Colliding Worlds

The staff manual is quite helpful and details things such as how to run program, how to fold towels, general pointers for the kitchen, or how to climb through the old swiss oven. Lots of useful stuff, but there are several tips that have unfortunately been left out. For instance, no where in there does it say that having non-scout visitors can be very stressful and is not for the faint of heart.

The Chalet is a scout-camp. Sure, it's a bit more hospitable than a normal honest-to-goodness American scout camp in the middle of the woods with no flushing toilets, but we still maintain the homey-every-one-is-family feeling. The volunteers all live a cozy, communal life in Stockli. The building is small and would more comfortably house half of them, but what would be the fun in that? I get the impression that people who don't have the experience of going to camp in the summer, crowding into a tent, and getting very little sleep for a week or longer while hiking mountains and doing ridiculous activities (like otter-snacks in the lake) don't understand Why We Do It.

The reason I bring this up: Laura and three of her friends from home stayed at the Chalet last week. They camped on the hill above my kitchen and I found the experience Terrifying. I was worried that they wouldn't know unspoken protocols and rules of engagement. So unspoken and seemingly insignificant that I can't even think of any right now. But there must be some. I think that the major ones are "Everyone is automatically your friend" and "Smoking and Drinking are BAD things to do". Behavior rules that don't apply in the real world but are crucial when you're at Camp are not obvious to people who are Not Scouts. And if they had broken any, it wouldn't have been their fault, but it would have reflected badly on me (How could you let Those People come Here to our unspoiled place where we find Peace for Our Souls???).

They were all well behaved, of course, but I was very nervous and uncomfortable having them around. There's no 10 minute introduction to Scouting. It's a life-long thing, it's my thing and I take it very seriously, even if I'm not the best scout ever.

Here's a little photo essay of the things we do at camp.

Hair cutsand there's Vanessa giving a spanish lesson on my Kitchen chore board. Fancy dress parties.

And the volunteers, bless their little hearts, made me a Chalet Chef School Certificate. The modules I've covered include "Throwing Spoons", "'Special Diets'", "The Guest Smile", and "Yelling in German". Mom, are you proud of me?