Scouts are famous for being prepared, although Lord Baden-Powell probably didnt have keeping Swedish-English dictionaries on hand when he founded the scouting movement back in the early 20th century.
Knowing how to at least say please and thank you in the Scandinavian tonguenot to mention many other languagescould come in handy for a dozen members of Vancouvers 46th Chown Scout Group, who are heading overseas to Sweden as part of the 22nd World Scout Jamboree.
Its a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and were all really pumped about it, said Scout Leader Keith Stoner, who will be joined by his 15-year-old son Michael on the trip.
For Michael, this is no exaggeration as Scouts are only given one shot to attend the event, which takes place every four years, because of age constraints, although they have the change to return if they in turn become Scout Leaders.
From July 27 to Aug. 7, the two Stoners will join 38,000 boys and girls aged 14 to 17 from 150 different countries, including 75 or so from B.C., in a field, normally occupied only by cows, outside the southern town of town of Kristianstad. During the event, the makeshift tent city will temporarily be the fourth largest city in Sweden.
Therell be people from almost every country in the world there, so it should be an amazing experience, said Michael, an only child who has been involved in Scouting for the past nine years and hopes to remain involved when he becomes an adult. What most excites them most is the chance to meet and mingle with Scouts from other parts of the world. There are around 40 million scouts worldwide.
The Vancouver troop, which meets at the Chown Memorial and Chinese United Church hall on Cambie Street, will also have a chance to visit yet another country on the way.
Were going to be at the actual World Jamboree for one week, but well be in Germany where the Canadian contingent will be having a pre-camp for about a week before that, said Michael. It should be a pretty amazing experience.
The theme of this year's jamboree is "Simply Scouting" with the focus on the roots of the Scouting movement. The jamboree will include cultural events, multimedia exhibits about global issues, leadership, personal development and, most likely, marshmallows.
At the World Scout Jamboree young people pass geographical, cultural and religious boundaries, said organizer Marie Reinicke in a press release. The biggest experience is to meet Scouts from other countries and cultures. I hope that the Scouts will feel comfortable and at the same time be encouraged by their leaders to meet new people in both organized and spontaneous ways.
The next World Jamboree will be held in 2015 in Japan. For more information, visit worldscoutjamboree.se.
