To Whom It May Concern:

Oh, Pennsylvania

2008-07-29T14:07:00.000-07:00

I'm on my way home.

I am not sure how I feel about it yet, but I am now officially on American soil in Philly... and not that happy about it. But I am sure once I get to Florida and see my family, friends, and Jordan, I will be happy about it.

I'm in the airport, and I'm not supposed to get free internet. Dylan and Haley both aren't able to connect without a pop-up coming up asking them for credit card info. But I was able to connect automatically for free. Buahahaha!

It's stinkin hot in this airport. and everyone speaks English. I hate it.

Okay, so I lied.

2008-07-25T05:02:00.000-07:00

These kids are far from angels.

They are actually the worst group we've had yet.

That sucks.

I don't like them. Neither does Rob.

They are mean. and disobedient.

I will not miss them.

(sorry this post was mean and sounded like it was written by a 5-year-old)

ejfsehfguser

2008-07-23T15:10:00.000-07:00

No, that's not a word in French. It's my frustrations written out on paper.

I just read the crappiest book.

It's called "Dear John" by Nicholas Sparks.

I won't ruin it for anyone who wants to read it, but just know that I am highly UN-recommending it.

So this has nothing to do with Switzerland, but

2008-07-22T06:29:00.000-07:00

I am making myself a "To Do" list for when I get home:

-Buy a new hair straightener (Mine blew up from the European outlets...)

-Go see Wall-E and Dark Knight

-Go to church. I stinkin miss church.

-Teach everyone I know how to play 1000 miles

-Go on many dates with my boyfriend

-See Kelli, Erin, Allison, and all my other friends that will be in FL when I get back.

-Pedicure. please.

-Hair appointment. please.

-EAT CHICK-FIL-A, SONIC, CRISPERS, and APPLEBEES 1/2 off appetizers.

-Drive.

-Purchase/read "Breaking Dawn" (the 4th book of the Twilight series)

-Put my cash money that I've made here into the bank.

-Give everyone their souvenirs that I bought them.

lalallalaal

I'll add to it as I remember things.

I think I'll start it over, where no one knows my name.

2008-07-20T14:19:00.000-07:00

The new group of kids arrived today, all 5 of them. Yep. You read correctly. We went from 6 kids, to 26 kids, to 14 kids, to a whopping 5 kids. I'm not complaining, but I'm not that enthused either. While 26 kids are harder to handle, 5 kids are harder to entertain, whereas with more, they entertain themselves. Out of the five, three are girls. They are very very sweet... so far. The bad part is, none of them speak a lick of English. With the last 3 groups, we've had at least one child who spoke English fluently and was able to translate. Now our communication is limited to hand motions and one word sentences. It usually goes something like this:

"You" ::I point to them:: "put on" ::I pick up shoes and point to their feet:: "shoes"

It usually works. It only fails when the sentence gets a little more complicated. That is when I go find Remi, who then translates for me.

So if things keep going at this rate, this group should be a piece of cake. Bedtime is "supposed" to be at 9:30, but in the past bedtime has slowly become later and later, even as late as midnight. But not tonight. At 9:45 we peeked in the girls' room and they were in bed with the lights off! A MIRACLE! We didn't even ask them to go to bed. They just did. Amazing.

J'ai de la peine

2008-07-19T02:07:00.000-07:00

It's so quiet in the chalet. No little foot steps pitter-pattering across the slick, squeaky floor, no high pitched giggles sounding from the rooms, no pink tooth brushes scattered randomly around the bathroom, and most of all, no more little girls coming in my room just to see what I'm doing. Today pieces of my heart were dispersed to different parts of Europe. Some of it to Geneva, some of it to Paris, some of it to other parts of France and Switzerland. I didn't think I would miss some of them, but now that they're gone I can't help but admit that I wish that bus would turn around and come back for another week, even the ones I'm not too fond of. The majority of the girls are flying out today. We jammed 7 girls, roughly 13 suitcases, a dog, and the bus driver and his wife into a tiny bus to head for the Geneva airport. Before they left, they all gave me a huge hug and kisses on both cheeks (the French are very kissy). I could tell some of them were getting teary eyed. I'm going to miss those girls.

