Too Much Fun, Not Enough Time

Since we left Toronto on July 22 until now, we have been having a great time. We took a photo at the airport to show our Canadian pride.

We landed in Frankfurt for the pre-jamboree and we had the opportunity to explore the city using their public transport system. While in Germany, we visited the Heidelberg Castle and the surrounding city. We were also able to go to a Roman Fort which was as far as Rome had conquered in Germany.

We then flew to Copenhagen and took a long bus ride to the jamboree. Setting up our campsite took the whole day. On the following day, we participated in a flag raising ceremony and spent three hours in a huge maze/obstacle course activity called Quest.

A unique part of the Jamboree was the Camp-In-Camp Activity. We played games with a local group and even cooked a really tasty meal using random ingredients from whatever was available at the Jamboree Store.

The jamboree is slowly coming to an end with a strange feeling of homesickness and nostalgia (even if we are still very young). Meeting the Vice President of the Philippines who is also the President of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines capped our once-in-a-lifetime experience!

A Not-So Welcome Return

Today is day 9, meaning there is only one full day left at the World Scout Jamboree. It started with a wonderful experience: the chance to help raise the 176 national flags flying at the WSJ. 20 members of our troop got up bright and early, and headed to the flags in full uniform. Unfortunetly, not all of us got to raise a flag as there were more people than needed. The few of us who did raise a flag got to raise one of the World Scouting flags located in Four Seasons Square.

After this, we headed to our last module activity, Global Development Village (GDV). We spent the morning learning about the environment, how Mexican scouts are working to help it and how to help it yourself. After lunch, we split up, half of us going to Entrepreneurship, and half going to Health. At Health we explored several health issues local to where we are from, then learned a bit about Ugandan scouts fighting malaria. There was so much to explore at GDV, but so little time.

Our not so welcome visitor today was old good old friend, rain. It has been raining on and off all day, again. Not as bad as earlier in the week, so we don't really mind, but it has put a bit of a damper on our last few days. Tomorrow we tear down camp, then have the closing ceremony. Tonight we intend to have a dance party with all our Irish (and assorted other nationalities) friends.

We are all tired, and there is the occasional spat between eachother, but none of us truly want to go home. The WSJ has been one of (or maybe even the) most amazing experience of our lives, and no one wants it to end. But, as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. We still have one more day though, so we will hope for no rain, and have the best day of our lives. This is the begining of the end of 22nd World Scout Jamboree in Sweden, but our experiences and new

friendships will live on forever.

Canadian, Eh!

Today is day 8 and is Cultural Festival Day here at the World Scout Jamboree. Every troop had food and or other activities available for the rest of the camp to enjoy. Our troop partnered with Canada House to make pancakes with real maple syrup, and some good old ball hockey.

The morning was spent cleaning our site and finishing building our gateway. We then split the troop into shifts, and the great pancake cook off began. Our patrol spent a few hours touring the camp, enjoying (and sometimes not so much enjoying) the food from various cultures. Even though some of the food is more of an aquired taste, we still enjoyed the experience. When our shift came, we quickly slipped into a routine of cooking and serving. Our authentic Canadian maple syrup was a big hit around camp, and our site was busy even after we ran out. We still have lots of leftover syrup though (mmmmmmmm...). Tonight there is a camp wide event at the main stage, which should prove to be amazing once again.

If I haven't already made it clear enough, the best part of a World Jamboree is meeting so many people from so many different cultures, and seeing them all work together. Our hockey was a hit across all nationalities, and seeing the mix of people all playing our game made me a proud Canadian.

All the Canadian Contingent gear (crests, shirts, jackets, etc...) has been exceptionaly popular amongst the trading community, and a lot of us have now traded some of it away for various other contingents' stuff, especially UK and Ireland.

Things are amazing here. I mean, this is the 22nd World Scout Jamboree, eh!

Pioneering

One difference about a World Scout Jamboree from other similar gathering of youth is the display of pioneering skills. Pioneering is the science and art of tranforming logs and ropes into a variety of structures and camp gadgets.

Chillin' in Sweden

Today is day 7 of the Jamboree, and it was our free day. Last night we had Dream, which was somewhat different than we expected. The fog filled tent and "Senses" activity were cool, and we enjoyed the Swedish night while taking a journey from "death to birth".

The day after Dream you get a free day, which we have exploited to its fullest extent. We have been shopping at the Jamboree Shop, enjoying the various activities around Four Seasons Square and the view from the flagpole tower. We also got to sleep in (!!!!!), and after and excellent lunch, went to the beach!

A short bus ride took us to the Jamboree beach, which was very crowded. Nevertheless, the Baltic Sea was warm, sandy, and barely salty. You could actually open your eyes underwater and they didn't sting the slightest (nor did the water taste bad). We enjoyed the sunny beach, and played in the sand and in the refreshing water.


Upon arriving back at camp, we discovered that we had a acquired a pool at our campsite! We now have our very own beach to enjoy, and waterguns galore to play with.

Tomorrow is Cultural Festival Day, for which our troop has partnered with Canada House to cook pancakes with maple syrup for the camp, and to have hockey games. It will be awesome.

...Afterall, what isn't awesome about the World Scout Jamboree?

People

Day 6 here at the World Scout Jamboree. Things are going well so far.

Today's event was People. It was all about exploring how yourself and others feel. We played a game called Rafa Rafa where we got to experience how cultures feel when others intrude and don't know their customs. Trying to figure out what is insulting to others can be quite frustrating and difficult.

As past entries may hint to, the biggest part of the Jamboree is meeting new people. We have become good friends with the Irish group we met at Camp in Camp, and the constant badge trading has lead to many new frienships. We have even had lots of opportunities to use our french, when speaking with people from Belgium and France!

It has been amazing here, and tonight we have Dream, which is supposed to be the best activity. We'll just have to wait and see...

Camp in Camp

Several of the Canadian groups enjoyed 'Camp in Camp' yesterday. This unique experience brings the units from the World Jamboree to local Scout camps as guests of Scandinavian Scout groups. For 24 hours you have a smaller camp experience and get to know the local culture and people better.

Southern Skies Patrol was the guest of a Norwegian group and enjoyed the lakeside location. It was nice to get away from the bustle of the jamoboree and sit by a campfire sharing scouting experiences. The sunny weather was also enjoyable allowing us to sleep under the stars.