01.12.09 Yes! Opened my advent calendar. I was so happy it got packed with the rest of my stuff. See, not very essential. But who can feel satisfied counting down to Christmas without little chocolate pieces to munch on every day?!

02.12.09 Nothing like being thrown in the deep end! We have about 80 different types of staff staying with us at the moment for ‘Training Week’. This includes Managers, Chefs, Commi chefs, Sous Chefs, Reps, Ski Technicians and Office Staff. As we are the largest SkiPlan/Rocket Ski/ Equity hotel around, (many companies intertwined so if one fails, the others still stand) we can accommodate for all. Lucky us. We get to serve all the hotel Managers food and clean their bedrooms. I tell you, the General Assistants that are arriving next week have no idea. When they do arrive us pro’s won’t have to do all the training again at least.

5.12.09 Urgh. Not been feeling too well. Stomach cramps, loss of apetite, nausea, and generally lethargic. Pretty bad seeing as I’m becoming known as ‘the one who’s always ill’. To be fair, I do think I have a bug, I just need antibiotics to kick it. And I don’t have any. The doctors costs 40 Euros minimum just for a consultation. Apparently it’s best to go to hospital and claim back the costs on insurance, but it doesn’t feel enough of an emergency to turn up at the hospital.

10.12.09 The new people are here!! Nice and varied. Hmmm, a little divide with newbies and oldies I think. Even still, it’s nice to have a few extra hands to help around the hotel, and new people to talk to! I’m sure they just feel a little intimidated coming into a group that have already bonded, maybe they just need a little time to settle in.

11.12.09 Woah! I was almost just re-housed into the most cramped and depressing room of the hotel. Ok, a little exaggeration on my behalf….
There are 2 girls’ rooms in the hotel and I nearly was put in the worst of them. Karen, the owner, was more than happy to move me rooms when I asked though, I was so glad one of the new girls offered to move in exchange. Room 315 it is!

12.12.09 Well the new and first guests of the season have arrived! And so it begins. Still a bit ill, better than before, perhaps over the worst if I’m lucky. I’ve been taking rehydration sachets, Dad’s orders. They’ve helped I think, but still may need some tablets to finish it off.

13.12.09 So I ended up going to the hospital today. It’s far too bad to leave and hope for the best. I have ‘Gastro Interitus’. Nasty thing. I picked up some rehydration sachets and Gaviscon from the Pharmacy (11 Euros!), and both taste disgusting. I’ve also been isolated, last year some GA’s caught the infection and 5 were off on change-over day. I don’t think the boss is wanting that again so precautions have been taken. I have 48 hours off work, but oh what to do. It’s so boring, especially sat in a room with no internet or DVDs to watch. I’ve played chess on my laptop about 8 times now and still can’t win…. I think I’m going to go crazy.

I’ve literally just munched my way through ALL the chocolate that my Mum and Nan sent to me earlier this week. Urgh, calorie overload.

14.12.09 Breakfast, Dinner and Tea in bed, I quite like being waited on hand and foot, although I’ve never been so bored. I’m not improving at Chess either….

16.12.09 Yes, up and at ‘em as they say! I’m back working baby. Today wasn’t so bad, they took it easy on me as I’m still ‘in recovery’ (last night I was very much in need of Paracetemol that I didn’t have). This evening, rather than in the hotel restaurant, I served food to guests in the small Chalet that the Hotel owns. It was good, I wouldn’t mind working there again actually.
Some people are off out tonight, fancy dress themed birthday. Not feeling too fantastic so staying in, don’t want to push it. But now I feel like a recluse. Hmmm, we still have 4 months to go out….My 60s/70s fancy dress that my Dad insisted I get won’t go to waste, I’ll make sure of it!

19.12.09 Change-over day. And I was on breakfast too. Not good. I worked from 7.30AM until 1.45AM. Ok I had a break for a total of 6 hours, but it was still a 12/13 hour shift. Especially when change-over involves a complete strip down of the hotel, complete scrub down, deep clean and remake of rooms ASAP.  Energy draining, it was so tiring, and then because of the snow in England (unbelievable…) there were delays with the guests due to the lack of salt at airports. They didn’t arrive until 11.30ish, and we had to do 2 buffet style services which lasted 2 hours. At least we weren’t on the dinner service for the late arrivals at 2AM. Then I might have just quit.

