Switzerland Snow Challenge
It was a hard decision for me to go on this trip. My 10 years old hearing aids are currently very fragile, and I had feared that I would lose them before the new hearing aids would arrive. We were not allowed to bring our gadgets, which was hard for me, because if there was a problem, I would tell my mom. But I decided to face my fears and go and do this trip. Switzerland Snow Challenge is a trip where 32 students from the whole 10the grade would go and do some leadership training in the snow. We would go hiking around and do some challenges that involve leadership roles. When I got an email from the counselor, that I had one of the places of 32 places to participate in this challenge. It took a while for me to think about it and I had asked a lot of questions before I decided to do this trip.
On the first day, I was very nervous. I woke up at around 5:30 getting ready. I was almost late, but I made it sharp at 7. I felt ready to go. When I got on the bus, I knew I would be okay because everyone was excited and friendly. We got on the road and there was lots of laughter, people sleeping and talking. We were all bored because we didn't have our gadgets. But it was better without them because they would help us make new friends and talk to new people. I remember when I was on the bus, I started to miss my family. I was wondering what they were doing while I was away. My friend and I decided to play a game, where one person is going to say 7 random objects while the other person would have to draw a scenery with those objects. We ended up enjoying it and decided to do it the whole 7 hours bus ride. When we reached, we were all so excited. It was so cold but sunny. We went on a sky train that would take us up the mountain and take us close to our chalet. When I saw how deep the snow was, I knew it would be a challenge for me. We hiked down to our chalet, and it was so slippery and scary for a beginner hiker like me. Once I entered the chalet, it was a small 2-floor house where there was a cafeteria, kitchen, 2 girl bedrooms, 2 boy bedrooms, and one boy's bathroom and one girl's bathroom. It was pretty comfortable but cold inside.
After we freshened up, we started our activities. We got each a booklet of life skills and surveys. That day was the day where we discuss our lives and opening up about the tough times. We started by sharing a few things we don't know about each other. We got each a card where we would write 3 things we were comfortable with sharing about our lives that other people don't know about. It was very hard for me because I like sharing about my life and I talk about my experience every single time. The chaperones decided to share what was written on all the cards later. Then we talked about our lives. We all had to come up with 4 things each on what are the valuable items, the most important people, memories, goals, and places that are important to us. Once we did that, we talked about other things, about our experiences in FIS. How people treat new students. When I shared my story, it was very emotional to others. 3 of my mates had tears in their eyes. One of them hugged me and said something that really warmed my heart. I was so stunned since I had never had people do this for me. After that, it was dinner time. So there are 4 groups, each group has been assigned to do something related to meals and then it would rotate to others so that each group has done each of the 4 things. The 4 things were, make dinner, clean the dishes, set the table and the day off. My group was setting up the tables. We set it up, while we were waiting for the food to get ready. We all played "The Werewolves of Millers Hollow". It was very fun but hard for me because you have to close your eyes and listen in order to play this game. The reason why it is hard is that there are many people and they are talking so I wouldn't be able to hear. But so kind of one of my mates who is the speaker in this game, whenever she sees my eyes open, instead of disqualifying me from the game, she told me to close my eyes because I would keep opening my eyes to see what she said. After that, it was dinner and we had pasta, it was delicious. We had to sit with people we don't know, which I was ok with because I wanted to know new people. After dinner, the teachers were saying everything that we had written in the cards about ourselves. Some of them were very personal and it was brave for those people to share them. Then we had to cut out 5 things that we find not so important from the list of 20 things that were important for us. Then we had to cut out 5 more after some explanations. It was very hard because there were many things that were important for me and I couldn't cut them off. Then we had to do it again so that we would come to the last 5 things that were the most important to us. Then we played a game where we use our memory to remember everyone's name. So each of us would have to say the names of everyone and what food they chose that start with the first letter of our names. It was tricky for the last few people because there were many people that they had to do it for. Then we did a challenge where we had to come up with some sounds for calling blindfolded people to move in different directions and try not to bump into anyone. After that, we had to go to bed. What I learned from this day was that we all have different problems in our lives, we are not perfect whether we like it or not.
