty it was very quiet. I did a check-in, gave out pioneering poles and learned how to turn the light on in one of the shelters. It was even so quiet that I could sit in the staffroom and crochet. At 22:15 Carly and I started the dutywalk along the Kanderlodge and campsites. We had to remember a few groups about quiet time, but with our bikes we were back pretty fast.

On Sunday I was in the Recycle Centre in the morning, what was busy without any time to sit down. I actually only had to be there from 9 to 10 AM, but there was enough to do until 11. After the weekly meeting it was my turn to do the Sunday Surprise and we did Chinese Football, because it's a fun game and I like to do it with the cub scouts.

August 1st was a big day! The national Suisse day and the day Scouting started a long time ago. Whoop whoop! We got a big breakfast and made a packed lunch. After that I helped with cleaning everything away and I had a break from 9 - 10 AM. Good time for a nap! The next hours I was roted at different activities as Cow football, Crafts 3 (making woggles and pins with beads) and renewable energy (a windcar made out of recyclable stuff and burning your name in a piece of wood). It was fun! And I also taught people about solar energy by cooking popcorn with a big solar cooker. After that I had another break, followed by catering. That was pretty chaotic, because I stood at the special dietary requirements, but the communication with the kitchen didn't go that smooth. And it started hailing with a lot of big hailstones. In the evening we had a ceremony with all the groups from the centre and after that we formed a parade to walk to the village. Everyone held a torch and together with a few others I held the WOSM flag. When we arrived at the middle of the village there were some traditional dances and music and we also did something. Five Pinkies went up the stage and said in their own language 'Congratulations Suisse'. And I was one of them! I was a bit afraid for so many people, but I did it and was very proud about that. Of course a good celebration ends with firework! Very nice. We walked back and found the SNICE-surprise. We make groups of ten people and went blindfolded into the building, where we had to follow a red and white band into the SNICE-room. We got icecream, cake and some alcohol free bubbles from the SNICE-guys (SNow and ICE). We talked a bit in the staffroom and went tired to bed.

The next day I was in a very good mood, because Daan would arrive in the evening. Ow yeah! It was a normal day, I was in the office in the afternoon and waiting for him was so long! After work I took a shower and finished my Summer Christmas Present. So beautiful. And then I finally got his message that he had arrived, so I ran outside and gave him a big hug. I had missed him so much. I showed him my room and the staffroom, what was quite awkward, because everyone was staring at us. We pitched the tents and drank a beer and ate some cake in front of them. So nice he's finally here!

And now I have three days off, so nice! On Thursday we relaxed in the morning and went to the Via Ferrata when the sun came through. It costed a lot of energy, but it was very nice and challenging. We climbed about 400 meters on pins, ladders and ropebridges. At the top we rested and drank something at the small restaurant before we took the cablecar back down. In the evening we had a small party at Ikea, the house of Ana, Emil and Daphne, with 'A day at the beach' as theme. That was fun!

Friday it was sunny again and we decided to walk up to the Oeschinensee. The lake is very beautiful, but also very cold, so I went out of it fast, but Daan swam a bit more. After a nice nap, we walked back down through the forest and in the evening I showed Daan what an international campfire is like. Dissapointingly this time there were a lot of repeat-after-me-songs and not a lot of skits. But the staff skit was nice!

On Saturday we went out of the valley and drove to Broc. That's the place where The Chocolatefactory of Suisse, Cailler, is placed. We did a tour through the factory, where we learned something about the history and how the chocolate is maked. And at the end there was a tasting with about eight different kinds of chocolate. Delicious! For lunch we went to the small village of Gruyères and we ate a Quatro Formaggio pizza, with Gruyère. We walked around a bit and on the foot of the hill we visited the cheesefactory and learned how the Gruyère is made. A day with a lot of tasting and nice food. We drove back to Spiez, where we walked down to the harbor for dinner. We were still full of the chocolate and cheese and had struggles to finis our plates ;p. I drove back to Kandersteg, where we drank a beer at the tent and slept in.

We woke up early on Sunday, because Daan had to drive back and I had to work at 8 AM. We hugged each other for a long time and after TFTD, I could sneek out and give him a kiss, before he really took off. The rest of the day I felt very sad, but time went fast.

Tuesday was a weird day. I felt a bit sick, because I think I got a cold of the changing weather every time, but I was off until 12:30. After that I started the daily tasks and Josh explained me about the special GLMW check-ins. We are working until 8 PM, because there are about 22 check-ins today, way more than normally. At the moment I was waiting for dinner I got called away for a check-in and after that we were still busy with renting out gas bottles. Later on I finally had dinner and after that I visited the St. Jozef group from Leiden and we talked a bit.

Wednesday the 9th of August was my birthday. Whoohoo! I had a day off and slept in of course. After breakfast I called mom. Very nice! After lunch Kristy, Sixtine and I watched a movie and at 15:55 we took the bus into the village to go to Marmottes, a small bakery with a tearoom. Nina, Teresa, Dani and Albie joined us and we ate some nice pieces of cake. Delicious! After dinner we finished the movie and I drank one of the beers Daan had brought. A really nice and relaxed day.

On Thursday I was a very cold and rainy day, but luckily it was dry when I did the Light Trail and luckily this time the waiting was less long. I took a nice, hot shower afterwards and went tired to my bed.

The next day I slept in, because I had to be in the woodcompound and recycle centre in the evening, what was pretty busy.

And Saturday was Staff Night Out! This time we had a pub quiz, but when we started Arthur came to ask for help. He was On Call and apparently a group needed tents that were still hanging in the Workhof. So we folded them and then I joined the SNO again. I was part of the team called 'Sir Nathan of Colombia, Third of his name, King of Bunderspitz, Master of Heights and Father of all centre cats'. (Maybe a bit inspired bij Game of Thrones.) And believe it or not, but we won! Whoohoo!

On Sunday we got some help from a few English kids when we were cleaning, what was actually very nice. In the evening I called Daan, super nice. After that I went to the white guest kitchen, because it was Nathaniels last night and we made french crêpes. We had a good time and it was a nice way to say goodbye.

Monday I was off again and I said goodbye to Nathaniel at TFTD and after that I designed the Dutch word for Welcome to put it on the wall in the tunnel. After that I did a nap and later I went with my bike in the direction of the Oeschinensee, because I wanted to get out of the centre and enjoy the nature. I enjoyed lunch on a blanket and listened to the birds and the waterfall. I even saw a squirrel!