20.12.09 Ski Passes! Finally! After 3 weeks and 2 days of cleaning for 73p and hour, we finally have what we really came for. Never mind last night, I’m just happy to be kitted, fitted and able to ski. Some that have been out this morning say the snow conditions aren’t very good, but with the forecast for Boxing Day, I’m sure it’ll improve immensely within the next week. Bring on the snow!

21.12.09 I skied today!! Went up with 2 boarders… even though I feel like a traitor I loved it. Well, my feet/shins hurt which made it impossible to enjoy 100% (I don’t think my boots were tight enough, might just have to push past the pain) but it was great to finally get out. It’s also snowing heavily now, powder day tomorrow?!

22.12.09 Snow, snow and more snow! You should see it fall, as our chef said ‘it’s like rain, only snow’. It’s unbelievable to see, and this is what they tell you to wait for. Hopefully that’s the last we’ll see of the grass and rocks before the end of the season. Didn’t go out today though, instead went to a wi-fi bar and had a hot chocolate. The chances of white-outs were very likely. Tomorrow is my day off, and what better than a fresh dump of snow to encourage you onto the piste. I’m excited! I’m just hoping for good visibility.

23.12.09 Went out for a couple of hours today and was planning to go back out this afternoon but I’m in pain! Hopefully I’ll go out again tomorrow, maybe just do a few hours at a time for now. Then soon my feet won’t hurt and I’ll be out all day! I’ll just chill out for the rest of my day off I think, I can feel the burn in my thighs too, climbing up all the hotel stairs didn’t prepare me as much as I thought it would! Even though there is 48 up to my room….. yep I counted.

24.12.09 First time out in ages tonight; didn’t get back until 4 in the morning! Had a really good night which was a nice surprise, we went to our local bar, LaGrotte, which had a live band playing. It was a much better Christmas Eve than I expected it to be. When we got back though, the guests next door came and knocked on our door complaining about noise levels….

25.12.09 Merry Christmas! Not feeling very festive today. I really miss my family, I’m actually jealous that they all get to see each other today and spend the day lazing about the house in PJ’s eating chocolate. Instead I have to work with no family of friends to share the day with. We did get a Christmas dinner though, however not the usual. No pigs in blankets but hot dogs, which was a first… Karen and Nick bought us all Chocolate presents though and it’s fair to say, at this moment in time, that’s the last thing I need!

26.12.09 Change-over number 2. Fairly smooth altogether. I was on breakfast again but as there were no delays with planes etc. I managed to finish by 10.30PM. Compared to last week I’d consider that a success! Just spoke to my Mum and the family have got together to play our yearly Monopoly game. At least I have a good excuse for not winning the trophy this year.

28.12.09 Not been out skiing for 4 days now!! Unfortunately my hours haven’t been the best lately but today I was planning to go out and get on my new, longer skis and continue to break in my boots. I got all kitted up after work and then looked out the window, rain. I waited for half an hour and still no change so I planned my day off tomorrow, got undressed and looked out the window, snow! Not a happy bunny. Feel really guilty for not getting back into my ski gear and going out.

29.12.09 Fantastic skiing today! Absolutely loved it! Went up by myself intending to find people after lunch but to be honest, I didn’t mind being by myself, I was loving it far too much to get off the mountain and meet them! This morning though I couldn’t find my skis, which wasn’t a great start. There are so many of the same length and brand that I had to try my boot with as many as I could before I went out (smart thinking, I’m surprised I didn’t go out and find I had the wrong ones with me!). Luckily I remembered the barcode on my skis but my boots didn’t fit them either. Thankfully there was someone in the boot room that could fix that problem. I’m guessing the same thing happened to someone else yesterday and they used my skis, changing the length of boot size so they could use them. What a great day skiing though! My skis were the right length, (I knew the others were too short!) and my boots weren’t as painful as they have been. Even snow conditions were better than I’ve skied here before. I was out for 4 hours until my legs felt too tired, and I could feel myself making mistakes. I’m so happy right now. J I’m on a ski high! Bring on my next day off!

