The Kit video is here!

Finally! It's here! After a week's worth of intensive shooting, editing, and cursing at the editing software because it won't behave itself, my humble video about what to take travelling with you is ready! I hope you enjoy watching it, and any scout leaders out there might find it an amusing way to gently introduce the topic of packing at a meeting one evening.

 

 

 

Of course, there are other things that I will be taking. I'm taking my Powermonkey, a nifty little gizmo which will charge most electrical appliances (phones, cameras, etc) and can be charged through the wall, via USB, or even through solar power (something I hope to have in abundance in Mexico!) 

I will also be taking my trusty penknife, and also a longer hunting knife. Of course, the hunting knife will only come out when I am in the wilderness or on a scout camp, because apart from the fact that wandering around a city with a knife on your belt is, incredibly dangerous and invites more harm than it will keep away, it also looks stupid. A bit like someone turning up for a day's paintball in the woods wearing full army gear, including blast helmet designed to stop grenade shrapnel.

It's the woods, why did you turn up in desert camo?!

However, a larger knife could be very useful out in the wilderness, should I need to whittle some sticks, gather some woodshavings to start a fire, or even skin or gut an animal for dinner. I'll be honest, I would be a bit out of my depth if I was gutting the wildlife of the Mexican jungle for lunch, but the old Scout method of "cook it until it all looks like charcoal" should keep the worst of the food poisoning off.

 

Another very exciting piece of kit I have been donated is.... a SIM card! For the uninitiated, a sim card is the bit in your phone which allow you to make phone calls, and is identified by your phone number. And I have been given one made by a company called Truphone. Truphone specialise in getting the best value international calls by giving a simcard multiple numbers; for example, if I call someone in the USA, they will see my US number. If I call someone in the UK, they will see my UK phone number. I won't pretend to understand the ins and outs of how the technology works, but it's a brilliant idea. And they have very generously donated me a sim card... with $100 of credit on it! So thank you very much Truphone, and stay tuned to find out how useful this little bit of gear will be to me as I travel around the world!

 

Right, enough said. I've just finished work for the next third of a year, I have to go and try to get another scout shirt from the scout shop to swap with a scout group, then get in a game of FIFA with some mates, then go visit an Explorer Scout Unit in Pangbourne, and then drive up to Leeds for some indoor skydiving, a foam party, and a friends' birthday celebration. It's a hard life, but someone has to lead it!

Moot briefing weekend 2: fun, friends, and a reminder of just what we're embarking on

I wasn't particularly looking forward to the briefing weekend. The first had been alright: useful information, a questionable fancy dress disco, and a morning discovering how hard it was to talk about what there was to do in a British town using Chingford, Essex as the model town. There was some new information to be disseminated this weekend, but that could surely have been done in an email. I had forgotten the names of many of the people I met at the first weekend, and frankly I wasn't sure that 26 hours would be time enough to re-learn all those names. With only about three weeks to go before I leave the country and embark on my own adventure, did I really need to be attending a weekend about how to visit a foreign country and meet a bunch of people?

Well, as it turns out, yes I did.

This weekend was one of the first times that I have seen the tangible become the intangible. It was the first time that the reality of over one hundred young people, armed with hiking boots, microfleeces and (in my case) an arguably inflated notion of how good their dancing was, become the people who would be having the life-changing, character-building and horizon-broadening experiences that are spoken of in the leaflets and adverts for events like this. It was a weekend at which I was forced to reconsider my own opinion of what, precisely, I was doing at this event and in my own Scouting career in general. And, it must be said, the disco was infinitely better than it had been at the first weekend.

