December 13, 2008: St. Lucia Day :: Glühwein, cookies, and Eta Sigma Delta Charity

Satruday December 13th was St. Lucia Day.

Several of our scandanavian students dressed in white robes and carried candles as they walked through the halls singing traditional St. Lucia day songs.

The festivities included sale of Glühwein specially prepared by Mr. Konrad, and served by Eta Sigma Delta. All profits of this event will be contributed to the Eta Sigma Delta Charity for next term.

It was a lovely evening, and the glühwein kept students nice and warm!

December 13, 2008: Home Alone Movie Marathon

Several students took the opportunity to relax on Saturday, and watch the movies Home Alone and Home Alone II.

Movies on the big screen in Chaos provide a nice break from studying. More movie marathons to come!

December 10, 2008: SNOW, and lots of it!

Brig was hit with its first BIG snowfall of the season... It was celebrated by the skiers and snowboarders. Everyone else was doing their best to keep dry and warm in between the spontaneous snowball fights.

December 10, 2008: Sweatshirts are Here!

The NEW school sweatshirts are FINALLY here! Just in time for that last minute Christmas present.. and to keep you warm now that it is chilly out.

ONLY 50 CHF (cash only)

Stop by Kyle's office or send an email to uccr.stuserv@ritz.edu to set up a time and get yours today!

December 5, 2008: Winter Sweater Party

The students were welcomed to the bar with cookies, Christmas lights, and JELLO SHOTS. Jello is a fruit flavored American gelatin dessert.

This welcome drink was specially sent from the states in order to help the festivities of the season.

As students danced the night away to the music that Alex was playing.. They mingled among the lovely decorations, and ate their fill of Christmas cookies. The night concluded with many smiling faces (including that of the snow dude, .. who's carrot nose was bitten off sometime that evening).

December 4, 2008: Karaoke Kick Off

The first evening of Karaoke at Chaos was a great success! Students sang the night away, and there were few moments of silence. As the night progressed the students became more and more talented! The only downfall of this evening was the limited selection of karaoke songs. Student Services is working on creating a larger library of music.

We hope to hear again soon yet another rendition of Javier singing 'Angels' by Robbie Williams.

Overall this was a great evening, which will continue weekly, (starting in Winter term.

SNOW

UCCR Brig Students are overjoyed with the snowfall ... Their lovely snowman built outside T&X lasted almost a week!

November 28, 2008: Après Ski Party

Chaos was adorned with snowflakes, icecicles, and a GIANT snowDUDE. The theme of the evening was in celebration of the slopes opening in the Valais. Students joined the party with ski goggles, sweaters, and visions of sugar plums. Hot wine was served, and students danced the night away to Andrea’s music.

Overall the evening was a great success, and has got our students in the winter spirit!

November 27, 2008: International Thanksgiving Dinner

The presence of almost 30 Americans at UCCR Brig this term inspired an `International Thanksgiving Feast`. The Thanksgiving holiday represents the Pilgrims first harvest in the new land, on this day, Americans give thanks for all they have throughout the year… this is a day when the rapid American lifestyle takes a break, and families gather to enjoy each others company and have a dinner together.

In Brig, the traditional thanksgiving dinner staples of Roast Turkey, Cranberry Sauce, and Pumpkin Pie were a bit hard to come by, but with the help of the UCCR kitchen, and a bit of creativity from the participants, the evening was flawless.
The main attractions of the meal were the turkey breasts roasted to perfection by Charmaine, the cranberry sauce, Olga’s breathtaking apple pies, and Jamie’s spiked apple cider.

The kitchen was filled with a tantalizing aroma all day. Everyone who participated enjoyed the meal, and left the table with a full belly, and a smile. Thank you to all who worked so hard to make this evening a success!

November 22, 2008: UCCR Iron Chef Competition

The winning team 'Team Diablo' Pose with the guest Judges





As the wind blew, and the snow began to fall.. the Iron Chef Teams:

The Sinking Boat
Awesome
Diablo

Collected their allocated 50 CHF budget and headed to the store..

Once the cooking got underway, the aroma in the kitchen was fantastic, and drew many students into the dining room.

