Hej,

I've heard that my blog has been recently added as a link to a few websites. So to any new readers, let me introduce myself. I'm an Eagle Scout who is spending his 2nd summer here at Vassaro working at Fladan (the waterfront) instructing scouts how to sail, canoe, and such. I'm here because of a program run through the BSA called the European Scout Camp (Volunteer) Program. You should definitely look into it if you're seeking something a little more exciting out of your summer. Anyways, back to the blog...

It's the middle of Mardet right now. Days at Fladan have been *full*. There are periods when nearly every boat is being sailed, every canoe paddled, and everyone busy. Fortunately, there are no bookings in the evening, which we spend in various ways. Sometimes we get them off, sometimes we have to do other staff-related things.

Tonight was one of those other things. I found out today that this week is the 100th anniversary of Swedish scouting, and to celebrate, Vassaro has decided to bake a 100 meter long cake. Yes, you read that correctly. Enough for 1500 scouts to eat. Since this was a pretty big task, nearly everyone at Fladan was recruited to help. So, I spent around 4 hours spreading on filling and covering the cake portions in cream. The actual cake part was already baked, but needless to say it was a lot of work. Tomorrow, the cake will be assembled and layed out for all the scouts to decorate it, and then of course eat it. Nothing like seeing all your hard work be devoured right before your eyes.

Work-wise, everything has been pretty straightforward, just really chaotic. I've taken a lot of groups out sailing, although one deserves a little more attention. As I might have said before, the wind on Vassaro tends to blow directly into the harbor, or directly out. Which means that you have to tack (zig zag) either coming out or coming in. I was assigned taking out a group of small scouts around 8-10 years old with their leader. But, like most of the time, none of the kids spoke English well, and the leader didn't say much to me. I was in a Torekov, which is one of our slowest boats, and the kids didn't really know how to sail. If you've ever gone sailing, you know that tacking loses you speed, and it doesn't help when you're doing it in a narrow channel. So, basically sailing by myself, I lost too much speed, and drifted into the swimming area. A motorboat towed us out to the open, at which one point one kid said he had to go to the bathroom, in which I told him he had to wait until we were no longer being towed. But when we got out into the open, the kids decided they were too scared because it was a windy day. At this point, I kind of lost it, but obviously had to hold it in. When we finally got back to harbor and were tied up, the only words I got from the leader were "Sorry for this". I guess we all have bad days. But, life goes on, and now I can look back at it and laugh about the whole thing.

Another interesting thing I noticed. Today, Anna (my girlfriend) was stung by a wasp. She's told me before that for her, it only feels like a mosquito bite (lucky her) and that she doesn't swell up like most of us. But after this bite, she said the pain was almost unbearable, even now, almost 8 hours after the sting. We talked to a doctor, who told us that the wasps here have a much stronger venom, and that she actually had pills you could take just for these types of stings. I guess Swedish bees are uber-poisonous or something. Note to self: don't touch the bees.

I wish I could put up some pictures, but the dining hall is being closed right now and I have to run.

Happy 100th anniversary of Swedish scouting?

-Lukas