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17 - 24 June 2017
The training is still going on, but the end is near. I really like this place and the people.
On Saturday we had more training sessions and the most interesting one was the one about checking guests in and out. We also had a session about Child Safety from a native English speaker. Normally I have no problem to understand English speaking people, but this time he was going very fast, so I think not everybody understood everything. Luckily I had information about this before and I could read his PowerPoint presentation. After lunch it was time to hike to the Upper Hut (owned by KISC). The Mountain Hares walked with Pani (ES) and every now and then something happened. We had a twisted ankle, difficulty with breathing, afraid of hights, but the funniest one was when Teresa acted that she was angry, tired and didn't want to go any further. Dhanu was leading, but I didn't think he understood the situation, because he started to unpack his selfiestick instead of helping her and everybody else asked him surprised what he was doing. It was apparently time to make a selfie. At that moment confusing, but later very funny. A little while after that we arrived at the hut and had a nice dinner and an even nicer campfire.
I didn't sleep very well, but the idea of climbing gave me a lot of energy. We climbed the Milkrock in the morning, what I really liked. We also got some information about the different guided hikes and where to find the different places everybody was talking about. Very useful. After lunch we climbed the Morningrock (has this name because the guests climb it in the morning) and belaying went very well. Like I do it every day. After that we walked back to KISC without any special occasions, but we had a good time together. During dinner I talked with two Dutch guests and in the evening I finally crochet a bit. It's already going to look more like the Spanish flag.
On Monday we had more training about check-ins at the campsite, how to use the different phones here and about the procedures when an accident happens. During lunchbreak we had a fire drill, what didn't went very well, because we missed a couple Staff members who were hiding themselves. Hopefully it will go better the next time! In the afternoon we had more training about the history of KISC and the daily cleaning in the Chalet. And in the evening we were off, so I relaxed a bit, did some crochet and watched a movie.
I was the patrolleader at Tuesday and we had more training about different subjects. The most interesting one, was the one with the front office roleplay, where we had to solve some 'questions' from customers aka someone else from your patrol. I also cycled a bit in the long break, because I wanted some movement in my body. After that we had a conversation with someone of the SMT (Senior Management Team) about how we felt and our preferences about the team we would like to work in. That was a really difficult choice, because one day I felt more like campsite and the other day I was more excited about climbing guides. In the end, I put campsite on one, climbing guide on two and chalet services on three, because I learned that I really liked it to work outside. After everyone had had the conversation, we learned about some activities in the ECO Programme. We had a lot of fun with the juicinator and creating a wind energy car out of recyclable materials. After dinner I was talking outside with Teresa, when the fire alarm went off again. We had to search at the Top Floor New Chalet, where we found Matthew wrapped in blankets. Apparently some people hadn't searched good enough, because we were still missing some Staff Members. So this isn't the last drill yet.
Whooohooo! Wednesday is Glacier Walk Day and I'm very excited about that. We woke up early to catch the bus that brought us over a small mountainroad to Selden in the Gasterntal. From there we hiked up to the Gfellalp Hut, where we had a wonderful view over the valley and the Kanderglacier. We walked further up and soon we reached the snow. Very strange to see snow in the summer. We used our ice axes to cross it and after a little while we reached the real glacier. I really liked it. At the Lötschenpashutte we ate a very delicious piece of chocolatecake (and some lunch). The route down was very beautiful as well and after we reached the first village we joined the other group. But we also had to be in time for the bus, so I felt like we were running down. There I found out that my knees are not used to that kind of activities, but with some tears I'm my eyes and a lot of mental strength I reached the busstop. In time! It brought us to the trainstation where we took a train back through the tunnel to the village of Kandersteg. At the pool we had a Wet and Wild Staff Night Out, with barbecue, but I was to tired and exhausted to enjoy it and felt asleep. So I went back early to enjoy my bed.
I slept very well and I was ready for the last trainingsday. We had a First Aid training, receptiontraining and more information about Duty. After lunch we went through our agreement and we had half an hour free. Good time for another Fire Drill. How unexpected. Not. Luckily it went better this time, but it's still not the last one. After that we played the keygame, where we had to answer questions thoughout the chalet and, of course, use our keys. We also made a staff pact where we set some rules to live by with each other. And last but not least it was time for the very last (secret) trainingssession. I can't tell anything about it, but it was very inspiring.
Friday was the first day in our new teams. So exciting! After TFTD, everyone had a note in their pigeonhole with a small note in which department you are placed. I'm in Campsite. And very happy about that! Together with Teresa, Kristy, Arthur, Nathan (UK), Ariël, Felipe and Tiago we are going to make it an unforgettable summer. Lisa, Naomi and Josh are the Long Term Staff we will work with every day. We gathered at the Workshop, like we will do the next following months, and played a sort of CSI game, to get to know the campsite a bit better. Nice! For lunch we drove with the van to a playground close to the Oeschinensee, where we enjoyed a nice BBQ and got some more information about the work on campsite. When we were back at the chalet, Teresa and I checked the size for the pictures on our bicyclewheel Staffboard. And because we are a lot of people, the pictures can only be 4 by 4 cm. Very small, but it's going to be all right. There was a party in the woods in the evening and I socialized a bit with the other people and talked about our first day in teams.
And on Saturday we had a day off again. I tried to sleep in, but I woke up at 8 AM. I relaxed a lot in the morning and in the afternoon I decided to leave KISC for a while. I cycled all the way up to the Gasterntal, uphill was pretty tough, but not that bad without luggage. I cycled as far as I could and stopped where the road transformed into an alpine path. I wrote a bit for my blog, but soon it started to be dark, cloudy and cold, so I cycled back. That wasn't very nice, because that remembered me to replace my brake pads.... but luckily for me I made it back in one piece. After dinner we had time to finish the Staffboard. I made the background and attached the pictures together with the others. We finished even before 10 PM and I was very happy with that, because the deadline was the next day at TFTD and the last days I thought we were not going to make it. Apparently it's a sort of record to finish the board before the deadline. So proud!
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