The bus almost left without Mathilda - she couldn't shut her suitcase. Haley and I had to take everything out, roll all of it up, and literally sit on the bag to zip it. She didn't even wear 90% of the clothing the whole two weeks she was here. A true girl, really.

Haley and I wrote them all notes last night, asked them for their emails, and gave them little princess necklaces. The necklaces weren't much, especially considering these kids are from extremely wealthy families (most of their parents rolled up in Mercedes, BMW's, and Range Rovers), but you would have thought they just received diamond necklaces. I think they liked the fact that they were from us. Remi told us this morning they were raving on and on about their brand new prized possessions in French.

One of the best days I have had, as of yet, was two days ago. The beginning of the day was slow. It was rainy, cold, and wet, therefore our plans to play soccer and have a relay race were scratched. We tried to find things to do inside, but it's hard to keep 9-year olds occupied in an old chalet without electronics for 4 hours. Then Olivier came to our rescue. He said, "Who wants to go get muddy?" And in an instant the kids eyes lit up, and there was a stampede of children running to grab shoes, jackets, and k-ways (rain coats in French). Next thing I knew, I was outside walking up a trail in the freezing cold. At that moment, the idea didn't seem so bright. I was hiking up a steep mountain that looked like it belonged on "The Sound of Music." I was tired. I was soaked. I was freezing. I was out of breath. When we finally got to the top, Olivier said, "Okay, now roll." We then all proceeded to roll down one of the Swiss Alps in the rain. Needless to say, it was phenomenal. After we got to the bottom Olivier's dog, Chai, a white retriever, (I suppose that's what she is. She looks exactly like a golden retriever, but she's snow white) came to our "rescue," which, in turn, meant trampling on us and trying to drag us back up the mountain with her teeth. We ended up playing freeze tag, and another game where everyone holds hands and runs around as fast as possible. What ends up happening is, because of the incline and wet grass, people start slipping, falling down, and tumbling down the mountain. Of all the people, my fall down the mountain was the best, according to the kids. After playing many wearing games, I just sat down on the side of the mountain overlooking the sun setting on lake Geneva and watched clouds pass right before my eyes while rain fell all around me. It was one of those serene, dazzling moments that makes you not want to take another breath in fear that it will all go away. Between the fun and astonishment, I forgot that I was cold, wet, and exhausted. It was beautiful.

When we came inside, everyone obviously wanted showers. And obviously, 20 people getting showers at once isn't the best of situations, especially for the 19th and 20th person. So everyone was limited to a 5 minute shower. After everyone was clean and had pajamas on, we all went to the study and sat around the fireplace while Olivier, Rob, and David played music for us. The only lighting we had was a small lamp and the fire. Again, I felt the same peaceful feeling I felt on the mountain, though it was a bit different. This time I was in awe of how cool these kids really are.

Well now that the kids are gone, I am officially off work until tomorrow when a new group arrives. I'll be lucky if they're even half as cool as the last group.

Encore?

2008-07-16T02:01:00.000-07:00

Today Emmanuel is thinking about going back to the public pool. This will make four times that we've been now, and it will make three times that I refuse to get in. As fun as it may be to swim in a pool full of bodily secretions, see old, saggy senior citizens in string bikinis and speedos, and women taking off their tops, ever since that first incident with the sunken poo, I haven't been able to bring myself to set foot back in a public pool. I told one of the girls, Johanna, about the incident while at the pool yesterday, and it stopped her from going in all day. I'm highly considering telling all the kids today in order to change their hearts about the public pool. We'll see how it goes.

We also went to the castle of Chillon yesterday. It was the third time I've been, but I was just as fascinated this time as I was the first. The kids, on the other hand, were not fascinated at all. They said they don't understand what is so cool about an "old, worn down castle that no one lives in anymore." I'm sure

it's something that just comes with age, though. At 11 years-old I, too, would probably feel the same way. Especially when I knew that after I walked around the rundown castle and pretended to be interested for an hour or two, it meant I could then

go swim in the "public pool."

So maybe I'll post a few pictures since my posts are becoming so few and far between, and are probably pretty boring.

