Mosaic

On July 2nd, I started out on my newest Guiding adventure! And what an adventure it was. The theme for Guiding Mosaic was challenge yourself, and I think that I managed to do that and more while at camp.

I met many new Guiding friends, and even some old friends from SOAR. I managed to get myself accommodations in a tent trailer, graciously supplied by an Ontario Guider. Bunking in with me were Ontario Guiders from, Wainfleet, Tillsonburg, Nepean and one from Brookfield, Nova Scotia.

It may rain here in B.C., but I can honestly say, Ontario, is the wettest province I have seen. In the course of a few hours, we had a large lake form that someone with a sense of humour called Lake Okanagan, complete with Ogopogo! But despite the couple of wet days, we still had a great time.

Being in food services was an amazing adventure in itself. We feed over 2,700 Guiding members three times a day. What is truly incredible is that we fed all of these hungry hoards, in less than 60 minutes per meal!! We had ten lines feeding through the dining marquee, and girls and Guiders moved swiftly through. Of course they didn't move through without the usual complaints, of I don't like that or is there any more, but all in all most thanked us for another great meal. The catering company, Bingeman's did a fantastic job and should be commended for their efforts. By the end of camp, Todd who was in charge of serving for Bingeman's was sporting a lovely purple Guiding hat, complete with traders. He even got right into the act of trading by bringing in some company goods to trade. Did I mention that if you wanted lunch, it was a 2 kilometer walk, every day down to what they called the "Island", where the girls were doing program work? Not only did you have to walk down there for lunch, but all ceremonies were also held down on the "island". So needless to say, I challenged myself daily, just to get down to the island for my lunch shift every day.

It was great to see Girls from so many countries, mix and mingle and get along. In the tent site next to mine, the Russian Girls serenaded us nightly with songs sung in Russian. Girls from the United Kingdom traded fast and furiously like ours. The Girls and Leaders from the Caribbean brought spices to share. New Zealand, Australia, Dominica, Mexico, Grenada, to name just a few, all shared in the adventure of Mosaic, despite some of them speaking very little English.

I am glad that I applied and was accepted to attend Mosaic! It is an experience I would do again in a minute. To meet and see so many girls, coming together for fun and adventure and put all their differences aside was incredible. If only the rest of the world could get along so well, there would be no turmoil and unrest in our lifetime ever again.

Thank you Guiding for giving me the opportunity to challenge myself and to discover the Guiding World!

Yours in Guiding,
Pat Mahon