Camp Journal
Hitting On Target With The Blues
16th July 2012
The Blue group bounced in to breakfast, excited to begin their first full day on site. Bags packed ready to go, budding Roger Federers and Venus Williams smashed out some super serves and wicked volleys in morning sports.
The afternoon held promise of Archery, and so full of pasta, Blue group took a session in perfecting their bow hand. Before long, arrows were searing through the air and the Blue group were aiming on target! Quivers and bows down, there was just time for some afternoon tea before they swung back in to the afternoon activities. The Blues had plenty of practice the day previously and so they were fully prepped for rapid ascent of the indoor wall. Activity instructor Calum upped the stakes by introducing blindfolds to the climbing campers. They were required to climb the wall while blindfolded and add their names to a piece of paper at the top of the wall.
The Reds and Blues joined together in their exploration of the centre in search clues that would lead them to the prize of the Torgona hunt. Team ‘exploding muffins’ emerged victorious, scoring a whopping 23 points, but competition was stiff and everyone enjoyed themselves.
Confidence Building In The Forest – Green Group
The students ingratiated themselves with their language teachers on the first day of their grouped language lessons. From here they will embark on a language learning journey in a bid to improve their spoken, written, listening and reading skills in their chosen foreign language.
The glorious sunshine awaiting them, Green group were keen to join Oli and Chris on the tennis courts for some skill building games to improve their forehand and backhand precision
The Green group started the afternoon at the Parc Aventure. Set deep in the forest, there exists a web of zip lines, high wires and other tree top obstacles and upon arrival, the faces of our campers lit up with nervous anticipation. The afternoon brought great excitement and by the end many of the campers’ confidence had come on with leaps and bounds. An atmosphere of pride and achievement filled the coach as they headed back to Camp Suisse HQ.
The Ride Of Our Lives – Red Group
The Red Group showed clear signs that they were settling into life at Camp by setting all sorts of records for seconds, thirds and fourths at breakfast – the previous day’s exertions had clearly taken their toll! Reenergised, the campers dived into their first language session, and many were rewarded with Nogrots (the Camp currency) for their hard work. The sun was shining, so the sport today was tennis, led by Olly, who helped everyone improve their skills through a series of fun games. The pasta for lunch was demolished with as much gusto as at breakfast!
In the afternoon they went to get kitted out with helmets and gloves for their first mountain biking adventure. Callum and Toria, the biking experts, fitted each person out with a bike and then talked us through how to check the bike for safety. With everyone feeling confident and looking cool they engaged in a succession of exercises to test out the camper’s biking abilities. The staff were all very impressed with the skills on show, and before long they were heading off-road to bike down a dirt track, complete with a mini jump! Finally, riding sensibly in single file, the group headed all the way down the mountain back to camp. Apart from the odd slip and skid it was a smooth descent. Tired but happy, the campers walked back to camp for a much needed shower!
After a hearty dinner of lasagne the campers headed out in teams to attempt a treasure hunt around the centre and Torgon village. Enthusiastically they hunted down clues to complete the puzzle. Afterwards everyone was ready for bed, but not before preparing their backpacks for tomorrow’s big adventure to the glacier, for which they will be up at 5.30am!! Warm clothes will be the order of the day!
“LABYRINTHE COME IN” – BLUE AND RED GROUP
15th July 2012
Red Group
After getting to know each other on the first evening, the Reds woke up full of enthusiasm for their first full day at Camp. After a hearty breakfast of cereal, toast, yoghurt and of course chocolate spread, they split into two groups for languages and sport.
Unfortunately a light smattering of rain meant they were unable to go outside, but were instead treated to an introduction to climbing on the indoor wall. Everyone learned lots about climbing technique with the activity gurus Tom and Chris. By the end of the session almost everyone was able to scale to the very top of the wall, and all are excited to return later in the week to practice their skills. Halfway through the morning the groups swapped so that those that had done languages went climbing, and the climbers underwent their language assessment. After a thoroughly engaging morning all campers were ready for some lunch!
With sandwiches, muesli and chocolate bars and juice lining their stomachs they boarded the bus to the Labyrinthe Aventure. After descending the mountain they were all eager to embrace the challenges of the giant maze. Going around in groups, Stef’s group seemed happy to escape over the wall without finishing. Chloe’s group got somewhat lost in the depths of the maze but eventually made it out, but the undoubted winners were Billy’s group who worked together brilliantly to discover the proper way out. Afterwards everyone enjoyed some free time to go on the slides, funny bikes, engage in gladiatorial combat and work on their balancing skills. A fantastic time was enjoyed by all, and when it was time to return to the bus some campers had to be dragged away from the entertainment! Upon returning to camp there was just time to have shower, tidy rooms and play some ping pong before dinner.