This would be me

getting slaughtered by

kids with pillows

Group Photo

Everybody say "Fromage!"

Carlo is freezing at the

public pool

so i had more pictures, but the rest were taking way toooo long to upload. sorry.

NOT FUNNNNYYYY

2008-07-15T14:59:00.000-07:00

I'm camping out.
And no, I don't mean in the beautiful Alpine wilderness beneath the brilliant sky where stars are recklessly scattered like freckles upon the face of our universe.
No.
I am camping out in my room, in my bed, in my tent - made of pillows, sheets, and my comforter.
"Why?," you ask.
I'll be happy to tell you-
Because my wonderful friend, Haley, is trying to take pictures of me.
I blow dried my hair, therefore it's pretty crazy looking, and I also have make up running down my face from taking a shower.
You think it sounds scary?
You're right.
But it looks way scarier than it sounds.
And apparently, I'm not the only one who thinks that.
But I am the only one who feels it should not be broadcast to the entire world via facebook.

So, Haley Harmeling, this is for you...

Speaking of Haley Harmeling, she is making me look bad when it comes to blogging. She's been posting more often, and her posts are much more detailed and thought provoking. I just can't hold a candle to her... But I will second something that she mentioned. She said something along the lines of French people not being very friendly, and since I, too, feel the same way (I actually feel very strongly the same way) I decided to restate it. They just aren't very cordial or welcoming, I suppose. They aren't the type to go out of their way to make sure you feel comfortable.

For instance, I did laundry today, and while I was down there putting my clothes in the dryer, another lady was putting her clothes in a separate washer. I had a lot of jeans, so I was pretty sure they would need to run through 2 cycles in the dryer in order to dry all the way. (There is only one dryer.) After that, I had to leave for lunch. I returned 2 hours later to find my clothes laying in a hamper, still wet. Now is it just me, or would the normal person notice that my clothes were wet when they took them out of the dryer, and possibly after drying their own clothes and taking them out, think to put my clothes back in so they would not mildew? Maybe that's just me. So I ended up having to redo my clothes.

It may sound like I am complaining, but it's just my observation, really.

Okay, I'm already getting sleepy. I'll write again later... haha I suck at this blogging thing.

"They don't eat a lot of cake here"

2008-07-13T14:50:00.000-07:00

I just looked at haley and said "You know, sometimes I forget that I'm in europe." To most people, that is probably a stupid statement. And you're right. How can you forget that you're in a foreign country, with big mountains that look nothing like home, and people speaking a totally different language? It's weird. I can't explain it, but haley understood and agreed.

Exciting news: I've had 3 French people tell me in the past week that I have a very good accent and speak the language well. I was talking to a little girl and said something to her in French, and Remi turned around and said, "Was that you talking to her?" and when I told him that is was, he said, "Wow! You sounded really French! I would have never known you were American just now!" And then one of the little girls today, after I told her to "sit down please" in French, said, "You have very good accent. Good job!" hahaha! ok so maybe it's not exciting to you, but it was a very big accomplishment for me! I'm patting myself on the back as we speak :)

I am really going to miss the kids a lot more than I think I will at the moment. I absolutely LOVE listening to the kids speak to me and each other in French. I can't even describe it. I like it better than listening to adults, that's for sure. which brings me to my next point -

I am also really going to miss people speaking in French all around me. I've become so used to it. When I first arrived, I was in awe. I would just sit back and eavesdrop on every French conversation I could because I thought it was so beautiful. I still think it's very beautiful, but now instead of it being a novelty, it gives me a sense of ease, like I'm at home. If that makes sense? Now when I listen to it, I can understand a lot of it, or at least get the main gist of what they're talking about. And it's like a shock when I pass someone on the street that speaks English. It will be weird going home, in that respect, where everyone speaks my language again. It will be bittersweet.

oh, p.s.