The first morning was, as I had expected, good and informative. We learnt why we hadn't heard lots of information from the Moot organisers that we had been told we would have by now, and we discussed when payments were due, and so forth. Then, in the afternoon, we played a game. This game involved splitting into three groups, each of which was given a different objective to complete and a different method of communication. Then, at the blow of a whistle, one person from each group was sent to watch the other teams and interact with them. At the time, I thought this was a disaster. We didn't know why we had to go and watch the other team, or how on earth we were going to interact with them (or at least I didn't). I was just as confused when I returned to my own team and realised I had forgotten how to communicate with them, and that in any case we hadn't been given enough language for me to convey my utter confusion at what we were doing. At the end, when we were asked what we learnt, I was hard pressed to find an answer that wasn't sarcastic and irritating.
No matter. I moved on to some more information bases and a chance to put up the tent, or more precisely to hunt for the tent that my friends Nik and Jon had put up earlier, which was easier said than done. Turns out that "the green one near the tree" is a very poor description when looking for a tent in the woods. But the tent was eventually found, and by that time it was dinner. And, after dinner, we were spoken to by a very unassuming man from Oxfordshire named John.

John casually informed us that he was the Vice-President for the World Organisation of the Scout Movement; essentially, the number two Scout on the planet. He had come to talk to us as his role was primarily concerned with international trips such as the Moot, and because he was extraordinarily excited that we were going. With my hand on my heart, I can say that I have never been inspired by another person in quite the same way as I was by John. He had the room spellbound as he told us of his experiences in refugee camps in Rwanda during their civil war, in which orphaned children were comforted and entertained by Ugandan Scouts who were 18. He told us about the wide game he played on the Russian tube network with a 14-year old who had started up Scouting in his apartment block in Moscow, months after the fall of the Iron Curtain. And most importantly, he told us how these experiences had shaped him, as a young man the same age as we are now, and convinced him that young people, both under and over 18, could be vehicles for change in the world and had so much to learn and to offer by meeting people from other countries. He then handed back over to Toby Parsons, contingent leader for the UK Moot contingent, who announced that pudding was ready. It was, I think, a sign of just how incredible a speaker John was that in a crowd of Scouts, the applause for his talk was greater than that for the announcement of pudding.

That evening and into the next morning, as I looked around me, I started to see these people John had been talking about. As I saw others getting on, laughing, and heckling the disco from the safety of the balcony upstairs where they weren't under any pressure to dance Gangnam Style with any kind of competency, I managed to get a sense that this trip was not simply another foreign excursion where we would soak up all the usual gumph about making friends for life, struggle with the language barrier and then go home. It also occurred to me, as I sat chatting to one of the people I had played the afternoon's game with, that perhaps the friendship we had started to forge in the face of adversity (adversity in this case being an utterly incomprehensible task with no discernible point) was more the point of the game we had played than whatever point we had in fact been searching for. I wondered if the Moot wasn't actually going to be like this throughout; a list of things to do which give 5,000 people an excuse to get to know each other, even if all we did with those activities was throw all our hands up in the air and go "what on earth are we supposed to be doing?!" It was a most enlightening experience, made all the more revelatory by the fact that it was set to the music of The Time Warp.

