24th World Scout Jamboree 2019

My excellent adventure began in 2017, when I attended a selection weekend for international trips with North East England Girlguiding. I was selected to participate in the World Scout Jamboree, which would be held in North America. I spent the next 2 years attending quarterly training camps in the North York Moors in tents, cooking on camp stoves, even when it was so cold we woke up with ice on our tents. We did team-building exercises and skill-based games, and learned all the skills we would need while over there, such as how to deal with ticks and manage heatstroke and dehydration. Over these 2 years, we became close friends and got to know each other's habits and pet peeves. All to prepare us for our trip across the pond!

We left Teeside, where we were based, at 4 am by coach for the airport, where we flew to New York via Toronto, not without delays and cancellations. We finally made it to New York without our bags, which were still in Toronto, and started exploring. We got to see Times Square in the dark, which is just as amazing as it sounds. The following day, we visited Central Park and the 9/11 Memorial before taking a ferry across the Hudson River to our awaiting coaches, which would take us to the Summit Bechtel Reserve, with an overnight stop in Maryland on the way. When we got there, we set up camp and attended the opening ceremony in full uniform, where we were introduced to the side and what we would be able to do over the next 2 weeks. While at the camp, we cooked for ourselves and kept our site clean and tidy. We got to do so many activities such as rock climbing, zipwiring, fishing and an inflatable water obstacle course. We learned about so many other cultures and met so many new people.

At the end of the 2 weeks, we broke camp and moved on to the next stop: Washington, DC. We got to visit the Air and Space museum, the White House, the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. The UK contingent organised a massive party for all 4,000 members, featuring live music, caricature artists, and lots of fairground games. We also got to see a Baseball game, the Baltimore Orioles vs the Toronto Blue Jays. While I have no clue how the game went or who won, we had a great time, cheered on Anthony Santander, and were given the nickname International Santander Fan Club. Finally, we moved on to Vancouver, Canada, where we were hosted by the leaders of a local Scout unit, who fed us and invited us to dinner at their house. While there, we visited Bowen Island and the Harbour, and we got to swim in the sea.

After 3 weeks in North America, we came back to the UK to our families. I was so tired that my mum told me, since I was so excited to tell her everything that happened, but she couldn't understand a word of the gibberish I was speaking.

Overall, this trip was an incredible experience that I would not change for the world.