2008-07-12T06:48:00.000-07:00

Last night we had a going away party for the kids leaving today. The party consisted of packing 26 kids (who don't wear deodorant), 6 counselors, and crazy lohan into a small room with no AC for a dance party. It was hilarious. We connected our iPods to the speakers and DJed. Rob put on some hardcore, and we broke out the hardcore dancing. The kids were scared. hahah! The kids dancing really made me laugh. Lohan then proceeded to flicker the lamp on and off frantically in order to imitate a strobe light, needless to say, it didn't work. There was also a pillow fight, in which I was practically beat to the floor. We have pictures. You will laugh.

poubelle.

2008-07-12T06:13:00.000-07:00

Apparently I am not updating this enough. Haha! It is very rare that I have even an hour to myself during the week, other than when I sleep. But today is my first day off in a week.

It's been pretty rainy lately, but the rain here is a lot cooler than when it rains in florida.

So a bunch of kids left today. I am so relieved. Although, all the ones that left are the ones I liked! The ones that are staying are... well... the ones I probably wouldn't have been too sad about. Oh well.

It's weird because so much has happened, but I still can't really think of anything to tell you.

Oh wait... Here's something. So we have this crazy, wacky, kinda gay, but kinda "out of it" bus driver/photographer named Lohan. Haley and I usually sit up in the front of the bus next to him. He seriously says the most random things... ever. His english is kinda off, which makes it even funnier. Apparently, last night he stayed out till 5:30am drinking, and so needless to say, he had a hangover today. So 16 kids, Lohan, Haley, and I are driving down to breakfast today, when Lohan looks at us and grins. Then he says, "Today, we die." and Haley and I look at each other, partially in fear, partially to hide our laughter. Then he says "I'm drunk! AND I can't see because it's foggy outside." and he proceeds to laugh this really annoying, freaky, gay laugh. I was scared. - I'll have to post a picture of him if I can find one.

Ok I am pretty tired of typing now. So that means .. NAP TIME FOR ME :)

peach, apple, pear, apricot

2008-07-09T11:55:00.000-07:00

so this was taken at the top of the mountain that we hiked up today. and no, there's not an english version. welcome to my life.

hiking through the alps with 26 kids and a crazy leader is basically a death wish. the trails were so narrow and we were on a cliff. looking down was quite unnerving. i was just waiting for a kid to drop off the side of the cliff. luckily we made it alive, and my calves are now beastly.

today we taught remi, the 19-year-old counselor from france, the story behind "that's what she said". he was wondering why we said it all the time, and after we told him he died laughing. but, we've created a monster because now he says it all the time, even when it doesn't apply!

haley and i are in charge of all 13 girls. we are responsible for waking them in the morning, making sure they are dressed, getting them to breakfast, putting them to bed, making sure they shower, etc. etc. well last night was pretty much hell in a hand basket. they refused to sleep and were being completely disrespectful and disobedient. gahhh! i hope tonight is different.

you know what's annoying? when you're sitting in a group of people who all know french and english, and they are conversing with each in french. therefore, you do not understand. so you just sit there in silence while they go on and on and on. and they laugh, but you don't. and they smile, but you don't because you have no idea what they are saying. wouldn't the polite thing to do be to speak in the language everyone knows? and include everyone in the conversation? especially when you are all sitting at the same table?... the majority of people who read this won't be able to relate. nuts.

i learned a french song today. it's about fruit. exciting, right?

je t'aime

2008-07-07T12:05:00.000-07:00

holy cow.

it's getting harder and harder to find time to post a long, detailed update. there's just too much to say, and not enough time. but i'll try with the time that i have.

so our days are getting more and more packed. to be honest, i'm getting a little burnt out. not in a bad way to where i don't like what i'm doing, but in an exhausting, impatient kind of way. it's funny because when i'm around some of the kids i can't wait to get away, but when i'm away from them i miss them. we just inherited about 20 more children yesterday, and my patience have been tested to say the least.... actually, it's more like my patience have been hijacked. there are 3 12-13 year old girls who are the loud, "i need to spend an hour in the bathroom", disobedient, "i want to flirt with all the boys (even the counselors)" type... just the type that drive me bonkers. other than that, i pretty much enjoy being around all the other kids. there are 4 little girls who are all friends named eva, lou, emily, and sophie and they have all stolen my heart. they are the most precious, sweet natured little girls i've ever met. i won't admit to showing favoritism to them, but i'm not denying it either.