At 5:00 canapes were plated, our guest judges (Mr. and Mrs. London, Mr. Seeley, Chef Eugen, and Mr. Konrad) sat anticipating the tasting..

Teams were judged on the basis of Preperation and Presentation.

All of the teams made a valient effort, and made mouthwatering food.. after the scores were tallied Team Diablo was victiorious!

Congratulations to our winning Iron Chef Team, Cindy, Jhanela, and Aida!!

November 21, 2008: Latin Party

Mojitos were on special, and DJ Samantha energized the dance floor with Latin tunes
encouraging students to dance the night away in Chaos on Friday night!

The panamanian students were the life of this party, as they helped to bring students lingering on the edges of the dance floor into the party!

Arlynn's Salsa Lessons helped to make the dancing aspect of this event a success, as students were eager to show off their moves!

Thankyou to everyone who helped make this night a success!

November 20, 2008: Game Night

In attempt to ease the stress of project week, students from UCCR Brig enjoyed a night of fun and games in Chaos..In addition to Guitar Hero, Kicker, Wii, Playstation, and Jenga.. Anna Steinbarth hosted a successful poker tournament!

November 16, 2008: Hiking with Mr. Ortiz

It was a beautiful Sunday morning for hiking in Switzerland, the air was crisp, the sun was shining, and the 26 students and staff that attended were wide awake and ready for a great day!

This was the first hiking trip that Mr. Oritz took to the mountain village Mund, which is famous for growing Saffron.

Students hiked along the edge of free fall cliffs, crawled through tunnels and enjoyed a picnic lunch by the river.

Overall the day was breathtaking and everyone that attended was awestruck by the beauty of the Swiss Alps.

Thankyou Mr. Oritz!

November 14, 2008: PARTY @ Chaos

UCCR students in Brig celebrated just for the sake of it being Friday.

Students danced the night away as DJ's Alex and Sarit played an eclectic mix of house, and hip hop music.

Thanks to all for a great night!

November 9, 2008: Gastronomia

The 2008 Lusanne Gastronomia was a bit of a dissapointment for the some 115 attendees from UCCR Brig.

Students woke bright and early to board the busses for Lusanne. At a rest stop along the way Mr. Gutzwiller generously offered the students a breakfast crissont and a coffee.

The Gastronomia is an annual trade show for the hospitality industry in Switzerland. Vendors from across the country, as well as some international came and set up booths at this event with hopes to promote and sell thier products to industry professionals and to give our students insight into the up and coming trends in the industry.

Although the anticipation and excitement was high for this event, the small scale and ample time alloted in Lusanne provided students with too much time to explore, and resulted in the boredom of many.

Some of the highlights of the trip included quality testing of massage chairs, wine tasting, and myriad desserts for sample.

November 8, 2008: Salsa Lessons

Arlynn Bonaga was inspired to create an evening of teaching salsa when she was approached by two of the members of the student comittee who were interested in learning. She taught those two, and then thought that there may be other students who would like to learn salsa as well!

Salsa lessons are being held each Saturday at 16:00 in Chaos. Last Saturday there were about 15 people who joined for the lessons. So far, the salsa students have learned the basic steps. Arlynn looks forward to teaching the students more steps and techniques depending on their abilities (which she says are good :) ). The salsa lessons are a lot of fun for everyone involved.. join in next week!

Thank you Arlynn for your contribution!

November 7, 2008: 80's Night

T&X took a jump back in time last Friday and rocked the night away in 80's fashion!

The night was full of energy as students showed up at chaos wearing neon track suits, leg warmers, aviator sunglasses, and most importantly had their hair done with 80's inspiration.

Students enjoyed a mix of 80's tunes and current hit music provided by the fantastic DJ Alexander Alexandrov.

November 3, 2008: Sex in the City Movie Night

The Sex in the City Movie night was a success!

A group of mostly ladies gathered to enjoy a glass of wine and some fine Swiss Chocolate at Chaos on Monday night. It was an enjoyable evening!

November 2, 2008: Paint Ball Trip

Students from UCCR Brig met students from IHCR Le Bouveret at the Crans Montana paintball field for a battle.

