Hello! I am Lara Aboulhosn, 19 years old, from Lebanon (Western Asia). I have been in the Scouts Movement for more than 10 years. I am one of the 50 million Scout Members who has been striving to come to the Jamboree for a very long time, and one of the 160 in the Lebanese Contingent.

32 hours of flight!

The excitement that we felt was beyond expectations. We have been waiting for this Jamboree for so long. We knew we had a long trip ahead, a journey like no other.

One hundred sixty people came all the way from Lebanon to West Virginia to live the 12-Day dream, a heavenly dream.
Twenty-three ISTs departed at 1:40 am from Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport. The moment our plane took off, we felt as if the silence that has taken residence inside of us wanted to scream aloud from excitement.

We first arrived at Doha, Qatar after 3 hours. Waiting there for a 4-hour layover was really exhausting, but our goal was constantly on our minds.Our next flight was from Doha, Hamad International Airport to New York, John F. Kennedy International Airport: 14 hours of non-stop flight. We were so tired that we wanted to sleep for a century. At that moment a bunch of questions were running through our minds.

“Is this really worth it? Are we going to enjoy our time there? Will we have time to experience all the adventure that awaits us, or will this trip be as monotonous as that flight was?”

This is already 21 hours of not getting the proper amount of rest. We have 4 hours before our last flight. Finally.
From New York, to Charlotte, Douglas International airport, 2 hours of flight; however, before we departed, we were delayed for almost an hour in the plane waiting for better weather.

At 9:45 pm the plane finally landed. All the ISTs on the plane were cold and exhausted. We all felt that we already missed our parents, our friends, and our families. Going home was all that we could think about.

A bus was already waiting for us. Here we go. Another 4 hours until we get a non-stop 7 hours of sleep. But this is not what actually happened.

It took us 5 hours and 30 minutes, so we finally reached the Ruby Welcome Center, West Virginia, and we never slept. We had to check-in first, set up our tents, and BOOM, Breakfast is about to finish because it is already 8 am!
We ate, took a shower, got a bit of rest, and in a glimpse, the blood our veins was flowing differently. As if we are were reborn. We did not even want to sleep. We all got over the fatigue, and we just wandered into the camp site. We were ready to start the journey without wasting a minute. Nothing compares to the joy that you get the moment you arrive at the Jamboree!

Adventures like these makes you feel alive. Adventures like the Jamboree makes your heart skip a beat. And this is what life is about; moments that cause your heart to skip a few beats.

This page is also available in: EspañolFrançais

Print This Post Print This Post