391 Days To Go: Training Weekend 3

As I'm in Year 11, recently I've been busy with GCSEs, revision and making decisions about my post-16 education. Unfortunately, this means I didn't have the time to make a post about my second training weekend that I attended at the end of the Easter holiday. If you would like to know what our unit got up to, you can read my friend Kyra's post at http://kyratojapan2015.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/training-camp-2.html.

Last weekend our unit met for the third time for another training weekend. It was a chance for us to undergo many activities whilst strengthening our friendships and making new ones. We arrived on the Friday night (except the people who had their prom that night) and after putting tents up were put in our patrols. From now on we will be in the same patrol every time we meet, including at the actual Jamboree. By changing patrols over the first two weekends we had a chance to get to know quite a few people and voted for who we wanted in our patrol at our second training weekend. We were given a tube of Smarties that we could eat (but we had to keep the tube all weekend) and an origami star. We then had the chance to think about our patrol name. As our unit is called the 'High Flyers', we stuck with the aviation theme and our most popular idea was the 'Trolley Dollies'. We were then given cake and a chance to chat with our patrol before going to bed.

The next morning, one patrol had to be up before 5am in order to make us all breakfast for 6. Luckily I wasn't in the breakfast patrol so I got more of a "lie in", lasting until 5:40. This was to help us get used to early mornings, as our breakfast in Japan could be delivered as early as 4am, and if we don't collect it, we won't get breakfast. Another way our leaders decided to help us prepare was through the contents of our breakfast - a three course meal of miso soup, bacon and scrambled egg and a cold salad made of beansprouts, soy sauce and sesame oil. Although the miso soup and salad didn't appeal to many of us, our breakfast in Japan will be very similar, so it's something we have to get used to. We then went outside to do activities with some IST members who were camping with us.

My patrol's first activity was tag rugby, which didn't go too well due to confusion with the rule that you can't pass forward. In the end, it turned into a girls v boys game in which we were encouraged to tackle the boys to the floor for extra points. Next, we moved onto the courts to do laps whilst touching the floor, jumping and changing direction in response to numbers that the IST members were shouting. There was a punishment of 10 sit ups for anyone who went wrong or walked instead of running. At one point, the whole patrol got a punishment of 10 sit ups, star jumps and 10 press ups. Then we did relay races and a jog around the football pitch. As tiring as it sounds, it was still fun (sort of). To finish off, we had to play catch with water balloons and try not to pop them. This was quite challenging and in the end we ran out of balloons and had to blow more up. 

After we'd finished our activities with the IST, we headed back inside for a talk on sex and drugs at the Jamboree. This talk was entirely confidential so I can't talk about what was discussed, but there were some very funny questions and leaflets including '101 ways to show someone you love them without having sex' (my favourite of which was to wash each other's hair :P). Then the unit split in half to do two different activities - first aid training and entertaining each other. In first aid training we learnt about sterilising wounds, different types of plasters, how to bandage sprains, treat burns and scalds and put people into the recovery position. The other patrol entertained us by showing us how to make origami peace cranes and we entertained them with games of 'Word Association' and 'Ninja'.

My patrol made lunch, which basically just involved heating up chicken bites and mini pasties. We were all very hungry after our early breakfast and were eager to eat up. After lunch we had a presentation from two people who attended the last World Scout Jamboree in Sweden in 2011. This got us all really excited for our own trip (apart from Kyra who fell asleep :P). Then we had free time which involved planning our patrol's activities for our trip to London in December, a very interesting game of catch, hockey, plaiting hair and generally chatting with each other.

We then set up the community centre next door to the campsite ready for our fundraising quiz. We all had the chance to invite people to take part for a fee, however, I didn't sell any tickets as I live quite far from the campsite so no one wanted to travel that far. The unit members were also allowed to make teams. Our team name was '5 Guides and It' as our team was made up of five Guides and a Scout. The quiz included rounds on General Knowledge, Sport, Music, Film and TV and Guiding and Scouting. At the end there was a raffle draw and the announcement of the winner of our balloon release (which you can read about at http://kyratojapan2015.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/balloons.html) - ME! I get £50 off my Jamboree fee and the person who bought the balloon gets a £50 pound shopping voucher. The person who found it (in Vosges, France) will also receive something. Then we packed away and started a campfire for the Year 11s to burn our revision on.