all in all, though, i absolutely love what i'm doing. i love being here in beautiful switzerland, i love the culture, i love the language, i love playing with kids, i love the people i'm with... etc. etc. i can't complain. plus, i got paid last night :)

it's funny, because emmanuel was talking to my parents last night and told them that he could tell we loved Jesus. he said he admired us because, unlike him, we were not forced to go to church. he said he finds it cool that, even after we became adults and had a choice, we still chose to believe. interesting.

ok it is almost time for bed. but i will write again soon hopefully.... if they don't kill me first ;)

brace yourselves.

2008-07-06T05:08:00.000-07:00

a whole tsunami of new kids are coming today.

we are going from 6 kids to 25.

holy MERDE!

enfants

2008-07-04T05:08:00.002-07:00

Marilou, 8

Vittoria, 9

Amira, 6

(Haley and I's favorite)

Sabastian, 10

Guy, 12

Guy in red (pronounced GEE, like the G in Game)

Tania in the white

Sabastian in the blue

Amira in yellow

mmm...

2008-07-03T14:44:00.000-07:00

Movenpick :)

The world's #1 rated ice cream... Made in Switzerland.

need i say more?

moo?

2008-07-02T10:17:00.000-07:00

Fact #1. In Switzerland people put LOUD bells on their cows so their cows don't get lost. (You know, the cow bells you see on all Swiss souvenirs?)

Fact #2. The chalet we live in doesn't run the air conditioner because the majority of the time, it's cool enough outside to keep the inside cold, even in the Summer.

Fact #3. Haley and I keep our windows open at night so we don't burn up.

Does anyone else see how this could be a problem?

______________________________________________

Well, I have not the time for a detailed post, so we'll do a run down of recent activities and events:

1. The kids absolutely LOVE the game "Duck, Duck, Goose." We have no idea why, but it is all they talk about. And I am NOT exaggerating.

2. I hate climbing up this stupid mountain every day.

3. Rob arrived today.

4. Apparently, anmial sounds in Switzerland are not the same as American animal sounds.

5. Most importantly, I miss Jordan Vale a ridiculous amount.

6. I made a duck out of clay today.

7. Haley and I moved to another room today without telling anyone.

8. Tomorrow we hike up the mountain. Someone shoot me now.

9. The kids made me sing for them last night. We also taught them some pretty groovy American songs such as "Do Your Ears Hang Low?", "Head Shoulders Knees and Toes", and "Father Abraham." After all that, all they wanted to hear was "Hotel California" by the Eagles.... Ya win some, ya lose some :/

10. Gotta go, music time :)

precisely.

2008-07-01T10:19:00.000-07:00

Today we took the kids swimming in a public pool.

We found poop at the bottom.

This is why I hate public pools.

Enchante

2008-06-30T14:12:00.000-07:00

The kids have a new game they like to play. They say, "Repeat after me: (insert some unknown French sentence here ) " And being the gullible, stupid Americans that we are, we, most of the time, repeat what they say. You would think we would know by the way they snicker and whisper to each other right after they tell us, that what they just said must be something either inappropriate or insulting, but we still say it anyway. For example, today I told a man he was "as hairy as a monkey" and David told Emmanuel that he thought he was very beautiful and wanted to marry him. But no, it gets worse. After some curse words and dirty phrases we decided that was it. We were done being the brunt of their silly jokes and being made fools of, too bad it took us 45 minutes to realize that :/

I've learned a ridiculous amount of French in the last few days though. A lot of it came from the silly game I just talked about, as dumb as it was. But you find that when you have 6 kids to take care of, and the only thing they respond to is another language, you learn that language very quickly. I have found myself even speaking to the children in a French accent even when I'm speaking English. For some reason I feel like if I say English words as they do, with an accent, they will understand me better.

Bonjour!

