First impressions

Hello everybody, we made it! We’re here in the Swiss Alps after an extremely long day of traveling. Only a few had the energy to go up to the mountain for some skiing, others slept most, or at least some, of the afternoon. Today a group of us are going up to ski, others are renting sleds to shred the mountain. It’ll be awesome! –Connor

A combination of a full day of traveling, a six-hour time change, and the majestic beauty of the Alps left Stowe and PA students a little bit dazed yesterday morning – but this was not enough to stop a determined few from making it up to the mountain. Others explored the town, tried the local food, and caught up on sleep. Now we are enjoying breakfast at the hostel and looking forward to more skiing, snowboarding, and sledding. – Raffie

On the way up the tram in Chateau D’oex, which seemed like a training hill from Mansfield, I got stuck with one of the workers who spoke no English. Ou a tout le niege I asked him he replied with simply ….Je sais pa. He told me that this was one of the worst snow years they had had in a long time. It was quiet for a few moments then I pointed to a higher spot on the mountain which looked liked more fun. He looked at me and said non non non BIG snowball he said. He pointed at me and we both started to laugh. We are heading up on the train to a higher point of the mountain, hopefully it’s what we’re looking for - Zach

The stress and nervousness of leaving Vermont and the U.S. entirely is now over. While waiting for the late comers (I won’t mention any names) to come through those airport doors we could see the excitement within everyone’s eyes to get to Switzerland and ski the Alps, experience the lifestyle of Geneva, and whatever else we can take in on this journey. The trip to Chateau d’Oex is almost over but there is still a lot more fun to experience. A group of us are going a higher point in the Alps today to experience the change in altitude from Mansfield in Stowe, Vermont to The Alps, Switzerland. We can’t wait to go back to Geneva to discover how their school system and the lifestyles of the students differ from ours. We will keep in touch. - Kelby