 Then next morning, many of us woke up at about 5am again despite the fact we could lie in until 9. We had a few hours to entertain ourselves so we started playing a game of catch. In the end, we wrapped some string around the ball we were throwing and created an obstacle course for people to navigate. Eventually this turned into a blindfolded activity and provided a lot of entertainment for us.

There were two activities planned for the day so again, the unit was split in two. First I had team building with a visitor from the RAF. This involved learning about the different skills and qualities that make up a good team, such as cooperation, communication, listening, trust and honesty. Then we had the chance to learn more about Japan through wearing traditional clothing, learning the language and making origami peace cranes. Then we had a very sweet lunch similar to the one on our first training weekend and packed away our tents. Then we had a couple of games of Irish snap (a game that had been played a lot over the course of the weekend) and cleaned up the Scout hut.

 Then we had a talk from our leaders about the Jamboree uniform and kit uniforms and we were also told what the purpose of our Smarties tube was - to collect 20p coins in. From now on, we'll have a competition to see who can get the most tubes full by each training weekend. We were also given a paperclip to swap for something as valuable as possible (inspired by One Red Paperclip). So if you want to offer a swap for my paperclip, I'd be very grateful.

449 Days To Go: EasyFundraising

It's been a while since I've updated, hasn't it?

If you're reading this post, you will know that I've moved blogs. Unfortunately our chosen unit name - 'Misfits' - is already in use by another unit, meaning we could no longer use the name. As it was a part of my old blog's URL, I thought I should start a new blog (this time without our unit name, just in case).

Anyway on to the subject of this post. A while ago, our unit set up an account on EasyFundraising - a website that raises money for causes whenever you search for something on their site. They can also make a donation to a cause whenever you buy something online from certain retailers, with no extra cost to you.

It's taken me a while to talk about this because, to be completely honest, I've only just figured out how to use it properly. So I'm going to do a step-by-step guide on how to sign up and start raising money for our unit.

Step 1:
Go to http://easyfundraising.co.uk.

Step 2:
Click on 'Support a good cause'.

Step 3:

Search for 'Lincolnshire Scouts & Midlands Guides Jamboree Unit' (shorter versions such as 'Lincolnshire Scouts' will also work).

Step 4:

Find 'Lincolnshire Scouts & Midlands Guides Jamboree Unit' from the search results and click 'Support this cause'.

Step 5:

Fill in your details, accept the Terms & Conditions and click 'Continue'.

Step 6:

Click 'Install Find & Remind'. This is a toolbar which notifies you when you visit a website that offers donations through EasyFundraising. You can skip this step, however, you will probably raise more money if you install the toolbar.

Step 7:

Now, when you're on a website that offers donations (for example Amazon), a bar will appear at the top of the webpage when you are on your basket. Click 'Activate donation and hide this bar'. 

After doing that, all purchases you make on that website will add a donation.

Many retailers other than Amazon are also taking part, including all of these:

In fact, there are over 2,700 retailers who donate through EasyFundraising!

You can also raise money just by searching for things at http://lincolnscoutsmidsguides.easysearch.org.uk/.

Everyone in the unit would be very grateful to anyone who signs up with EasyFundraising to help our unit.

521 Days To Go: About The Jamboree

Originally posted on my old blog on 22/2/14.

In my first post I didn't really explain much about the Jamboree and our visit so in this post I will write about everything I currently know. All of the information is from http://23wsj.jp, https://members.scouts.org.uk/ and presentations that our unit has been given.

The Jamboree will be held in Kirarahama, Yamaguchi City. The Jamboree site is 3km by 1km and includes a main arena, camping areas, a beach, a natural park and a sports dome with a swimming pool. 30,000 to 40,000 Scouts and Guides between the ages of 14 and 17 are expected to attend from 162 different countries.

picture from http://23wsj.jp

The Jamboree lasts 10 days, between the 28th July and 8th August. There are two programs at each end of the Jamboree (although we don't yet know which we'll be doing before and which we'll be doing after). One of the activities is 'Mimasu Tokyo'; a 3 night stay in Tokyo with at least 2 full days to see whatever we plan beforehand. We will be travelling by Shinkansen (bullet train) between the Jamboree and Tokyo.

The other program is called 'HoHo', short for Home Hospitality. In this program we will have the opportunity to stay in a Japanese home for 2/3 nights in order to learn about their culture and lifestyle. The UK team has asked if the 3,500 Scouts and Guides from the UK could be spread across all 47 prefectures of Japan. At the moment, we don't know which prefecture we'll be in.