The next day, we all woke up bright and early, it was my group's turn to make breakfast. We made toast, waffles, scrambled eggs and cereal. It was one of our mate's birthday so we made her a waffle cake with MnMs since we had nothing and had no idea. After we had breakfast, we went out in the snow and played a few challenging games that involve no communications. After that, we made some snow cakes for the birthday girl and she loved all of them. Then everyone went sliding down the snow on a very steep but small slope. Everyone told me "Prisha, you can do it come on!!". I was so touched. I wanted to do it so, I decided to let me face my fears and do this. I went down the slide with my hoody on to cover my hearing aids and went down. It was so fun that I kept on doing it again. I asked one of the chaperones to take a video for my family. I was so glad that everyone told me to do it. I really enjoyed it. Then we freshened up and made our lunches so that we could do one of the most challenging things, to go hiking. It was challenging because there was a lot of snow due to the snowstorm the previous night. But it was worth it. So we were hiking to a place where we could go sledding. There were pretty steep slopes that were hard to climb and whenever I would see the end of the slope I would go sledding down. It was so much fun. I was the last student to reach the spot because I wanted to have fun and go sledding. When I was almost there, everybody looked at me and shouted: "come on Prisha!!". I was so stunned to see that many people would say that. I thought only my friends would say that. When I reached the spot, my friend told me that we can't go sledding because there was not enough snow on the part where we would go sledding. I was kind of disappointed. So the chaperones decided 2 choices, to go hiking to a place where there is snow which is not so far away or to stay here and watch them go sledding. I asked my chaperone his opinion on whether I should go sledding. To my surprise, he said no because it would be very tiring to hike back up since the slope is very steep. So I thought ok, while some of us were waiting for the others to finish sledding, I decided to draw a picture of, the scenery with two of my chaperones, to gift to them as a thank you. After that, we went hiking back to the cabin and I was proud of myself that I did this hiking experience. I knew that I had faced my fears. There were still some people still hiking so some of us decided to play the werewolf game while waiting. We played it and it was so much fun. When everyone came back, we had learned some new life skills and learned more about our lives. We as different groups had to create a song, poem, or an act about our favorite quote from the walls around us. My group had created a poem about our quote. We practiced our poem. After that, we each got a card of someone's name. We had to create an award to that person about what they are good at like, for example, the bravest person or something like that. It was kind of hard for me since I didn't know the person I have to give the award to. Then it was time for dinner and we had Thai Curry. It was very delicious, we talked and talked and had so much fun. Then came the hardest, challenging, scariest challenge. We had to go hiking at night when there was a heavy storm. I was scared all this time, I would have stayed in the cabin but I decided to face my fears and do this. I wore layers on my ears. One of my friends supported me and helped me survive this hike. We went for only a small hike and our chaperone said an inspirational story and then we came back to the cabin. We were all soaking wet, I checked my hearing aids and it was fine. I was so relieved. I knew that I did this! We had some hot chocolate and we talked all along. Then we all sat in a circle and watched all the acts, poems, and songs. It was very fun. Then we all got a candle, and there was a big candle in the middle of the circle. We were asked to make a commitment to our friends and family about what we want for our future. We all made it, it was a beautiful experience. In the end, it took us a while to get up since all of us were in our thoughts and thinking about our life. Then it was time for us to pack up to get ready for leaving the next day. I was sad to leave but happy at the same time. I couldn't wait to go home.
The next day, our last day, after we had breakfast, we gave our cards to the people. Then we had to write something good about each person on their paper. Then we packed up and got ready to go. It was sad leaving this cause I love snow and it was a great experience. After we got on the bus. My friend and I played the same drawing game that we did. I got some french fries and a sprite for lunch, I was glad I made a Nutella sandwich in the morning before leaving because I couldn't find something good that was vegetarian. We all slept and played games. We talked a lot. After that, we got our feedback papers back. I had gotten a lot of nice comments about myself. I was so emotional. After I got home, on the dining table, I saw a card and a bar of one of my favorite chocolates. It was a card from my family, I was so emotional that I cried.
