Campfire at Our Chalet

A few important and awesome things have happened since last I wrote:

1. I moved from the little red tent of death into Stöckli, the staff house (where I now room with the lovely Canadian Heather) (yes, my part of the room is just as terrible as you imagine it is) (don`t judge me)

2. Climbed two mountains, including an entirely unnecessary side of one mountain when I got horribly lost. My childhood orienteering practice clearly did not prepare me for this.

3. I dived into an Alpine lake surrounded by patches of snow, which was colder and more invigorating than anything I have yet experienced and/or hopefully will ever experience again.

4. Yesterday as part of our staff training we went to Interlaken (about an hour from Adelboden) which included exploring 10 waterfalls, making fun of the Hooters restaurant we saw on the main street, and hanging out at a chocolate factory.

Better than any of the above, though, was a recent campfire we had here at Our Chalet. The only time I really get homesick here is when we have campfire, and it`s because I can`t help but miss the people and songs that have surrounded me every campfire since I was 12. Tonight, half a world away at Camp Tanglefoot up in northern Iowa, my Girl Scout BFFs will sings songs and burn things and enjoy each other`s company, and it`s definitely difficult not to be with them. Apart from anything else, I like the nightly struggle to find functioning matches and non-damp wood. Searching time is bonding time.

A few days ago we had 30+ Girl Guides ages 11-15 who were visiting from England for just one day on their way around Switzerland. We led crafts with them, played a few games, and taught them a song or two, which was particularly amusing since they spent a good amount of time trying to mimic American accents on the call-and-repeat songs. It was a pretty cool group of girls, full of the excitement, self-consiousness, cockiness, humor and awareness that generally accompanies that age. While I pretended to understand the craft I was teaching them, we chatted about The Hunger Games ("Peeta`s really hot!"), school ("Why do you call University 'college'?") and what they want to be when they grow up ("Prime Minister! ...Or an actress.").

The group was late coming to campfire in the evening, and I was quite dissapointed by everyone`s ambivalence towards canceling, especially since 13-year-old Cate would have been heart broken if she had gone all the way to a Girl Scout World Centre and had not had a campfire. In the end, though, thanks in part to my ability to guilt people into doing the right thing, we had the campfire when the girls showed up.

We listened to an Alpine horn player and sang along with him, and we sang a lot of really funny, active, wonderful songs that sounded super posh in that Surrey accent. Also, it turns out that adult Girl Scouts and Guides ALL OVER THE WORLD hate the Moose song (you know the one, and if you don't, I'm not teaching you) but we are all really good at acting like we like it anyway. The best bit, though, was the last song before Taps when the assistant program manager, Rhianna, stepped forward to begin a simple piece called "One Voice Singing."

She started the song standing alone, and bit by bit, each of us stood and joined, ending with all of us in a circle singing in unison. The lyrics and tune are nothing special, just, essentially, "We are one voice and we are singing...we are not alone," but the song brought tears to my eyes because I could feel the change in the room as the girls recognized that they were part of something bigger than themselves. Rhianna prefaced the song by telling the girls that they were part of the 10 million girls who make up Girl Guiding and Scouting and that they each had with them the power to make a difference, to make the world a better place. This, to me, is what scouting is all about- the recognition that you have a place in the world and the power to change it. These Girl Guides went from their silly songs about fishing right into young women who understood this international community and the responsibility they have as members, and it was honestly one of the most amazing things to witness.

Of course, once the campfire was over, they went back to their regular, semi-mature, semi-mob mentality selves on their way out the door, but I feel lucky to be part of such a community that gives girls the opportunity to see themselves as something more, even if only for a moment.