The Jamboree itself follows the theme 'WA: a Spirit of Unity'. All the programs in the jamboree are aimed at creating friendships and bonds, as well as developing us (the participants) into citizens who understand global issues.

The Peace Program is a day off site visiting Hiroshima, one of the sites of atomic bombing during World War 2. We will visit the Peace Museum and Memorial Park to learn about the bombings in 1945 and the importance of peace. During our stay, it will be the 70th anniversary of the bombings and there is a possibility that one Scout or Guide from each nation will attend the memorial ceremony.

Global Development Village is a chance for us to learn about global issues such as the environment, peace, development, human rights and health. The program will focus on disaster mitigation due to our location.

The Exploring Nature Program will help us to appreciate and understand the nature surrounding us.

Cross Road of Culture is designed to enable us to gain a greater understanding and respect of world cultures, as well as the traditional and pop cultures of Japan.

City of Science is a one-day program that will teach us about advances in science and technology and the benefits and issues of these advances. We will learn about fuel cells and energy, ecological problems and robotic and automotive technologies. A UK group who attended the 16th Nippon Jamboree (which acted as a practice for the 2015 Jamboree) named this program as their favourite.

We will have the chance to compare communities across the globe and work with local people to make improvements to the area during our Community Services program.

There are also many water activities available to do in the area including rafting, snorkeling, wind surfing, sailing and fishing.

As I mentioned in my first post, our meals will be tailored to suit our needs in replenishing the nutrients we will have lost due to the hot and humid weather. We will be given large breakfast containing foods such as salty fish soup in order to increase salt levels in our body. Lunches will be very sweet with lots of baked goods and fruit. There are also hot food vending machines and stalls from various countries selling food so we have the choice to eat something different if we want a break from the food provided.

Finally, other services we might have on the Jamboree are mobile ATMs, free Wi-Fi and charging facilities (the last two of which could be very handy if I want to update this blog while I'm there). 

That's it so far for information about the Jamboree but I will continue to provide updates when I find out more. Thank you for taking the time to read this post and I hope you found it interesting.

524 Days To Go: My Journey So Far

Originally posted on my old blog on 19/2/14.

Hi, my name is Catherine and I am a member of Misfits (a unit made up of 27 Lincolnshire Scouts/Explorers and 9 Midlands Guides/Senior Section for the 23rd World Scout Jamboree in Yamaguchi, Japan in 2015). I am one of the 9 Girlguiding members, a Ranger based in Derbyshire. This blog was created with the intention of allowing people to see my progress with my fundraising and the experiences I have during my stay in Japan.

In the spring of 2013, I attended a selection day for Midlands Guides' international opportunities. About 40 girls were present, all with the aim of being chosen for one of six trips: the World Scout Jamboree Japan; reading to orphans in Malawi; community work in Sri Lanka; canoeing in the Czech Republic; a European tour planned by the unit or a Jamboree in Norfolk. We were given the chance to rank these trips based on how much we wanted to attend (I ranked mine as above, with Japan first) so that we had a better chance of attending the one we most wanted. The day consisted of team activities that showed our leaders whether we could get along with people and work together with them (traits that are of upmost importance if you want to create a successful unit). We also had to look after an egg for the whole day as it represented a passport.

2 people from that day were picked to go to Japan, including me.

By the summer holidays, my place for the Jamboree had been confirmed and I could start fundraising the money needed to attend; £2,995! It may sound a lot, but I had two years in which to raise this amount and the cost is staggered (£500 should be sent off every few months). I started my fundraising my writing letters to important Guiding figures in my community and raised £700! Thank you very much to my County and Division Commissioners, the local Guide shop and my Guide and Ranger unit leaders for your generous contributions.

I have also started a monthly challenged devised and sponsored by my  uncle, in which I have to film myself eating a slice of toast with thickly spread Marmite every month until I go to Japan. Yuck! However, his sponsorship of £10 for each month I do this is a great help. Month #1 (January 2014) was uploaded to Facebook and raised £30 rather than the £10 expected due to people feeling sorry for me and donating.

In late 2013, I met the 8 other girls that make up the Guides in Misfits and we spent a day together in order to get to know each other. We also met 3 of our 4 unit leaders. During the day, we worked together doing activities like orienteering, cooking and pioneering.

The Lincolnshire Scouts were selected shortly after.