2008-06-29T03:40:00.000-07:00

Haley finally got here! I'm very glad she is here because I was beginning to get lonely in my little room. She had a heck of a time getting here, though, but that is a whole different story for another day. I was very worried about her, but her is a big girl :)

While waiting for her at the train station last night, Emmanuel (the man running the camp) and I sat on a bench and had French 101. He would point to different objects and tell me how to say it in French. I learned to say a lot of words that are probably useless to me, but that's okay. There was another guy sitting next to us who was listening to our conversation. He was laughing at me when I would try to pronounce the words. Apparently, my French accent needs a little work :/

The kids come today. I don't know if I'm happy about it or not! hahaha! No, I'm kidding. It will be an experience, that's for sure.

Oh, blogs!

2008-06-27T12:08:00.000-07:00

This brings back so many memories of when I was in the 9th grade and had a livejournal. Hopefully there will be an apparent difference between my entries as a 15-year-old compared to my entries now, as a 20-year-old. I've been contemplating blogging again for a while now, and after much deliberation, I have decided to re-enter the wonderful e-world of blogs. Not because I really want the world to know, but more for myself, and so I can reminisce later (and more than likely make fun of myself). Such a commitment, I tell you! With that said...

DISCLAIMER: I am not promising to update consistently. I also refuse to try too hard to sound sophisticated and use bulky words, for that's just too much work. I write as I think. Therefore, I am not making any promises that this will be deep, important, educational, or entertaining. All I am agreeing to is that here you will find my heart, my feelings, my thoughts (however interesting that may be), and very very random stories/facts that probably only I will find amusing.

Now that that is all out of the way... on to the.. good stuff? So I arrived in Montreux, Switzerland on Monday the 23rd, and oh my!

My first thought as I sat atop the mountain and gazed at the view from my window: "God has such an incredible imagination"

My second thought: "That's it. I'm never going home."

But really. He is so creative. This place is so majestic. And until I get a picture up here, my only way of describing it to you would be to imagine opening the storybook of "Hansel and Gretel" (for some reason I always imagined it in a Swiss setting?) and stepping inside the pages. It almost makes me wish that I enjoyed taking pictures because I am in a photographer's paradise. Even so, my stinky camera would never do this place justice. But yea... Thanks, God, for putting everything back into perspective.

So in case you didn't already know, I will be living here for the whole month of July working as a camp counselor. The catch is, we do not speak the same language as the enfants (kids in french :]). They know no English, just as we know no French. To most, this may appear to be a dilemma. To me, this is the best type of counselor you can be. Just think... A 7-year-old whining and complaining to you in English, compared to a 7-year-old whining and complaining to you in French. Though I don't understand a lick of it, I find French to be the most beautiful language. So whether the child is complaining about the heat vs. raving about how wonderful the banana/chocolate crepes are, it all sounds the same to me - music to my ears :) On the other hand, I can only pray the day never comes when a child runs to me, and in French says "My best friend just fell of a cliff!", and I respond with a big grin, an "adda boy," and a brisk pat on the back.

Something else I find amazing: All the different languages I am constantly around. I have become well acquainted with the staff here at the chalet, restaurant, and hotel. (they are all owned/run by the same man who is running the camp) Technically, I am part of the staff now. They are all very nice, or at least I think they are, though I can't understand half of the things they say. The majority of them can speak English fluently, but they can also speak 4 other languages fluently as well. So at least what they say in English is nice. Who knows what they are saying in French? Italian? Spanish? Portuguese? German? Seriously though, I am astounded at the man who is running the camp. He speaks every single one of these languages. It makes me feel so uncultured and, well, stupid to be honest. It is very cool, though, to be part of this staff which is made up of so many different nationalities. Other than the owners, the majority of the staff is made up of people my age. There are 3 people from Zimbabwe, 2 of which are girls whom I have become closest with because they speak English the best, are my age, and are girls.

My French vocabulary thus far (but is not limited to) is as follows:

hello - "Bonjour"

good-bye - "Au Revoir"

Thank you - "Merci"

Please - "S'il vous plait"

Do you speak English? - "Parlez-vous anglais?"

The F-word, the SH-word, and the D-word - the same as they sound in the U.S. ( apparently American curse words are international)

::more to come::

I suppose that is enough, if not too much, for my first entry. Time to read my book :)

bye! adeus! au revoir! ciao!