In summer 2019, the 24th World Scout Jamboree took place in West Virginia, USA. I went there as an IST and worked for roughly two weeks while meeting 45,000 scouts from about 150 countries all over the world. After the Jamboree, I went to San Francisco and met up with my father for two weeks of vacation, which also included a car trip down Highway 1 to Los Angeles.
These articles have been copied from my Facebook posts, which I made during the trip.
-
Off to West Virginia!
The day started with good byes to the cats, taxi pickup at 6, panic check-in (see previous post) and breakfast in the SAS lounge. The flight to Amsterdam was quite uneventful, apparently we were lucky since we went in one of SAS new Airbus A320 Neo. Well at Schiphol I …
-
First day!
Woke up at 7:30, realised that I would not be able to get back to sleep. Mikael had already gone to the shower, while Henrik also woke up. We decided to get started and build the three remaining cots. When I saw the sweat dripping onto the bed while mounting …
-
Meeting my team
The alarm went off at 7. Just get up and head to the showers. Cloudy in the morning, so it was quite comfortable, for like 20 minutes. Off to breakfast, where the line was like 500m long! Since I had to be at a meeting and take a bus there, …
-
Weather interference
Got up half an hour earlier this morning to lower the stress. The extra thirty minutes and some clouds made the weather much cooler. Shower and then breakfast, almost no queue. No queue for lunch either, and outside I met Tom, Sherri, and Karen who were gonna walk instead of …
-
We got phones!
Same procedure as last morning and a nice walk to the office with a colleague from the same area. He explained the hierarchy. Glad to have that sorted out During the day, we kept updating the profiles (yeah, it seems like a lot of work for just some profiles) on …
-
Welcome Ambassadors!
The earliest day so far. Good thing, not a lot of people in the shower at 5:30 in the morning. Quick breakfast and walk to the HQ. This morning could have started better because the first thing I did was to go and collect water and ice. When I’m turning …
-
All is well
Woke from the alarm at 7:30 this morning, the best sleep I’ve had on the trip, which could be because of yesterday’s intensive schedule. My tent-mate, Henrik, said that “half of India” was in line for the showers, so I decided to skip the shower and we headed for breakfast …
-
Day off
After yesterday’s post, a guy named Sven posted about needing Swedish patches (cause his shirt was missing them). Since I have a bunch of extra we met in the dining hall together with two of his colleagues and had a nice dinner. We told each other about our respective work, …
-
Cultural Celebrations Day
Today was the Cultural Celebrations Day, and all the villages prepared something from their home country. It could be something edible, a performance, or games that others could come by and try. When I got up, the closest showerhouses were closed. Luckily, they are not too far apart, so I …
-
Wrong toilet
Today I was working the morning shift, so up bright and early (relatively speaking). Breakfast, and then I felt lazy and my blisters hurt, so I took the bus. Still not really sure when and how things are set up in the morning, so I just started working on blog …
-
Just another day
Slow morning with some laundry (the towels were starting to smell). Long breakfast with part of my team, and at the end, just me and my team lead, Joe. We walked to our office together and talked about a lot of different things, an interesting walk. At the trailer, I …
-
Leaving the campsite for a day
Slow morning since my shift didn’t start until 13, Henrik and I had breakfast together. I showed up at our trailer at 10 to start on the blog posts again. The ambassadors are producing a lot of content, of varying quality, which makes our job more or less difficult. I’m …
-
Trip to Charleston
We split into different rooms, girls on the top floor, two guys on the large couch in the living room, and I’m alone on a cot in the basement. Dark, cool, and quiet. That was really nice! I was first in line for the showers this morning, so the alarm …
-
Thank you Ambassadors
I had the morning off, but everyone was supposed to be at work at noon for a team meeting and then prepare for the reception. Got up at 8 and did the usual morning routine. Called mom on the way to the bus to check in with Sweden. Spent the …
-
Last day with the gang
Woke up and took the usual shower, it was, however, unusually high temperature, almost warm! Had breakfast with Henrik and then said goodbye since he is leaving really early tomorrow morning, and I’m probably going to bed late. Day spent posting blog posts (duh), doing inventory, and packing up stuff. …
-
Last day at the Jamboree
When I woke up, Henrik had already left. Martin and Michael were packing up their stuff. Found a package from “The Jamboree Team” at the door. Not really sure, but I suspect it to be from some part of the Swedish Contingent Managment Team (CMT). Did some laundry just so …
-
Going to San Francisco
The alarm went off at 5:45, not really pleasant. Got up and packed the last couple of items I had, brought the pillow to donation, and the rest of the sleeping gear in a trash bag. Walked over to the buses where I would meet Amy and Else from the …
-
Waking up in SF
Woke up earlier than I had in mind, but felt pretty fresh anyway. Unpacked the bags and sorted through them (to some extent) so it wouldn’t be such a mess when Dad arrived tonight. Grabbed the laundry and headed out to find a laundromat. Got directions from the reception and …
-
Exploring SanFran
We didn’t set an alarm this morning, just woke up around 8:30. Headed down to the same diner as I was at yesterday, for breakfast. Cable Car Pancakes tasted as good today. Went down to Union Square to take the cable car to Fisherman’s Wharf on the north end of …
-
Alcatraz
The alarm went off at 6:30 for a quick shower before we headed out to catch a bus towards the Alcatraz cruise terminal. We had spotted a café there where we could get breakfast. Everything went really smoothly, and after declining the offer of taking a photo, we quickly boarded …
-
With a view
Woke up with the feeling of a cold. We went out for breakfast, and then I returned to the room for some rest while Dad went out looking for more record shops. At around 14, he returned, and we set off to Twin Peaks to get a good view of …
-
Highway 1
Rather quick morning, getting up, packing the last of our stuff, and then checking out. Left the bag in the reception while getting the car at a hotel a few blocks away. The Hertz desk was hidden away on the second floor, so we had to ask our way there. …
-
Hellooooo Los Angeles!
The alarm went off a 8:15 to go down to the beach and go for a short swim in the Pacific Ocean, who knows when that opportunity will come again. We had to ask a local if we were allowed to go into the water because the whole beach was …
-
Observatory and baseball
Sleep-in, got up around 9, and headed downstairs for a continental breakfast. Not that much, but it will suffice. Went out separate ways, dad looking for an art museum and I some shopping street. It was the classic merchant street with a variety of goods, not of the highest quality. …
-
Santa Monica and LAFC
We got up around 8, and after verifying that the game United-Chelsea was on the television, we went downstairs to fetch some breakfast. Glorious victory over the blue made this a terrific start to the day. Left the hotel to go to Santa Monica, but the subway had closed two …
-
Universal Studios
The alarm went off at eight, so I could get an early start towards Universal Studios. Quick breakfast and a goodbye to dad. Smooth subway ride, and then on a tram-like bus from the subway to the park itself. Security was a peach, but someone in front of me had …
-
Return to Universal Studios
Today was museum day for Dad, and I returned to Universal Studios, since I could. Arrived like half an hour later than yesterday, but both security and tickets were smooth. Today, the focus should be more on looking and enjoying the park than yesterday, because I rushed (sort of) between …
-
Leaving the USA for this time
We got up at 8:30 for showers and breakfast, followed by packing the bags. Since I have two duffle bags, I have to be extra careful with stuff that might take a hit in the baggage handling of the flight industry. We checked out and left a total of five …
-
Going home
Left the lounge and strolled through the terminal, ending up at my gate when I was supposed to board. Apparently, there was a medical incident with a passenger, not clear if it was on our plane or on the plane that stood at the gate before, so the boarding got …