Last weekend (the 14th-16th February), the whole unit finally had the chance to meet up. We arrived on a very windy Friday evening, pitched our tents and were given our neckers (to be worn all the time at every training weekend and during the Jamboree). We were then given a quiz about some of the members of the unit that encouraged us to talk to people to find out the answers, as well as some interesting facts about each other. We were then told to take our bags to our tent, but in order to do this had to complete a practice drill for getting onto the bullet train in Japan. The doors of the bullet train are only open for 2 minutes before the train leaves so in order to simulate this, we had to get every Guide and Scout in the room out of one door with all of their bags within 2 minutes. We succeeded, however the leaders made us repeat it with them acting as passengers. Unfortunately, we were not so skillful at maneuvering around passengers and they were all frequently hit with bags. After sorting our stuff, we played one more game and found out who was in each patrol for the weekend before heading to bed.

The night was ridiculously windy and the tent I was sharing with 3 other Guides struggled to stay up as it was the biggest tent on the camp and was pitched directly in the line of the wind. At 5am, I woke up to a collapsed bedroom on my face and realised that the outer part of our tent had been blown off and was only attached by the two back pegs. We rushed all of our bags into the hut in case it rained and then went back to sleep in our collapsed bedroom.

In the morning we sorted our tent and bags and got on with our patrol duties. My patrol was in charge of general camp maintenance so we spent the time before breakfast cleaning and doing odd jobs. During our breakfast of sausage cob we were shown a presentation with all the information about the Jamboree that has currently been disclosed to our leaders. We were also given a talk by the Lincolnshire County Commissioner.

We then stayed in our patrols to do 4 activities. My patrol's first activity was writing a 'Code of Conduct' in which we had to think about what behaviour was unacceptable and how the culprit will be punished as well as discussing how we expect the leaders to act. Our second activity involved planning the layout of our camp, taking into account slope and wind direction. We also suggested items to be put into a meter cubed crate that each unit can fill with stuff to take to the Jamboree.

After the second activity our patrol leader was given instructions on how to make Japanese stir fry which we all had to cook together for our patrol and assigned leader. The stir fry was very tasty, although eating with chopsticks caused frustration for some.

In our third activity we learned about hygiene. This included a short quiz about food hygiene and learning how to wash our hands and clothes properly when on camp. Our last activity involved brainstorming ideas for a unit name and designing a unit logo which were then decided through a vote later on that day. The unit name that was chosen was 'Misfits'.

Later in the afternoon we had a 'bin bag fashion show' in which we had to design outfits for 4 specifications (swimwear, winter wear, casual wear and special occasion wear) and make them out of different colour bin bags. Our model was the leader assigned to our patrol so of course the comedy value was particularly obvious in the outfits for the two male leaders, Steven and Kev. After all the outfits had been made there was a catwalk with commentary from one member of the patrol. Our luxury bikini was up first, followed by a mankini and mermaid outfit in the swimsuit section. The winter wear featured a kimono and a very short skirt with the slogan 'it's not classy, it's trashy'. Casual wear saw a run down Cinderella outfit from one patrol which contrasted with their Cinderella ball gown for the special occasion wear section. Overall this activity was a lot of fun for us and probably very embarrassing for the leaders. Perfect!

After some free time and a few intense games of 'Speed', a barbecue dinner was ready for us. Everyone ate together on two very packed tables full of conversation. Even though it had only been a day since we all met, the bonds of friendship that had been created between all of us were very strong. After eating we headed to the campfire to enjoy an evening of entertainment and s'mores. We sang and played games together until we had no energy left.

Sunday morning saw us packing our bags ready to go home. A breakfast of eggy bread and alphabet spaghetti was consumed in a rush before we packed our lunch for the day. Bagpacking was the whole schedule for the day, so we set off at about 9:30am to the local Morrisons. From 10 til 4 we packed bags and greeted customers with a break for lunch at midday. Our lunch was a taster of the midday meals we'll get in Japan that are tailored to replenishing the nutrients we've lost. Cake, fruit, fruit juice and more cake. A very sweet meal that I'm not sure I could ever get used to. A few of us were taken back to camp early in order to pack everything away to go home before the rest of the unit arrived back from Morrisons. All that was left was to take down our tents and say our goodbyes. We all went our separate ways, happy knowing that we'll see each other again soon. Facebook friend requests were rife over the next couple of days as we all sought to keep in touch until our next training camp in April.

The next day, the grand total of money raised in Morrisons was announced. £1,421.10 - a huge amount of money that I never expected to raise in just one trip! The money will be split between everyone who participated.

And now we have reached today; 524 days until the start of the Jamboree. I am so excited!