The total of 16 students joined in the fun. The day was long, but overall everyone had a great time shooting 3,500 paintballs at eachother. The the women who joined the group had especially good aim!

The event was such a success that we hope to make this a reoccruing event!

November 2, 2008: Eta Sigma Delta Breakfast Service

This term Eta Sigma Delta came up with a new idea to raise money for our charity. We decided to offer the students that live in the dorms; room service on Sunday morning November 2nd. There were two menus the students could choose between: The “César Ritz” menu for 10 CHF, and the “Eta Sigma Delta” menu for 15 CHF.

The committee got together in the kitchen. Half of the committee made the eggs, cut cucumbers and decorated plates. While the other half served the breakfast to the rooms. The 17 students that bought the breakfast were very happy and wished they could get this service every weekend.

The overall profit of the breakfast service was just under 200 CHF.

Eta Sigma Delta would like to thank everybody that contributed to either the mufti day or the breakfast service.

-- Passage written by Diana Espersen

October 31, 2008: Halloween Party

The Halloween party at Chaos was a smash hit! Students were drinking and dancing until 4:30.. THe gouls and the goblins were out as the students made their way to the bar.

There was a mix of scary, creepy, bizarre, creative, and one of a kind costumes. The Student Committe helped to feed the hungry bar goes with a sausage sale.. and the students were grateful for hot food after a long night of partying.

October 29, 2008: Halloween Mufti Day

Eta Sigma Delta normally organizes two to three mufti days per term. The first mufti day of the term was on Wednesday October 29th. Mufti day is a day where students and faculty can show up in “normal” clothing and not business attire to school.

Eta Sigma Delta started selling tickets two days before, and as usual, many people showed interest in the mufti day. Most people donated the minimum of 3 CHF, but some donated more. The overall profit was just over 380 CHF. All money raised go to charity.
-- Passage written by Diana Espersen

October 27, 2008: Movie Night 'Sweeney Todd'

Monday evening students gathered to watch Sweeny Todd.

The choice of a dark movie was intended to help students get into the Halloween Spirit!

There were servaral Panamanian students that joined for the viewing of Sweeny Todd. In order to help many of these students who are in the process of learning English, subtitles were used.

This dark musical film at points inspired a singalong from the viewers :)

October 26, 2008: Mr. Ortiz Takes Students Hiking in Blatten

Students gather in front of a senic view with Blatten in the background



Students hiking toward Bitsch

It was a beautiful Sunday for a hiking trip with Mr. Ortiz! Students gathered promptly at 9:30 in the T&X Lobby for a quick breakfast before an exciting day of hiking from Blatten to Bitsch.

The hike was scheduled for 3 hours, but exceeded 5 to the surprise of many of the students and faculty that joined. Although the trip consumed an entire day, it was well worth the time of all who attended. Awe inspiring views, good company, and ideal weather made this trip a huge success!

A big Thank you to Mr. Ortiz for providing such a memorable experience!

October 25, 2008: UCCR Brig Welcomes Panamanian Students

Mr. Gutzwiller and Raul lead the Panamainian group from Lunch at Muller to School


UCCR Brig welcomed 18 students from Panama to their campus on Saturday October 25th. These students will be on an exchage in Brig for the next months completing an extensive english program and then taking regular UCCR courses.

The Faculty, Staff, and Students are excited to welcome this group to their home, and are excited to get to know the new students.

October 24, 2008: Student Committee sells Sausages

Christine advertising the gourmet product grilled to perfection by BBQ mater Eric Sit

The Student Committee sold sausages to a hungry bar crowd on Friday night. Committee members braved the brisk evening air in order to help satiate their classmate’s desire for hot bar food.

This will be a reoccurring fundraiser to increase the student committee budget so that they can plan more fun for their fellow classmates.

Sausages will be sold with a roll, ketchup and mustard for 3,50 CHF.

October 24, 2008: Anything but Clothes Party

Christine, Lorea, and Laura should win awards for the creativity put into their outfits!



Alex took a more simple approach to the theme

The Students at UCCR Brig were able to express their creative edge with this wacky theme night! Students wore outfits made from a variety of materials, photographs, construction paper, saran wrap, tin foil, newspaper, and even rubbish bags!

