My alarm was set to 7:30 but Jonas got up a bit earlier. Another shower and then head down to breakfast. They told us that we had to be there at 8.
During the breakfast, which contained a BLT sandwich from Subway and a juice box, we got informed that today’s program was the Mudfestival, and buses were to leave at 9. We were allowed to stay behind but it was unsure how and where we could get lunch. We spoke to Maja, Freyja, Harald, and Micaela and ended up joining, hopefully, I can avoid the mud and stay dry :p
Apparently, longer bus rides take pit stops, so this one would only take two hours, stopped at a similar rest stop as yesterday. I ran out to get something to drink and eat since I was still hungry.
When we arrived at our destination we got instructions to stay on the bus to wait for food. I stepped out and asked the CMT if there were any restrictions and they said no. So we ignored the supplied food (45-minute waiting time) and walked to the festival. We got a new friend, Erik, and we went down to the beach.
I didn’t really know what I was expecting but I had a bit higher exceptions than what we found. Three rubber pools with muddy water, a DJ with too large a speaker set, a couple of hoses, and a bunch of tents for changing clothes. This is just off the beach. I probably expected this to be 3-4 times bigger.
We left to find some food and me and Erik stopped at a restaurant to get some pizza, while the others continued to a cafe one floor up. Eriks’ kid was living in my Subcamp (#17) and we shared our experiences from the Jamboree. Decent pizza and some retro Pepsi bottles.
After an hour we went down to the beach again where I found Hanna covered in mud going to the sea. After that, we found Henrik and Jacob, from IST Support, in the water. We stepped in to cool our feet and it was quite nice, even though a bit chilly. Not as chilly as the Jamboree showers though. Just as we stood there, I got attacked by the rest of our bus gang who came rushing through the water and hugged me.
As said, the water was nice so I changed into my bathing trunks and got in. Both for the cooling effect, but also to be able to say I swam in the Yellow Sea. We hung around for a while and then found some showers. You needed a ticket but it was free if you told them you are a scout.
Before heading back to the bus we stepped into a cafe and had some drinks. We got on the bus and it left at 16. No stop on the way back so we arrived at 18, just in time for dinner.
At 20 they invited everyone who wanted to a session to talk about the Jamboree and the drastic changes the evacuation meant. I didn’t feel any need to talk about it (and I’m not just saying that), but I like perspective and I like talking to people so I went there. We ended up with a group of three guys with different “jobs” at the Jamboree, and a medical professional who herself worked in one of the clinics. It was interesting to hear the impressions from the others and as well share mine. We found some common issues and sometimes completely different experiences. After over an hour, we ended it, I didn’t realize how long we had been sitting.
I went by the guest lounge for a quick chat and then back to the room to get some sleep. I realized that this is the first evening since I got to South Korea, that I don’t feel the need to take a shower before going to bed.
It rained some earlier in the evening and tomorrow the storm is supposed to hit us so all planned activities are scheduled to be inside the compound. Bowling, movies, board games, gym, and so on. I’ll probably will try to catch up with the news from the last 1 ½ weeks. I have almost 2000 entries in my RSS feeds to go through…
A problem has risen. The shorts I’m using the most have some issues with their pockets. When I get sweaty (really easy in this climate), the pocket interacts with my phone. By this, I have “pocket called” my brothers on at least three occasions, via the emergency contacts. Which can be rather worrying because of the time difference. Because of this, I have started to keep the phone in my back pocket, not as sweaty. But, yesterday when I climbed around on pallets to check the equipment, I must have hit the phone at some point, because I now have cracks in the upper left corner. I think this is the first “major” damage I have had on my phone during all years I’ve had a smartphone. It currently works fine, but the cracks seem to grow. Hoping to soon find an electronics store so I can buy a screen protector until I either can repair the screen (the phone is less than a year old) or get home so I can buy a new one.