One of the final things John said to us was to bear three things in mind as we went through life; I was thrilled that they all started with the word "travel". He told us to travel with an open mind, an open heart, and an open wallet. All very good pieces of advice, and ones that I managed to put into practice when the briefing weekend broke up and we went home. A chap milling around the car park, Cameron, asked us if we were heading to London. Travelling with an open wallet, we took the opportunity to further reduce our fuel costs by letting him travel with us and splitting the fuel 4 ways instead of 3 (I think the advice was more to do with not being cheap on your travels and spoiling the experience for yourself, but the open wallet can accept money in as well as give it out!).
As we travelled south, I was struck by him and Libby, another Scout from Berkshire who hadn't been to the first weekend, talking about how excited they were to be a part of the Moot, and I realised that the even they were talking about did sound pretty exciting, and - hot damn! -  I was going on it too! As we drove home I found my mind opening up just a little bit, and really getting excited about what we are about to embark upon. I was also struck by some very harsh criticism of my singing ability, but I managed to shelve that hurt and keep smiling (and, I argued, if we hadn't been listening to Elbow for half the journey and got some proper music on the radio, my singing might have improved).
Finally, John's words came back to me as we sped down the M42, and I found myself wondering: what was the Moot? Before this weekend I had viewed it as a bit of a holiday, something to reward the adults in Scouting for all the hard work they had done with their groups, districts, of whatever they helped with. To me (as I have said in an earlier blog), Scouting was something that was for children, and adults in the movement were there primarily to help develop those children. But that wasn't how John spoke about the Moot. He spoke about it as though it was an opportunity carry on learning. He spoke about it as though we 18-25 year-olds still had a reason to go to Scouts beyond passing on our enthusiasm and our knowledge to the kids. The Moot, it seemed to John, was an event that Scouting owed to us in some way, a forum they needed to provide for us to get together, to exchange ideas, beliefs, attitudes, and to try and make a difference in this world. Maybe, I thought to myself, Scouting wasn't entirely centred on children. Perhaps there was something in it for me; a 'young person', 'youth', 'motor-mouthed chap with more enthusiasm than sense'; whatever you want to call me. And maybe that thing wasn't about learning how to be good citizens, or  how to care for the environment, or to canoe down a river. Maybe we have been given an opportunity to try and change the world, in big or small ways, and we just have to get on and take that opportunity.

Well, now, that sounds like an exciting thing to be a part of, doesn't it? Good thing I'm going! :)

Funding International Trips - Grants

I mentioned a while back that I had been donated £100 by the Roger King Fund to go towards the cost of this trip. It has been very gratefully received, so firstly - thank you again to the Roger King Fund! But secondly, this post is a little bit about grants, should anybody be reading this who is thinking about fundraising for an international trip, along with some more information about the funds I have written to specifically. Scout leaders who are reading, if you know a Scout or an Explorer who is planning to fundraise for a trip and you think they might benefit from reading about this, then point them in the direction of this blog!

The Roger King Fund was set up in memory of the late Roger King in 2003; Roger was a keen Scouter all his life, and took an especial interest in International activities. The money in the fund is for any young person in Scouting who is making an international trip, and can be applied for simply by filling in an application form and emailing it to the ACC(I) for Berkshire Scouts (find out more info on Berkshire Scout's website here)

Funds such as the RK Fund exist up and down the country, with the sole purpose of helping young people have amazing life experiences which they might not otherwise get to have. If you are a Scout and are unsure about what is available in your area, then try to find the details for your ACC (I), which stands for Assistant County Commissioner (International), who should be able to help you. If you aren't a scout, then there are other options too. Sometimes local councils and governments will have funding available for some things, and there are people such as the Rotary Club who are quite often interested in funding youth projects and activities.

If you want to apply to one of these funds, it's quite often a good idea to get in touch with them first and check what they would like from you. Usually it's just an online form or a letter, but if you've already spoken to them then they will remember you when your form/letter arrives, which can help you when the committees in charge of deciding who gets what funding have to make up their minds. The other thing to do is make sure you have filled in the form correctly, and - for goodness' sake! - asked about anything you don't understand. It looks a lot less silly to call someone up to ask about something than to get it wrong because you didn't want to ring them up and look silly!

In Berkshire, I have applied to the Roger King Fund, and also to the Jack Hine Fund and to the Geoff Hill Fund. Both funds are designed with the same purpose in mind as the Roger King Fund, though I am getting to the upper age limit where I can apply for money from these funds - the Geoff Hill and Roger King funds both have 25 as their age limit, while I do not believe there is a specific age limit set on the Jack Hine Fund but they give priority to the younger end of the age range of Scouting. The Geoff Hill Fund has a very short form to fill in, which I have done and am now awaiting a response from! So I'll let you know how I get on. I hope that someone out there finds this useful; if you did then perhaps drop me a comment and let me know you're out there :)

Couch Surfing

Hello again Wogglers! Preparations are still going smoothly, you will be pleased to know; contacts are emerging from the woodwork for the USA, so pretty soon I will have a good idea of my route through that massive country. In the meantime, I thought I would share with you one of my options for accommodation, for in case I can't find a Scout group in time or a hostel.