The novelty of the outfits was incredible! However, some students realized engineering flaws when they needed to use the restroom, bend over, or dance. The bar staff provided a stapler and tape to help mend outfits that were 'movement deficient'. This will be a night remembered for a long time!

October 20, 2008: First Movie Night of the Term

The first movie night of the term at Chaos was a quiet one. Although staff had prepared the bar with wine, beer, soft drinks, and an assortment of sweet and salty snacks the turnout was slightly disappointing. The few students who attended were able to relax in luxury on sofas for the viewing of the movie 'Pursuit of Happyness' starring Will Smith.

Being the first movie night of the term there are many improvements and modifications that will take place for future movie nights including drink and snack promotion and theme movies or recently released cinematic adventures.

Please join us October 27 at 20:00 for a scary movie in preparation of Halloween!

Look out for updates on films that will be shown at the 'Chaos Cinema'!

October 18, 2008: Wine Tasting Trip with Mr. Oritz

October 17, 2008: Traffic Light Party @ Chaos

The Traffic Light Party at Chaos was a hit!

Students arrived at the bar promptly for Happy Hour as the clock hit midnight. They were dressed to impress in their designated color of clothing:

Red: Taken or in a Relationship
Yellow: Confused or unsure of their Relationship status
Green: Single and Ready to Mingle

Many students who dressed festively wore several of the colors with hopes to stay incognito. As the night went on students danced to the Hip Hop music provided by a DJ new to Chaos who we hope will return often.

October 17, 2008: Wine Club at Chaos

The first wine club meeting of the term was a HUGE success thanks to Sebastian Schwietzer! His hard work allowed for a group of approximately 20 students to gather in Chaos to sample a variety of wines from Austria.

The ambiance in the room was lovely as the lights were dimmed, the projector set up, and dishes of baguettes, cheese and cured meat adorned the table.


Each tasting was preceded by a brief history of the grape the region and the vineyard.

Before tasting each wine the group discussed in a free forum the different aromas and bouquets that the wine emitted, after the first taste the energy in the room heightened with reactions about their feelings towards the wine and the identification of different elements they found.

October 16, 2008: Game Night

Game Night at Chaos is sure to become a reoccurring event!


Bartenders kept busy pouring wine, beer, and long drinks as the students listened to chill music they entertained themselves with the games provided.

There was a large variety of games from Monopoly and Poker to X-Box and Kicker, from Wii to Darts and even Jenga.
'Beer Pong' a game suggested by visiting WSU students was a hit, this game involves accuracy and concentration while tossing a ping pong ball across a table into cups of beer.

Students were able to compete against their friends and enjoyed an evening of worry free fun.

October 10, 2008: Sunglasses at Night

Incognito: Diana and Philippe

The Blind leading the Blind? Niall and Stefan

Students embraced the theme of the night by entering Chaos sporting their shades. The bar began to bustle around 12:00 as the bar staff prepared for a successful Happy Hour. The guest DJ kept the crowds moving with an eclectic mix of Latin, Hip Hop, and classic tunes... not to forget the 80’s classic ‘I wear my sunglasses at night’. Students favored icy shots of Sambuca to long drinks, and danced the night away until 4:00.

October 9, 2008: The Ice Breaker and the Ice Breaker After Party

Both new and returning students to UCCR Brig joined together to celebrate the beginning of a new term at the Ice Breaker. Students and faculty mingled as they awaited a welcome speech from Mr. Gutzwiller, who gave a special welcome to the WSU students studying in Brig this term, and introduced the faculty, staff and the student committee. The assembly was wished a successful term and the festivities began.

The crowd indulged in the exquisite cuisine prepared and presented by the service class, some of the favorites included traditional Raclette, an extensive dessert bar, and an abundance of wine, beer and other beverages. As the crowd began to dwindle students were seeing their glasses as half-full in anticipation for the Ice Breaker After-Party at Chaos.

The doors to Chaos opened promptly at 21:30 to welcome guests. The bass of house music shook the bar as the fabulous DJ kept students rocking until 2:00. Needless to say the successful fun of the night was reflected by a quiet campus Friday morning.