When people say this jamboree site is big, they are dead serious. It is split up into six basecamps that we tell apart letters A to F. Each of these consist of four subcamps so for example my group lives in subcamp B4. Upon arriving, I could not imagine how huge this place could possibly be which is why I thought it would take me half an hour maximum to walk to our global ambassador headquarters that is located between basecamps C and D. I mean hello?? C is next to B, which is where I live, so it has to be close, right?

No. I was so wrong.

I needed to get there early in the morning for our global ambassador orientation. In the end, it took over twenty minutes to cross basecamp B alone and the walk to the headquarters took me around an hour.

I’m definitely not complaining though. Not at all. The nature around here is absolutely breathtaking and I got to cross this beautiful valley that separates basecamps A and B from the others on my feet early in the morning as the sun rose up. Nevertheless, I felt a huge weight being lifted off my shoulders when I finally spotted the headquarters tent.

Not going to lie, I was scared that talking with my assigned group of ambassadors would be awkward. As an antisocial person, I didn’t think I would be able to get along with them, but I was proven wrong yet again. There are over a hundred ambassadors in total and we are split up into groups of around ten people. Even though there are a lot of different nationalities, we managed to get along really fast. I personally couldn’t believe just how well it went! We got a lot of new information and one would think it would be boring but given the great atmosphere within our group, it was actually really nice. We found out that we like the same bands (for example BTS), that we have similar hobbies (such as playing musical instruments) or that our senses of humour are very alike. I think we all had an amazing time!

After the orientation, I went back to our camp to get some food and rest to get as much energy as I possibly could for the opening ceremony that was about to take place in the evening. I was about to be the flag carrier for my country, the Czech Republic! But the jamboree site is so huge and there is so many things to do that I just couldn’t stay at the camp. I joined my friends and we went to go check out what we can do in basecamp C but something really cool drew my attention on our way there.

I like to listen to a Korean music genre, k-pop. There was a really famous k-pop boyband scheduled to perform at the jamboree and I was very well aware of that and looking forward to it a lot. When we got to the basecamp C, I saw a huge sign that they were about to perform on that day at three PM. I checked my watch and I saw it was already ten minutes past three! I don’t think I’ve ever run faster to be honest, but I got to the stage early enough to see them perform a few songs and it was absolutely amazing. I was so happy to see them upclose that I cried but at the same time, I wasn’t really upset when the performance ended. I was just so grateful to have seen them.

I met one of my global ambassador friends from Portugal at the concert so we hung out a bit and then went to the preparation for the opening ceremony together. We got aligned in the order in which the countries would come up and waited until everything and everyone was ready for the show to begin.

The arena is huge. It goes downhill so everyone can see the stage that’s at the bottom. We waited with our flags on the top. When we finally came out, there were so many emotions overflooding my mind. I was so happy and honoured to be able to carry the flag of my country. So many people were cheering for me as we walked down past everyone in the crowd. It made me feel so proud of my country, my contingent and also every other scout from the Czech Republic that, unfortunately, couldn’t come with us. It really reminded me of how strong we are as a country and how we are able to stand together. When the Czech Republic’s name was called out and I carried the flag over to the stage, the stadium erupted into cheers and even though it only took a few seconds, they’re definitely a few seconds that I’ll remember forever.

Needless to say, I slept very well after everything that has happened yesterday and I can’t wait for new amazing experiences and people to come!