The British contingent of Scouts in their campsite, Short Arrow at Camp Geiger.

The British Scout invasion

 

“The British are coming, the British are coming,” was the excited announcement on social media by Amanda Terhune on the eve of the arrival of British Scouts to Kansas City. Every four years, for over twenty-five years, a contingent of British Scouts has been arriving to spend a week at Camp Geiger near St. Joseph, hosted by American families to experience all the camp has to offer and having an opportunity to experience a bit of the best the Midwest has to offer at the same time. A contingent of American Scouts from the Pony Express Council also visits the United Kingdom (UK).

The British Scouts staying at Camp Geiger are staying in the unique campsite called Short Arrow at Camp Geiger, which features tipis, the only campsite at Geiger that does. Scouts at camp are experiencing the C.O.P.E. course, fly fishing, Buckskin Games (which includes tomahawk throwing), and shooting sports.
Scouting in Britain is co-ed, but Camp Geiger is only set up for boys to camp so some of the young ladies who arrived with the contingent are staying with host families to experience other aspects of the Midwest and visiting their friends at camp.
Some of the biggest differences the British Scouts have expressed noticing is the roadways, one of the Scout leaders Tammy Barnes said, “The motorways are so big and you drive on the wrong side!”
Others of the British Scouts expressed shock that every American household does not have an electric kettle. Scout Abbey Broughton explained many people in the UK do not actually like tea, but still have an electric kettle for heating water.
Food and weather have been two of the biggest differences members of the British contingent have expressed. The choices of so many sugary cereals for breakfast and the multitude of choices in our fast food restaurants, not only of food, but also in soda pop, or fizzy drinks, as the British refer to them, have impressed them.

According to Zeta Switlik, the two British Scouts staying with them, George and Bethany Raines, have been truly enjoying tator tots, a food not available in the UK.

After their first night at Camp Geiger, the British contingent expressed their delight at the enthusiasm and humor of the Geiger Staff. They also were keenly aware of the weather.

Temperatures in Belper region of the UK, where the British Scouts are from, are typically around 68 degrees (20 degrees celcius), even during their summer. Most shops in Britain are heated, because it is colder outside. So going into a shop that is colder than it is outside has been a difference as well.

British Scouts Abbey Broughton and Sydney Hemstock sat down with some Girl Scouts and a Boy Scout on Tuesday night to discuss some of the difference in the Scouting program and also the differences in culture.

Although their school does not have uniforms, Boughton and Hemstock explained it is unusual in the UK to encounter a school that does not.

The Girl Scouts asked about whether or not the girls travel often to Europe and the differences in American and British currency as well.
Brougton and Hemstock also explained seeing guns in the UK is a rare and odd sight, so seeing armed police and knowing their fellow Scouts are shooting guns at Camp Geiger seems odd to them. Guns are not something easily accessible or available in the UK. Most police officers simply carry tasers.

Host families in Cameron include the Terhunes, Mackinlays and the Switliks.
The British will gather at Camp Geiger on Wednesday night July 19 to enjoy family night together, then will have the opportunity to experience a tapping ceremony on Thursday night. Over the upcoming weekend, the MacKinleys are planning a bar-b-que and fireworks display. The British will be in the Cameron area until Friday July 28, then will depart for other parts of the country before returning to the UK.

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