Couchsurfing is a web-based network of people who are looking for, and offering, beds for the night. At least, that's how it started. The website's 'about' section has this to say:

"Couchsurfing is a community of over 5 million members in 97,000 cities — and every country — around the world. Our website connects travellers and locals who meet offline to share cultures, hospitality and adventures – whether on the road or in their hometowns.

Our Mission is simple: Create inspiring experiences.

We envision a world where everyone can explore and create meaningful connections with the people and places they encounter. Building meaningful connections across cultures enables us to respond to differences with curiosity, appreciation and respect. The appreciation of diversity spreads tolerance and creates a global community.

At the Couchsurfing headquarters in San Francisco, we’re working tirelessly to create the greatest possible online platform for our community to achieve its goals."

As it sounds, the website has become more than simply a place where people look for a place to stay. If you search for a location, you can find people holding conversations about meeting up, going to see things, or even just relaxing in the park of an afternoon - it's a platform for people to meet up and, like they say in their 'about' section, share adventures.

Of course, I will mainly be using it to try and find places to stay the night if I have no connections who are able to host me in a particular spot. It's quite a simple process; you search for the area of your choice, and then click to see a list of hosts. You can filter your search by various parameters, including gender and language (useful for me, being only able to ask for a beer in Spanish!) and see a list of people who might be hosting in the area. If you see one you like the look of, you send them a message asking if their couch is available. If they like the look of you, and they are available, then they will say yes, and that's it! The website leaves the pair of you to sort out the rest of the details between you, and once you have stayed  you are invited to leave a review of the couch for other people to see, if they are looking at couch surfing in the same place.

It's quite an ingenious idea, really. It is a much safer way of couch surfing than simply arriving at a town and asking around, as you can see in advance what the person has to say about themselves, and what other people have to say about them. Of course, as you are essentially staying with strangers it is always better to err on the side of caution (such as telling someone else where you will be staying!) but, as the website is monitored and they can see who you have agreed to stay with, it is that much harder for anyone looking to take advantage of backpackers to get away with it through Couchsurfing. It's also based on mutual trust: you are unlikely to go and stay with someone who has no information about themselves, and conversely you are unlikely to get hosted if you don't tell anyone anything about you! And of course, in staying with a local you are guaranteed to find at least one friendly face everywhere you go! Some hosts will show you around a city, some will introduce you to their friends, or leave you to our own devices - whatever you prefer. And, of course, it suits those of us on a budget, since while people may ask for favours in return for putting you up, such as a meal or some help with the cleaning, Couchsurfing is (as far as I have seen) totally free!

Admittedly, this is all currently based on what I have read on their website and heard about from friends. But I will keep you updated on how I get on as I travel round, in case I stay with anyone through couch surfing, hopefully with the photos to prove it! It fits rather nicely with the Scouting theme of this trip, even though it has nothing officially to do with Scouting; the whole organisation is based on people who are willing to meet new people, share new experiences, be generous, and be honest and trustworthy. That last bit is basically even the first Scout Law in the UK, "A Scout is to be Trusted"! So even if it's not actually meeting up with  foreign Scout troop and staying with them, it's still very much in the spirit of my purpose out in the Americas, and I am looking forward to meeting people to show me around, and to make friends with as I wander about the vast expanses of Mexico and the USA.

Speaking of showing me around, that reminds me... I really need to buy a travel guide, and I can't decide whether to get the Lonely Planet guides, the Rough Guides, or the Footprint guides. Why not like my Facebook page (www.facebook.com/getawoggleon) and let me know if you have a preference?

