Opening Ceremony

The jamboree isn't exactly what any of us expected it to be, but we wouldn't wish it to be any different.   The official count is over 34,000 participants.  We are all in a giant tent city, wall-to-wall with crews of 40 from at least 150 countries.

 

On second thought, if there was one thing we would change it would be to lower the heat and humidity; living here requires constantly breathing the equivalent of a steam room.  But I digress.

Yesterday we took a four-hour ride on the bullet train to get to Yamaguchi.  We entertained ourselves during those hours, in part, by having some pretty interesting rap battles.  When we arrived we were welcomed to the city by the locals and many other scouts who were headed our same way.  The first evening at the camp was spent setting up our tents and introducing ourselves to our neighbors.

As should be expected, there is some good-natured international competition at the jamboree.  Each crew of 40 was given a number of bamboo polls to build welcoming structures at the front of their campsites.  Some crews, like the Japanese, have very detailed arches and roofs for their banners.  We on the other hand,  have a colossal, trident-shaped tower flying the US flag.  It could very well be the tallest structure in camp, and we are considering expansion.

The opening ceremony was last night.  It was a lot like the Olympic opener, but scout themed.

While we were standing in line, moving by crews to our positions in the ceremony, the Belgian scouts were in front of us began shouting their cheers about the greatness of Belgium.

Not about to be outdone, we sang the National Anthem with all the passion we could muster.  Those surrounding us were quiet by the time we got to the second line of the song.  Our crew experienced an incredible feeling of unity.

The Belgium-American relations then evolved into the singing of songs.  We took turns singing, and our crew sang many hymns such as the Spirit of God and Called to Serve.

Yesterday was comprised mainly of exploring the camp, trading with other scouts, and making friends.  We did a good deed for some Australians, and are now looking forward to joining them for dinner tonight.

Leadership within our crew is developing and becoming more effective.   Save for a little sunburn, we are injury-free, our spirits are bright, and we have high expectations for the adventures this next day will bring.