What I learned from this trip, was that we all have problems, and it's ok to say them out loud. It can help others think that everyone has ups and downs. I had faced my fears with my hearing aids and the fear of falling down the hill. We have to not judge the book by its cover. I thank my parents for encouraging me to go on this trip. Thanks to my chaperones who have supported me and made sure I was ok this whole trip. The was one quote that stuck with me to this day that one of my chaperones said, "You have to pick up pebbles in order for them to become diamonds". We have to do challenges and new things in order to blossom and achieve what we want to do in the future.
On the first day, I was very nervous. I woke up at around 5:30 getting ready. I was almost late, but I made it sharp at 7. I felt ready to go. When I got on the bus, I knew I would be okay because everyone was excited and friendly. We got on the road and there was lots of laughter, people sleeping and talking. We were all bored because we didn't have our gadgets. But it was better without them because they would help us make new friends and talk to new people. I remember when I was on the bus, I started to miss my family. I was wondering what they were doing while I was away. My friend and I decided to play a game, where one person is going to say 7 random objects while the other person would have to draw a scenery with those objects. We ended up enjoying it and decided to do it the whole 7 hours bus ride. When we reached, we were all so excited. It was so cold but sunny. We went on a sky train that would take us up the mountain and take us close to our chalet. When I saw how deep the snow was, I knew it would be a challenge for me. We hiked down to our chalet, and it was so slippery and scary for a beginner hiker like me. Once I entered the chalet, it was a small 2-floor house where there was a cafeteria, kitchen, 2 girl bedrooms, 2 boy bedrooms, and one boy's bathroom and one girl's bathroom. It was pretty comfortable but cold inside.
After we freshened up, we started our activities. We got each a booklet of life skills and surveys. That day was the day where we discuss our lives and opening up about the tough times. We started by sharing a few things we don't know about each other. We got each a card where we would write 3 things we were comfortable with sharing about our lives that other people don't know about. It was very hard for me because I like sharing about my life and I talk about my experience every single time. The chaperones decided to share what was written on all the cards later. Then we talked about our lives. We all had to come up with 4 things each on what are the valuable items, the most important people, memories, goals, and places that are important to us. Once we did that, we talked about other things, about our experiences in FIS. How people treat new students. When I shared my story, it was very emotional to others. 3 of my mates had tears in their eyes. One of them hugged me and said something that really warmed my heart. I was so stunned since I had never had people do this for me. After that, it was dinner time. So there are 4 groups, each group has been assigned to do something related to meals and then it would rotate to others so that each group has done each of the 4 things. The 4 things were, make dinner, clean the dishes, set the table and the day off. My group was setting up the tables. We set it up, while we were waiting for the food to get ready. We all played "The Werewolves of Millers Hollow". It was very fun but hard for me because you have to close your eyes and listen in order to play this game. The reason why it is hard is that there are many people and they are talking so I wouldn't be able to hear. But so kind of one of my mates who is the speaker in this game, whenever she sees my eyes open, instead of disqualifying me from the game, she told me to close my eyes because I would keep opening my eyes to see what she said. After that, it was dinner and we had pasta, it was delicious. We had to sit with people we don't know, which I was ok with because I wanted to know new people. After dinner, the teachers were saying everything that we had written in the cards about ourselves. Some of them were very personal and it was brave for those people to share them. Then we had to cut out 5 things that we find not so important from the list of 20 things that were important for us. Then we had to cut out 5 more after some explanations. It was very hard because there were many things that were important for me and I couldn't cut them off. Then we had to do it again so that we would come to the last 5 things that were the most important to us. Then we played a game where we use our memory to remember everyone's name. So each of us would have to say the names of everyone and what food they chose that start with the first letter of our names. It was tricky for the last few people because there were many people that they had to do it for. Then we did a challenge where we had to come up with some sounds for calling blindfolded people to move in different directions and try not to bump into anyone. After that, we had to go to bed. What I learned from this day was that we all have different problems in our lives, we are not perfect whether we like it or not.