Until next time, amigos!

The Mexico Plan

As I stare at the rainy grey sky outside, I can't help but feel a bit smug that I am soon going to be hopping on a plane and flying to a nice and sunny place.

I'm not even bothered about missing the British summer, what with its grey skies and nautical innuendos

Until now the planning for the trip has, however, been rather vague. When asked where I would be going, I would generally point to the map, and grunt.



UG. Why is that not specific enough for you and the travel insurance company, Mum?!

But no more! I have made a plan for the first half of the trip at least. The US leg of the trip will, in all probability, need to be planned in reverse, as the only concrete dates I have so far for it are the dates I need to be in Canada by, and the dates of the BSA National Jamboree (oh, didn't I mention that to you yet? You'll have to wait for another post for that, I'm afraid!). It's easier to work backwards from there than start from the still flexible date for leaving Mexico. But in Mexico, the only set date I have is the date that I arrive - 1st May - and so it makes far more sense to attack it in that order, though when I say 'attack it', I am of course referring to trip planning, and not to Mexico itself (Scouts are generally peaceable and friendly folk, unless another patrol has stolen their woodpile, in which case they can turn bloodthirsty and warlike at a moments' notice).

May 1st - 8th: Cancun / Playa del Carmen

I will spend the first few days in a hostel (which I MUST get around to booking!) in Cancun, where I am flying to, so that I can get used to the time difference, climate and moustaches.

My grandfather has been trying to help me acclimatise at home, but I suspect the reality will be less photoshopped and more tanned

Cancun itself is quite a beautiful place to look around, by all accounts, but my Mexican friend on the ground tells me that the place to go is Playa del Carmen, a village about an hour south of the city that is frequented by travellers and is a bit more 'Mexican', so that has to be worth a look - in fact, I'm spending twice the time there as I am in Cancun. It does have a vibrant, "eclectic" (according to Bing Travel) beach scene, so I need to remember to pack my snorkel!

9th - 17th: Mayan ruins extravaganza

The bus from Playa del Carmen takes roughly a billion hours to get to Mexico city, where I am meeting Miguel (my Mexican friend on the ground), and since I don't HAVE a billion hours to be spending on a bus, I thought I would break up the journey by visiting some of the fantastic Mayan ruins dotted around the Yucatan. I acquired a love of the Mayan ruins during my GCSE revision sessions, where I would pretend to stare at whatever book was on my lap while absorbing every show the Discovery Channel could throw at me about Pyramids, Mayans, and Aztecs.

Not forgetting that documentary about ancient jumper fashion, Time Team (source)

I will be visiting Chichen Itza, which is one of the largest Mayan cities around, as well as Palenque, which has some of the most beautiful carvings and sculpture to be found in Mexico. From there I will be visiting Cholula and its Great Pyramid, which according to various websites is in fact the largest pyramid in the world by volume.

Sit down, Egypt (source)

I will also, when I get to Mexico City, be visiting Teotihuacan, a huge sprawling ancient city about 30 miles north of...

17th-22nd: Mexico City

Although I have to deduct points for an unimaginative name for Mexico's capital, it was of course inevitable that I would end up here. Not only will I be meeting Miguel and visiting Teotihuacan, but the city itself should be a voyage of discovery (Miguel has told me that it "will be good" for me to see Mexico city!). Given its size, and the amount that I am told there is to see, I have given myself a whole week to see it, before Me and Miguel hop in a car and head north(ish) to...

23rd - 26th: Celaya

This is where the trip starts to get a bit hazy. Miguel and I know each other because we were both staff at Kandersteg International Scout Centre (KISC). We're the two in the middle, ie not girls!