The evening entertainment consisted of a thrilling game of bingo, culminating in Beatriz and Marina winning exclusive Camp Suisse key rings. By 9pm campers were ready to brush their teeth, roll into their pyjamas and put their heads down for some well earned rest! Tomorrow promises to be an equally a-maze-ing day with more languages, sports and our first crack at Mountain Biking!
Blue Group
Day 1 of session 2 kicked off with a bang when 33 excitable Blues woke up to the stunning view of the Alps from their bedroom windows. They eagerly ate their breakfast, before embarking on their first language lessons. Campers took foreign language lessons in English, French, German, Italian or Spanish with our expert language teachers while the other half took a turn from the traditional to scale up to the
dizzying heights of the indoor climbing wall.
The Labyrinth was the biggest maze they had ever seen and the Blues united with the Reds to crack the challenge with everyone determined to reach the middle. So they raced around looking for castles and treasure chests, campers also had fun playing on the giant bouncy castles, slides and zip wires.
I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike – Green group
All campers completed their foreign language assessments today. In order to determine their language capabilities and subsequent groupings we require campers to complete a short test in their chosen course of English, Spanish, French, German or Italian. 
With language classes determined, a session of basketball followed with, Aimee and Sarah blew away the cobwebs for the Green group campers. Shooting hoops and dribbling was the name of the game as the campers were taught the rules and tricks before showcasing their skills in the final game.
The campers ventured deeper in to the mountain for an afternoon of mountain biking beginning at Plan de Croix. This is our mountain biking meeting point further in to the mountain which, during the winter, provides the entrance for skiers to the Portes du Soleil, a vast expanse of skiing terrain that stretches across 14 valleys and is one of the largest ski areas in the world. After a thorough safety check the Greens rapidly descended the mountain negotiating the various obstacles presented to them by the trails as led by Activity leader Chris.
The fresh Alpine air exhilarated our campers and so after all this exertion, the Greens had worked up a keen appetite. The after dinner Torgana hunt required the campers to excitedly exploring our site in order to the find the winning clue that lead them to the prize.
White group test
Testing all-round for the White group today, they were required to rack their brains for the language aptitude test. In the sports hall, the dexterity of their ball skills was put to the test. Eduard excelled providing the rest of the White group with a spectacular expose of his Basketball skills.
The group continued to share their talents in the afternoon session of Archery, where Matthew’s keen eye and steady Bow hand earned him the ‘Robin Hood’ title!
Planes, Trains, Automobiles…
14th July 2012
Saturday 14th July
Following a previous busy day at the departure desks of Geneva airport, once again Julie and her team returned to the airport to welcome the latest campers to grace Torgon with their presence for our second International session of 2012. Scores of campers flew in from across the globe to be shuttled up to Torgon by Mike and JD, the finest drivers in Switzerland!
The team of Camp Suisse staff welcomed the arrivals throughout the day, both at the airport and also being there to greet the parents who made their way from their respective homelands to our mountain base in Torgon. Staff provided tours to the campers (and their parents) before helping them settle into the accommodation that they’ll call home for the next couple of weeks.
For those fortunate people who arrived early, an unforgettable experience was had with those campers staying on from session 1. In the morning, Heinke and Hannah, John, Mera, Zaina, Maan, Feras, Ethan and Miles were led off with our very own Kirsty and Sarah and all those early arrivals in order to search for the infamous Mouflon; a mythical creature that we’re fortunate to have in our vicinity.
The nature of arrivals day means that we have a constant stream of new arrivals. For all these new campers, we had a host of different activities that kept them busy. From the games of football to the walks out in the Swiss Alps, we all made the most of the Swiss sunshine by releasing excess energy in many different activities.
A great dinner of bolognaise or Thai veg curry, served up by Dean and his team was greatly appreciated by all, before the “getting to know you” games took place within each colour group, led by the Heads of Colour: Billy, Nicky, Lindsay and Harry. It wasn’t too long though before the jet-lag and fatigue set in for the many campers who had crossed several time zones to make it to Torgon, so an early night was much called for. In all, the excitement of session 2 is at fever pitch: roll on tomorrow!
Good Eggs Re-Live Their Teenage Years
The ‘good egg’ and ‘mini egg’ prizes were awarded to; Activities Sarah, Night Guard Daisy, Group Leader Ryan, Catering team member Simon, Language Teacher Danni and Head of Colour Lindsay.
As a special treat, and to relive their teenage years, all 6 went to Fun Planet for a game of Ten Pin Bowling. The crazy shoes were donned before a competitive 6 lined up to bowl their first strike. It took a while before they found their rhythm, but soon enough the ‘strikes’ and ‘half-strikes’ were coming thick and fast. Sarah even managed to strike the special red pin – winning her a free trip for next time! The final standings presented themselves with Ryan in first place, Danni in second and Sarah third.
Despite their lack of prowess on the bowling alley, when hunger struck they ventured into Aigle to enjoy a lovely Italian meal.