31.12.09 Went out skiing again today. It was a bit slushy but it’s better than not getting out at all. My calves are aching, and my knee joints! Going out tonight but have a 7.30AM start tomorrow so will be coming back early. We’ve been told if we’re late or turn up drunk we’ll be working through until after dinner service. Best set that alarm.

26.11.09 Dad, and I to a certain extent, thought it would have been easier for me to get the train to Manchester Airport instead of being driven, especially by an anxious Mother who ‘didn’t really know her way’. It turns out, trains aren’t always that reliable, who’d have guessed?! After a terrible experience travelling, and a wholly tiresome journey, we got to Hotel Aigle at around 12.30AM, my home for the next 5 months.

My bags alone weighed about 45Kg of a combined weight. I’m sure I slipped a disc carting them on and off trains, to and from terminals, back and forth in airports… I had two pieces of BIG luggage, and a ‘small’ carry-on bag. Surprisingly, and miraculously, I wasn’t charged for being over the weight allowance for my flight. My Domestic flight to London did see me pay £35, but for having more than one piece of luggage. And over to France, I thought I’d have to pay £4.50 for each additional kilo over the 20Kg limit. I was expecting to pay £60ish. Not until I had got to the airport did my panic kick in when I was told by a fellow Seasonnaire that he just been made to pay £10 for being 1kg over. I had heard on the grapevine that EasyJet charged £10 per kilo, but I dismissed it on the grounds of having a sheet from my company that said otherwise- a very reliable source in my books…

That would be about £175 I’d have to fork up. I walked up to the check-in desk where I explained I’d pay for another baggage slot, as I was way over in weight allowance. She told me to put my bags on the scales and as the Kg’s flickered up, she asked if I was going with a group, which I was. I was then told I wouldn’t need to pay any excess. Rather than ask why, I walked away, feeling a little guilty, but very happy!

Out of the whole group, I was the only one with 2 bags. How people fit everything into one bag, in preparation for 5 months away, is beyond me. Me and my Dad (AKA Mr. Super-packer) actually packed really well, he did say some things were unnecessary though. But running through my mind was Kenya, when I had under-packed… Most people out here have done a ski season before so know what to expect. Still, I felt very over prepared. If there even is such a thing.

27.11.09 The next morning, after a freezing night’s sleep, (we later found the radiator wasn’t on) we were up at 8.30AM for breakfast and off to a flying start with the bedrooms. We managed to do 2 floors between the lot of us (about which I thought, and one of the assistant mangers thought, was pretty impressive for a first day! The hotel was literally a building site. Everything was being done up and fixed up. But we made good headway. My muscles had never ached in that way before; I think it’s also because I was full of a cold and pretty lethargic. But it was a strenuous job even still, and so many stairs! The bathrooms have to be properly scrubbed, in a way in which I mean taking the toilet-seat-off-scrubbing. It takes almost an hour per bathroom. Doing bedrooms weren’t too bad though, I was used to that sort of thing from previous jobs in hotels, so that wasn’t much of a surprise to me. We should get much quicker, I hope…

I was also shown how to wait-on, I know the basics from working in a restaurant and to be fair, it isn’t half as hard. Everyone gets the same meals, which come out at the same time, and somehow it doesn’t feel as hectic as I thought it would, bonus.

28.12.09 It’s harder putting a hotel back together than it looks. Maintenance… what a messy bunch. And the painters don’t really like laundry-loaded general assistants walking through freshly painted doorways…

This is it then!! I’m off!! France here I come…. Well, not before a pit stop in Preston, then first thing tomorrow, my real travels begin!!

I can’t really decide how i’m feeling, a mix of emotions I think! Happy, sad, excited, anxious, scared, tired! But by this time tomorrow, i’ll be on my plane to France for 5 months!!
5 times as long as Kenya, and about 5 times colder. I’m upset i’m missing Christmas and my Birthday at home, but excited to be venturing out into the world again! It’s not as if i’m a lifetime away, only 2 hours on a plane if need be.
We had ‘Christmas’ last night anyway. A lovely tea and present opening, even cake! I feel blessed to have such a wonderful family that would go to such trouble.

All I need now is it to snow over there!

This really is turning out to be a fantastic year!