The next day, we all woke up bright and early, it was my group's turn to make breakfast. We made toast, waffles, scrambled eggs and cereal. It was one of our mate's birthday so we made her a waffle cake with MnMs since we had nothing and had no idea. After we had breakfast, we went out in the snow and played a few challenging games that involve no communications. After that, we made some snow cakes for the birthday girl and she loved all of them. Then everyone went sliding down the snow on a very steep but small slope. Everyone told me "Prisha, you can do it come on!!". I was so touched. I wanted to do it so, I decided to let me face my fears and do this. I went down the slide with my hoody on to cover my hearing aids and went down. It was so fun that I kept on doing it again. I asked one of the chaperones to take a video for my family. I was so glad that everyone told me to do it. I really enjoyed it. Then we freshened up and made our lunches so that we could do one of the most challenging things, to go hiking. It was challenging because there was a lot of snow due to the snowstorm the previous night. But it was worth it. So we were hiking to a place where we could go sledding. There were pretty steep slopes that were hard to climb and whenever I would see the end of the slope I would go sledding down. It was so much fun. I was the last student to reach the spot because I wanted to have fun and go sledding. When I was almost there, everybody looked at me and shouted: "come on Prisha!!". I was so stunned to see that many people would say that. I thought only my friends would say that. When I reached the spot, my friend told me that we can't go sledding because there was not enough snow on the part where we would go sledding. I was kind of disappointed. So the chaperones decided 2 choices, to go hiking to a place where there is snow which is not so far away or to stay here and watch them go sledding. I asked my chaperone his opinion on whether I should go sledding. To my surprise, he said no because it would be very tiring to hike back up since the slope is very steep. So I thought ok, while some of us were waiting for the others to finish sledding, I decided to draw a picture of, the scenery with two of my chaperones, to gift to them as a thank you. After that, we went hiking back to the cabin and I was proud of myself that I did this hiking experience. I knew that I had faced my fears. There were still some people still hiking so some of us decided to play the werewolf game while waiting. We played it and it was so much fun. When everyone came back, we had learned some new life skills and learned more about our lives. We as different groups had to create a song, poem, or an act about our favorite quote from the walls around us. My group had created a poem about our quote. We practiced our poem. After that, we each got a card of someone's name. We had to create an award to that person about what they are good at like, for example, the bravest person or something like that. It was kind of hard for me since I didn't know the person I have to give the award to. Then it was time for dinner and we had Thai Curry. It was very delicious, we talked and talked and had so much fun. Then came the hardest, challenging, scariest challenge. We had to go hiking at night when there was a heavy storm. I was scared all this time, I would have stayed in the cabin but I decided to face my fears and do this. I wore layers on my ears. One of my friends supported me and helped me survive this hike. We went for only a small hike and our chaperone said an inspirational story and then we came back to the cabin. We were all soaking wet, I checked my hearing aids and it was fine. I was so relieved. I knew that I did this! We had some hot chocolate and we talked all along. Then we all sat in a circle and watched all the acts, poems, and songs. It was very fun. Then we all got a candle, and there was a big candle in the middle of the circle. We were asked to make a commitment to our friends and family about what we want for our future. We all made it, it was a beautiful experience. In the end, it took us a while to get up since all of us were in our thoughts and thinking about our life. Then it was time for us to pack up to get ready for leaving the next day. I was sad to leave but happy at the same time. I couldn't wait to go home.
The next day, our last day, after we had breakfast, we gave our cards to the people. Then we had to write something good about each person on their paper. Then we packed up and got ready to go. It was sad leaving this cause I love snow and it was a great experience. After we got on the bus. My friend and I played the same drawing game that we did. I got some french fries and a sprite for lunch, I was glad I made a Nutella sandwich in the morning before leaving because I couldn't find something good that was vegetarian. We all slept and played games. We talked a lot. After that, we got our feedback papers back. I had gotten a lot of nice comments about myself. I was so emotional. After I got home, on the dining table, I saw a card and a bar of one of my favorite chocolates. It was a card from my family, I was so emotional that I cried.
What I learned from this trip, was that we all have problems, and it's ok to say them out loud. It can help others think that everyone has ups and downs. I had faced my fears with my hearing aids and the fear of falling down the hill. We have to not judge the book by its cover. I thank my parents for encouraging me to go on this trip. Thanks to my chaperones who have supported me and made sure I was ok this whole trip. The was one quote that stuck with me to this day that one of my chaperones said, "You have to pick up pebbles in order for them to become diamonds". We have to do challenges and new things in order to blossom and achieve what we want to do in the future.
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