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Spy on Finnjamboree
It's a Small Green World, After All
By Laura, Senior Girl Scout
Girl Scouts of the Golden Plains Council, Inc.
My hometown in Kansas is a small place where you wouldn't be surprised to run into someone you know—or someone who knows someone you know. I wouldn't expect it to happen to me in a place like Padasjoki, Finland.
But on a recent STUDIO 2B destinations trip to an international jamboree held near Padasjoki, Finland, it did happen. Two Scottish women (who had stopped to ask if I had anything to swap) personally knew a woman I had met when I spent a session at Our Cabaña (one of the four World Centers) two summers ago! It turned out that this woman also heads their area in Scotland—who knew the Girl Scouting world could be so small?
Embarking on a New World
Thanks to opportunities like my recent STUDIO 2B destinations trip, I found out first-hand that even though the world is big, the Scouting world makes it seem small because of the solidarity of the world's youth. More than 1,000 Girl and Boy Scouts from all over the world joined 11,000 Finnish Scouts (called Suomen Partiolaiset) from July 28 to August 5 for "Tarus," the fifth Finnjamboree. The total population of Tarus was three times the size of my small hometown in Kansas! I met hundreds of Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts from Finland and other countries like England, Taiwan, Scotland, Sweden, Netherlands, Denmark, Iceland—as well as a few from Texas (which is big enough to be its own country!).
Not only did I get to meet international friends, but I made new best friends within our own national boundaries. Because the Girl Scouts of Chicago hosted the destinations trip to Finland, we met there for orientation with 10 other Girl Scouts from Chicago. Even though the rest of us were from other states (including one from Puerto Rico), by the time we got on the huge plane bound for Helsinki, there was no stopping the talking! Our laughing and chatting ceased only when we tried to sleep before landing in Finland (eight hours ahead of our own day/night schedule).
Scouting the Finnish Way
Once we landed, we discovered that the Girl Scouting/Boy Scouting movement is a little different in Finland. One thing that is VERY different is that Finnish Scouting is coed. From ages 8-16, they learn fundamental skills and after they turn 16 they become leaders. There was a group of four 14-year-old girls who each led a younger patrol group. Two or three times a year, Finnish Scouts take provisions and light shelters they need for the night and head out with a compass and a map for an overnight hike that lasts from evening to mid-afternoon of the next day.
Tarus Trippin'
During Tarus, 12,000 participants struck out on a few trails, so a muddy path was well-formed by the time we got out on it Sunday night. Along the way, our Finnish guide helped us through check-ins and challenges written in Finnish. We picked our way through swamps and forests to settle in the night location where at least 100 people set up tents that slept four people each.
The environment was a big part of our concerns and activities at Tarus. We raised funds for an environmental project in Finland during an afternoon market day when groups sold items, services, or a try at a game, for one ticket. Ticket funds benefited the Finnish environmental project. Even though Finland is 3/4 covered by forest, all 12,000 Scouts at Tarus divided into groups of two people each and planted one small sapling per group. Together, we planted 6,000 trees!
Finland received record rainfall the first five days of Tarus so the beautiful glacier lakes and forests were a little more soggy than usual. Ditches and sumps filled with rainwater quickly so that those of us without waterproof boots were left to skirt the small ponds that formed in the roads and campsites. After the first days, the sun broke through to blind us in the afternoon. These sudden bright moments extended into a last few days without a drop of rain. But there was plenty of water! During Tarus, we participated in a traditional Finnish sauna—something we had been looking forward to the entire time! It was complete with singing, sausages, and steam. We even caught the last few minutes of the sauna floating out on the lake. The swim in the cool water felt so amazing.
Culture Exchange
We were lucky enough to have an amazing Finnish host group from a couple of towns in northern Finland. They translated for us (which was a real help because there wasn't much Finnish/Suomi we understood) and introduced us to Finnish camping foods. We experienced something at each meal that I hadn't thought about before like what fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and carrots taste like. Because of the extended summer daylight hours, our host group's vegetables were grown locally. We gave a tent we won for selling the most items on market day to our gracious host group. I had an awesome trip and would go back in a second.
Swapping with so many people was a great highlight for me—I traded more than 300 patches myself and received pins, a T-shirt, and more than 100 patches from more than six countries. I count more than 50 patches from England as part of my Tarus collection! However, the many new experiences, opportunities, and friends that have been introduced to me through Girl Scouting are immeasurable. |
