I thought it would never end...

My time is coming to an end, my glorious Our Chalet time.

When I was seven years old I dreamed of coming to the Chalet for a full summer, and used to save all my pennies so that this dream would be a reality.

When I was sixteen, I came to Our Chalet as a guest, and learned about volunteering (Shout-out to Anna—Spring 2010 Vollie).

When I was eighteen I applied,

And luckily I celebrated my 19^th birthday in the Swiss Alps as an Our Chalet Vollie.

My 19th birthday at Our Chalet. 

But my time is coming to an end…

The reoccurring realization creeps in to my head often these last days…

As I sit in my super messy room in the staff house,

As I laugh with my fellow Vollies,

As I stare at my favorite mountain, Lohner,

And even as I clean the bathrooms…

I remember… I’ll have to leave soon.

Goodbyes have never been my strong suit.

I’m a crier, but not a hugger.

So when the end comes, in a week,

I will cry, and others will hug.

I’m actually tearing up thinking about it and writing about it.

My experience of Our Chalet cannot even be summed up in words.

My best experiences are the moments you cannot capture with a camera,

The things you cannot express in a brochure,

It’s the moments that will live with me forever,

But no one but my fellow Our Chalet friends will understand.

A wise Deputy World Center Mananger once told me,

“Remember to talk to people who speak your language”

I was confused at first,

But what she meant was,

Remember to talk to the people who experienced all these magical moments with me.

Because I can tell my friends back at home the stories over and over,

But, as hard as they try, they’ll never fully know what happened.

But my fellow Vollies, and the long term staff, they’ll always understand and remember.

Leaving the Chalet fills me with worry,

I’ve changed, so how will my home friends react?

How can I know I will for sure ever meet with my fellow Vollies again?

Will all my challenges and accomplishments go to waste at home?

Is it possible for my life to ever be better than it is now?

And will I ever be able to look at a person named Wendy and not think of a dishwasher?

These are all real worries that haunt me as I try to sleep my last few nights.

No amount of reassurance will calm these fears either.

Not all of my leaving is sad,

I look back on the fresh-faced girl who arrived here in Switzerland back in May,

And now I see a totally changed girl.

I once hated hiking, and I’ve now completed a hike to Kandersteg (9 hours!) and actually enjoy hiking.

I was rubbish at cleaning, and can now clean a bathroom like my life depended on it.

I used to struggle my way through my German homework, and I’ve now read a German book, and written a fluent summary on it.

These may seem minor to someone else, but to me these are amazing.

On top of the mountain on my way to Kandersteg International Scout Centre.

When I was a child Our Chalet was a magic place,

It’s no longer the same magic that filled my head as a child,

However, it’s still a magic place.

My favorite Girl Scout campfire song says,

“Magic did not fade away, it took a new disguise”

and I think that more than accurately describes my time here at Our Chalet,

and I think that as I leave the Chalet’s magic will again,

merely take on a new disguise.