Learning to be a good squaw…
Wow, this past week has been pretty crazy. Last weekend we had orientation for all the staff which was really good. We went through alot of team building exercises and getting to know each other better type things. One exercise was a test to find out what kind of personality we had (either a people, process, action, or idea person). I ended up being (surprise, surprise) a people person with action close behind. That was fun to do and find out. Ever since then, anything we’ve done we’ve compared to our personalities which is funny. So, orientation was Sunday night through Wednesday morning. Monday night we went to a place called Bar-J. It’s a family owned place that serves a Chuckwagon dinner each night and does a show afterwards. It was a lot of fun and the guys were hilarious. They were so natural and unrehearsed. Alot of what they said and did was made up on the fly but it all flowed so smoothly. They sang songs requested by the customers and some they decided to do. I was laughing my head off the whole time. Good times.
My work schedule is normally going to be 1 or 2pm-9:30pm or so except Wednesday and Sunday when Colleen (the other wait staff girl) has the whole day off so Jen and I work in the morning as well. Thursdays and Saturdays are our days off. We haven’t really gotten into a real set schedule cause things have been a little crazy and we haven’t really had many guests yet. Starting this Thursday though, we have people coming in for a wedding on Saturday. So this weekend is the big bang to the start of the summer season. yeehaw.
Last Wenesday night I ended up going “hunting” and learned how to throw a tomahawk. (this is where the “learning to be a good squaw” comes in) I was with my sister and four other guys. We spent about 2 hours going around shooting at things and throwing the tomahawks at trees. So, they started joking about Jen and me being good squaws and such. This was partly because another girl, Amy, and I started joking about going to a pow-wow and marrying an Indian. So, everything now is about marrying indians and being good squaws. Fun stuff. 
Thursday was my day off so I went riding on some trails and stuff. I’ve been riding more since I got here than my whole life put together. I’m doing pretty well and I’m learning as much as I can in the stables. One of the wranglers was convinced that I’ll come back next year as a wrangler.
Friday we had CPR and First Aid certification training. That was fun. And we actually had one of our staff pass out because of the video that was being shown with the fake blood and stuff. It was kinda crazy. We also had a cookout Friday night (which we’ll do every Friday night) and afterwards I ended up getting dipped in the river by my sister and Chad Phillips. Then we were all swing dancing and doing sweet moves. One move the guy holds the girl and then she drops her head and swings around his back and then brings her legs back around. It’s a pretty crazy move. I’ll have post a video of it soon. We’ve all decided that we’ll be professional dancers by the end of the summer. It’s alot of fun though and makes for some hilarious experiences.
Saturday was my day off so I went to Idaho Falls with Jen, Jason (the Chef and our boss), Matt (whom we call Mater since there’s two Matt’s) and Gage (who’s one of the fly-fishing guys). Idaho Falls is about 2.5 hrs away which made for a long day out driving. The guys had to go to get things for the ranch and Jen and I went along for the ride and to find some boots and hats. We ended up coming back to Jackson to get both and spent more money than either of us wanted to. But we’ve now got our boots (which are really practical to have to go riding in) and our hats (which is a must out here).
Sunday was rather interesting. We ended up going to a Lutheran church. If you’ve ever been then you know how it was. If you haven’t, it was rather interesting. We had our sins forgiven by the priest and weren’t allowed to have communion because we weren’t part of the Lutheran church and the right Lutheran church at that. Rather interesting. Sunday afternoon and evening we all swing danced again which was fun.
Yesterday we went whitewater rafting in 45 degree water. Yeah, talk about cold. Thankfully it was warmer outside than it had been. It was still freezing cold the three times I got in the water. The first time I jumped in with Amy cause we both knew we were going to get thrown in. We wanted to have the pleasure of getting wet the first time by ourself. The other two times I was thrown and pushed in. What fun it was. But really, it was alot of fun and we all enjoyed it immensely.
Everyone here is so nice and so much fun to hang out with. We’ve already been having tons of fun and it’s only been a week since I got here. It’ll be a little different once we start having regular guests but I know it’s still gonna be tons of fun. Herb Fisher, the man who owns the ranch, is a very godly man and so is most everybody here. There are a lot of us who don’t know exactly why we’re here but are excited to find out what God has in store for us. There are a few of the kids working that I can’t wait to see God work in their lives and change them. All in all, I think this summer is going to be amazing cause it already has been. I’ve seen changes in people just from being here only a week. I’m excited about God working in all of us.
