sleeping in switzerland

Every September our administration hosts a weekend faculty retreat in Adelboden, Switzerland. We stay at a self-catering chalet owned by Janz Team Switzerland (a branch of my mission, TeachBeyond) and bring all our own bedding, food, and hiking gear for a weekend getaway. This year the retreat happened to fall on the very first weekend of the school year. I've only shared here briefly how overwhelmed I've felt about the beginning of the school year, but I was very close to not even going on the retreat this year. I signed up at the last minute but still contemplated backing out. Then, a miscommunication almost resulted in me not having a seat in one of the last cars heading out! I was so close to just saying, "Forget it. I'll spend the weekend at home." But I was convinced to go, so I crammed into a tiny backseat with two male high school teachers for the 2.5 hour drive south.

The retreat was different this year - in the four years that I've gone, this one had the most "white space." Our administrators had announced this early on, but I confess I was still skeptical. I am really thankful that they followed through on their promise of more free time and less "sessions" so that it truly felt like a retreat and not a conference.

My to-do list for the weekend was as follows: sleep, sleep, eat, sleep, work on my new physical science class, eat, sleep, gawk at the Alps, sleep, sleep, and sleep. Did I mention I planned to sleep? People think I'm crazy for going to Switzerland to take a nap, but there is something about that crisp mountain air and the distant tinkling of the cowbells that allows me the most restful and refreshing sleep I've ever had! My other highlight of the weekend was when we were released for afternoon free time and everyone else but me geared up for various treks through the mountains. I had the entire chalet to myself to work on lesson prep in total silence. I sat on a couch with a distractingly beautiful panoramic view of the mountains and had to force myself to work!

I didn't really take any pictures until the last day.

Emily, Sammie, Megan, me, Katrina, Heather, Brittany
Some of the fabulous middle school teachers!!

Roommate shot!

My good friend CB. And pasty white me.

On our way home, we stopped to cross a cool suspension bridge. It's up pretty high, and it really does bounce and sway quite a bit while you're walking on it, but it's a lot of fun to walk across.