Yodeling in the Swiss Alps vs. Sitting in the front of a yellow school bus headed to Philly??

I'd say I've come a long way from my annual trip to the Philadelphia Children's museum during my Mars Estates days. Now, don't get me wrong, I loved that trip, and I loved Mars Estates. However, working at an international school has given me some boujee, for lack of a better word, opportunities. Many students that attend my school come from affluent families, and, thus, are able to afford amazing spring break opportunities. My school has led trips to Greece, Switzerland, London, Russia, Poland, and multiple countries in Africa. Trips will range from being service oriented, learning oriented, or...in my case, just plain fun and active.

 With spring break one week away (WE ARE GOING TO SOUTH AFRICA!!!), I thought it would be most appropriate to regale you of tales of my spring breaks past. I'm not talking about my Bahama Mama or Cancun days, but if you'd like me to do a post about how I have slid into a Cancun cesspool at 2 a.m with all my clothes on, I'll do it.

So, let's first start with the fact that international schools have 1-2 full week spring breaks. Fortunately for me, GAA has a 2 week long spring break. It's unreal. I don't know how I'm ever going to go back to anything less, but such is life right? My first year Brian and I went to Bulgaria for one week, but my second year my friends put my name forth for chaperoning the secondary school ski trip........to Verbier, Switzerland. Trip of a lifetime.

Views for daysssss

Meet Scott, one of my buddies who went with me my first year!

 So, along with two of my guy friends, I set off for the Swiss Alps. First of all, I had no idea what to expect. All my friend Brian kept saying is "Katie, this is the easiest chaperoning you'll ever do. We need to get them there and get them home. Other than that, Les Elfes takes care of the rest". BTW, Les Elfes is the name of the ski camp/company we used. Regardless, these words could not be more true. I literally got them there, Les Elfes greeted us at the airport and took them for the rest of the week. We could have chosen to do as little or as much chaperoning as possible. I loved my group of kids each year, so it was actually a lot of fun to spend time with them outside of school. Super funny group each year. I lucked out! I elected to ski with a group of kids and an instructor every day, and every afternoon we would check in with the kids to make sure they had a good day. We ate dinner as a school and made sure everyone was ok, and then Les Elfes would have nightly activities for the students while we got to explore the town. It was AMAZING.

Morning view from my chalet balcony. Despite the parking lot, it still beats the pants off your every day views.

Now, let's discuss Verbier. I had actually heard of this ski town before because of the amazing skiing, and notorious apres ski. However, words can not describe how stunning Verbier is, and how MUCH FUN IT IS! First of all, Verbier is ridiculously expensive so there is absolutely no way that Brian and I would have been able to stay for a full week, and by week I mean more than 2 days. So, that fact that my trip was paid for was pretty clutch. Second of all, the skiing in fantastic. For those of you who like to ski, it has it all: fresh powder, well groomed trails, off piste skiing, bluebird skies with snow fall at night, and challenging slopes! Third, the town life is fantastic and lively. There is a place called Farinet, and all I'm going to say is: BEST. APRES. SKI. EVER. Like, ever.

Kyle and me before heading in for the circus

Just check out their instagram page for a taste of the absurdity that goes on in this establishment. Additionally, check out this list by The Culture Trip's Best Apres Ski in Europe

Farinet has it all: a live band, a glass roof that retracts while snow is falling in, and a rowdy fun atmosphere. I just had a major SNL Stefan moment as I wrote that. I really felt like I was sitting at the weekend update desk with Seth Myers about to regale you all with Verbier's hottest spots. What I should have written was "If you're looking for a good time, Farinet has it all: Mario Lopez, puppets in disguise, grown men in wedding dresses, human care bears". Enjoy the clip below of Stefan from SNL. yes, yes, yes, yes. See clip below.

Moving on, the town is full of great eats at adorable spots. There is this little sandwich stand on the way into town that has the BEST baguettes stuffed full of guyre, meats and frenchfries (Get the Mont Gele). There's also a fabulous restaurant where you cook your own steak on a hot piece of slate called Le Carrefour's Trip Advisor Page. You can ski or take the bus there, and they have a lively outside deck where you can eat your steak, sip on some wine and soak up the views. Another spot worth mentioning is this other fabulous restaurant that you have to ski to get to, and actually down quite a decent run. It's called Namaste, and it was perfectly cozy and the views, just like everywhere else, where on point. You must go and order to the open faced sandwich with cheese and bacon...I forget what it's called, but it's so simple, yet so delicious.

I ended up chaperoning this trip two years in a row, and the following year went with one of my closest friends - Kyle. He's equally as fun and crazy as me and I'm sure you can only imagine the laughs we had on this trip. Additionally, my friend Nathalie has a family house in one of the neighboring towns. So BOTH years, we met up for some shenanigans. I can't pick which year I preferred, because they were both equally awesome. Whether I was trying to spot the skiing cow (Brian dressed in a cow suit) on the slopes the first year, or Kyle and my general shenanigans the second year - I had a BLAST.

Sun is going down, and we were taking the easy slope home from Namaste

Kyle and me at Namaste

We had the best time skiing with the kids and the instructors during the day. The instructors at Les Elfes are all these young dudes in their 20's, who are fantastic with the kids, have great senses of humor and are equally interested at entertaining the adults.

For anyone debating on whether or not to make the leap abroad for international education, ask yourself would you rather chaperone a trip to the Baltimore Aquarium or would you rather chaperone a ski week in Verbier? A week without walls trip to Nepal? A History trip to Poland? But seriously, the paid travel opportunities you will receive for work is a huge attraction that I didn't even know about until I started working internationally. So, jump on the international band wagon, and read my next post about how my dream to live internationally became a reality!!

YASSSSSS