So yesterday we went down to the Manchester to test out my new Ski Boots. We’d seen this place called the ‘Chill Factor’ where you could go and ski indoors, and as i’m off very soon (3 days!), we’d thought it’d be best if I tried them out prior to my Ski Season. It was awesome Granted it was smaller than it looks on the outside, but it was a big shopping place too, so for the £35M spent on it, it was quite good!! Boots are good, although my ankle was a bit sore… Maybe it’s because i’ve not been skiing for a while.

We then ventured over to the Trafford Center to do a wee bit of Christmas shopping. I would love to say it was a success but I only came back with Christmas Cards, I really dont know how that happened!! We had about 2 hours there, I even split up from my family so I could shop for them too, but I really couldn’t see anything worth buying. Maybe if i’d gone with something in mind…. But still, nothing popped up and caught my attention   Now i’m going to have to try and shop online and send it back home for Christmas – could be a bit difficult.

After the ’shopping spree’ we went to the cinema. Yes, New Moon people!! I was so excited to see this, and I was willing it to be fantastic, especially after all the hype and promotion that has been surrounding it! I don’t know if i’m biased (i am) or if my love for the books has clouded my judgement (it has) but I LOVED IT! I thought Chris Weitz has done a fantastic job directing, you can definitely see the different between that and Twilight. I also thought it stayed more true to the books, whereas I noticed gaps in Twilight, New Moon was how I remembered the book to be. (Although it’s been a while since I read it)

It definitely generated more laughs, Alice and Emmet mainly And wow, Jacob!! Didn’t Taylor Lautner do a good job buffing up!! I think Kristen Stewart did amazing too, the pain portrayed in the book wasn’t overly played as I was hoping it wasn’t, and the chemistry between her and Jacob felt real, allowing her relationship with Edward to be put in a position of danger. It almost makes me want to go Team Jacob on this one….
The CGI with the wolves was amazing too, as I said, I really did love it! Now we’re waiting for Eclipse, Summer 2010!! Wooo, it can only get better as they say!!

(I think I may also start stealing the line, “What a marshmallow.”)

Wow, these floods are getting bad!! Even school was shut today, not that I go anymore But my brother got a cheeky day off! I did too actually, I was meant to be helping my Dad in the Jewellers and even though we have a huge 4×4 Land Rover, the police blocking the road said we wouldn’t be able to make it!! I’d have love to have proven them wrong but the roads were shut, so we couldn’t physically get through to work, and besides, I didn’t mind not being able to get through to work…..

So on our day off as a mini-fam, my brother spent his day on COD, his newest obsession on the PS3, and Me and my Daddy took our Dog for a walk. Yes, a walk in the rain!! It was fab actually, alright it was cold at first and I couldn’t really be bothered, but as soon as we reached the top of our hill, it felt great! I wasn’t so much cold, as I was saturated. But it was a good day had by all I think!

In other news, 1 week til D-Day!! Just wish the weather would pick up and snow already!! Most other resorts have snow, I reckon that it’s holding off for us to get there, then it will snow, snow and snow some more…… Well that’s what i’m holding out for anyway.

Dad, soaking!

Me, soaking!

Jasper, soaking!

Ah crap. Trying to ‘do up’ my bedroom before I go off to France and I’ve spilt white paint on my navy carpet. Not happy. Don’t think my Dad will be either…..

It’s getting so close now, just starting to get all my ski stuff together!! We also have to take clothes for themed nights that the hotel/chalet holds. Like a Mexican night, 70s/80s night, Grease night, and Beach night!! Is it not enough that we have to pack 5 months worth of clothes into 2 bags which are limited to 20kg?? No, now we have to pack fancy dress!!

3 weeks and 2 days to gooooo!!!!!!

Yes! SkiPlan have finally told me where i’ll be working this ski season! Serre Chevalier in France, my second choice on my preference list, and a beautiful one at that!!

I’ll be going out earlier than i’d thought as well, due to a management course or something…. but still, that means i’ll be actually skiing 5 weeks today!! It’s such a bizarre feeling, on the 27th i’ll be flying out! Glad i’m flying and not being put on a coach there…. they still use that method of transport for some people!

My friend has unfortunately been told he is no longer going out with his company. Due to ‘economic difficulties’ Mark Warner have said he won’t be needed. It’s such a shame, that’s basically his gap year ruined.  But he is still going to go out, try and find a job at a local bar or whatever is available, and make do with what he can. Good on him I say!
I was so jealous of him too, he was meant to be going to Courcheval, one of the favourite places that i’ve skied so far.

So I need to start getting all my gear together, by new things, and prepare for 5 months away from home!! Christmas away from home!! And my 19th away from home!!

Bittersweet. But I think this year is going to be one of the best so far, even though i’ve only had 18 of them… 

Just flicking through some pictures of Kenya and came across some of the armed guards we had. They were often put with us after dusk to protect us from outside influence or attack apparently!! Pretty scary stuff, the Kenyans like white skinned/ pale faced females, which is probably why several of our group got marriage proposals…. none of which they accepted of course!

Don’t know how I forgot to write anything on this!! We had 24 hour protection at Camp but when we went out at night, and during our whole stay in Mwaloganji as we were so isolated, we had 2 men armed with guns with us constantly.

Happy Fella's!

My Fave Picture!

Getting involved making Elephant Dung Paper

Yeah, they were pretty intimidating at first, obviously!! Some had killed people before as they’d been involved in the war. So to have them with us, in a country where the rules on moral issues are much different to England, it was frightening. If necessary they would shoot, and to have that thought in the back of your mind was sickening, but also comforting in a way. We really saw Kenya, how the men could be very forward and forceful, we’d heard the stories…

By the end of my time there I realised they were important, and as you can see from the picture of them making Dung Paper, they tried to put us at ease by drawing the attention away from their guns and establish a calmer atmosphere. And it’s fair to say, it worked.

My time in Africa was the most amazing month of my life. It was eye-opening, shocking, humbling, overwhelming, intimidating, diverse, barren, hostile and awesome to say the least. Words, nor pictures, will truly do justice to my experience over there, in a world that no amount of research can really prepare you for.

Of course I had some idea of what I was getting myself involved with. And going through a profit based organisation I knew I wouldn’t be totally thrown in, but I would be completing a programme that was prepared for me to experience as much of the difference in culture as I could.

Throughout the month, the size of our group varied quite dramatically. As people were staying for different lengths of time, we were split in terms of programme content. We started out as 28, then cut down to just 8 of us (who were staying for 1 month) while the others (staying for 3 months) separated to complete their part of the programme, spending 11 days at a camp in Tsavo!! They actually returned to our base camp on the day we left!! Gutted, we missed them quite a bit 

Week 1. (All 28 of us!)
For the first week we spent all out time at Muhaka, where our camp was based. Much of our time consisted of project work. From Monday-Friday, we would work on construction from 8.30am-12.oopm, break for 2 hours (resting over the hottest period of the day), and then go out again from 2.oopm-4.oopm. While over there I was involved with building a community toilet, classroom and computer room of which the local children of Muhaka would use. By the time I returned to England, the toilet was almost complete, they estimated another 5 days and it would be finished!!! I was gutted I wouldn’t be there to see the final product – hopefully i’ll see some pictures via Facebook

Week 2. (Just 8 of us, for 3 days!)
During the 2nd week we spent 3 days in a place called Tsavo, 5 hours west of  class=”hiddenSpellError” pre=”of “>Muhaka. Here we were taken on a 3-day game drive. I feel so privileged to have been able to go on such an amazing safari! I cannot begin to explain the amazing feeling of seeing animals in their natural habitat. We saw Elephants, Lions, Zebra, Buffalo, Giraffe, Antelope and Waterhogs. It was truly memorizing, they were so natural and peaceful… I know it sounds strange but you could see such a difference when you compared the experience to the zoo. In the sense at they were free, so they didn’t feel pressure to ‘perform’ or however you might phrase it.
On one game drive we set off before sunrise, and on another returned after sunset. Looking out on Africa at these times of day, for me, really instilled how lucky I was to be able to experience something so beautiful. It was pretty emotional, and during sunset we had travelled up a small hill with an amazing view. That image is something i’ll never forget, I was in awe.

Week 3. (Still 8 of us!)
Although we had returned to Muhaka for 4 days, we left again during the 3rd week. We knew it was the last time we’d be all 28, so we went out on the last evening and had a brilliant time! It was bittersweet in the sense that we had such an excellent time with them, but we knew that the trips away from Muhaka (such as the safari) benefitted from smaller, quieter groups.
During the 3rd week we spent our time at a place called Mwaluganje (pronounced: mologanji) We stayed at this tiny place in an Elephant Sanctuary, the camp was situated on the top of a hill and the wind was pretty scary at night – especially since we stayed in tents that shook pretty violently! Haha, but by far, if I had to choose, this was definitely my favourite place! Waking up to Elephants a few hundred meters away every morning is something that cannot be matched by any of the other camps we visited. The area was beautiful and the lookout from out camp…. Wow.

While we were here we did construction, as in Muhaka. We finished building a road that had to be reinforced for the rainy season, and we actually made Elephant dung paper!! We also got involved with the local school here – Ng’onzini Primary school. We played netball against them (won 3-2!) and planted seeds in the Jatropha nursery. It was really amazing here, trying to promote peace between people and the Elephants. Due to drought the elephants would wander off the sanctuary and eat the farmers crops, resulting in them retaliating with violent behaviour. It is an unfortunate but ongoing conflict that is currently in the process of being harnessed and addressed, slowly but surely peace is being restored. Through teaching the children about all the good and positive impacts of Elephants, hopefully their perception of them will vary greatly to the negative ones their parents continue to hold.

Week 4. (Down to 4 of us!!!)
The last week in Africa!! So upsetting, but we were all still determined to get the most out of whatever we could. On the Wednesday, 3 people were leaving to go back home to England. One person was going also going on a Safari to the Maasai Mara – a place where The Big Cat Diaries is actually filmed (he had an excellent time!). So for a few days, there was just 4 of us.
This last week wasn’t especially eventful. We spent 3 days on construction at the school again, making a blackboard (which was pretty awesome), levelling out the crumbled windowsills and painting the inside of the classroom. We were actually encouraged to take time off! As for 2 of the 3 days there was only 4 of us, they didn’t seem as enthusiastic about letting us do so much work. I guess it also meant that our mentors were also having to work, perhaps on days they thought they may have gotten off. I don’t think they realised that we actually wanted to work and not just chill out on the beach!! Haha But we spent all Saturday on the beach before we departed on the Sunday!

We thought we might have seen the rest of the gang before we left but we didn’t I have their Facebook though, they are friends that i’m sure will remain so! After all, we did live together for 2-4 Weeks!! The 3 month people though were for the majority, Australian!! So I don’t think i’ll be seeing them again…

Aside from everything i’ve whittled on about, Africa gave me so much more. The programme allowed us to have a cultural tour (we met the Bush Doctor), go on a city tour (which was the biggest cultural shock of all), go snorkelling, and even go Jet Skiing around the stunning Mangroves!!! (though I had to pay extra for the jet skiing). It wasn’t a holiday, but allowed for some tourist things to be done – we went to the beach on the weekends but I actually felt guilty!! The disgusting juxtaposition of the blatant poverty against the thriving beach bar and its wealthy customers didn’t sit right with me.

Africa was amazing. I want to go back. I want to climb Kilimanjaro! I want to travel many more places. This experience has given me so much. I feel much more independent, i’ve learnt I can live without all this technology- I even quite liked the break from it to be honest!! I have more patience than I realised, I feel more confident in myself, I appreciate what I have on a much greater scale, I can see how underdeveloped and unequal some areas of the world remain to be, how selfish the western world is in comparison, how much poverty still surrounds us….

All in all, a truly inspiring journey. One i’ll never forget and one i’ll never be able to leave alone. To see how much impact my little doing did in Africa, and how appreciated my efforts over there were, pushes me on to want to do more. I’ve already promised myself i’m going back, I don’t know how I couldn’t, I’ve fallen in love with it.

Tomorrow is the official beginning of my journey!! We’re (my family) are going down to London to catch a show before my flight on Saturday. We’re seeing the Lion King which I have already seen twice before, I just love it so much!!

I’m very excited, although very nervous – I’m not too sure what to expect, apart from a huge cultural shock! I’ll be sure to update when I get back, with loads of pictures as well!

The Airport is the most daunting right now though, I have so much to remember, I hope I get there!!! If not i’m sure you’ll be hearing from me soon! If not, wish me luck and I’ll be back in a month!!