No, of course this isn't a picture of us working. This is a picture of us training for work! (source)

However, Miguel was not the first Mexican to walk through the Alpine doors of KISC. A girl by the name of Odie worked there back in 2010, and she has graciously offered to show us around the area of Celaya ("Good!" Miguel told me, "Celaya is very Mexican. You will love it!"). The only slight problem is that I do not know how long Odie is able to spend with us to show us around (I will be asking her tonight!) so the plan might have to change slightly if it turns out that he has an important meeting/holiday/has had enough of us sooner than the 26th! However, all things being equal, we will see the sights before...

27th - 29th: Guadalajara

Guadalajara is Miguel's hometown, so I am looking forward to him showing me around all the best that the area has to offer. I don't know much about it yet, so I'll have to let you know afterwards!

30th - June 2nd: Saltillo, Monterrey, and the US

Now I am definitely a little bit uncertain about this part. About an hour after the article in my local paper went up online, a chap posted offering me a bed in Saltillo, northern Mexico. Quite what he was doing reading the Advertiser is beyond me, but I asked Miguel to call him (having just paid for my flights, I didn't have funds to make an international call!) and he has assured me that he is a nice guy, so once I have emailed him (once Miguel gives me his email address!) I will be up there like a shot. After a few days in Saltillo, it's on to Monterrey, there to get a plane, either to Los Angeles or to Houston, Texas. It all depends on price, and on who is based where in Texas. I have maybe three contacts in Texas who might be able to host me for a bit, and Houston is much nearer Monterrey than Los Angeles is, but despite that LA seems to have the cheaper flights so it might make more sense to go that way since I have to stop off in LA to see some family (it would just be plain rude to be on the same continent and not say hello, after all. It's a tough call!

So there you have it! That is the first month of my trip planned out! Stay tuned as I try to work out how to cross the most densely populated country (by Americans) in the WORLD!

All about me

So there might be some of you who don't know who I am. "But who is this debonair, excellently spoken young man with an extraordinary grasp of grammar and a fabulous plan to travel?


A man of wealth an taste, indeed (soure: Facebook)

Well let me tell you who I am!

My name is Jon Oxtoby, known as Jon the Scone to my friends, and indeed to anyone who sees me from the back when I am wearing any one of my university hoodies with the name plastered across the back. I am a resident of Maidenhead, Berkshire, UK. Some other famous people call Maidenhead their home, too:


Pictured: Blending in perfectly

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                                     I was raised in Maidenhead with a younger sister and older brother, and managed to do quite a good job of surviving my teenage years as a nerdy bookworm who was one of the only people in the class who actually understood Geoffrey Chaucer's The Knight's Tale, until I went off to university in Leeds, Yorkshire, to study English Literature.

I was quite a fan of the books from a young age.

Through my school and university careers I managed to have quite an interesting selection of jobs, including carpet cleaning in an old person's home, running an ice cream kiosk near a lock on the River Thames, a week's work experience at Legoland, and the obligatory year or so as a barman in a dingy pub in Leeds. I was also lucky enough to have some brilliant experiences at university running societies, singing in an A Cappella Choir (and leading it, as you can see here), getting the bug for travelling and, of course, becoming a Scout leader.
Two years after graduation, with three months living in Switzerland under my belt and a marginal reduction in geekiness, I am now a twenty-three year old marketing coordinator for the Pilot Pen Company, interested in  snowboarding, hiking, (still) reading and, of course Scouting. I'm currently ESL (Young Leaders) for Maidenhead district, meaning that I oversee the training and placing and welfare of all the Young Leaders (Explorer Scouts aged 14-18 who help out in other sections) in the Maidenhead area.

It's my serious attitude that earns their respect

I am leaving my current job to go on this adventure, so when I get back I will not only have to readjust to Greenwich Mean Time, tea time and good old British accents, I will also have to try and work out what I'm going to do next with my life! All suggestions are welcome, especially ones that mean I can move out of my parents' house, where I have been since January. Surprisingly, living at home has meant that I have become a lot closer with the cat, who used to be one of the grumpiest animals I knew (especially when my parents got a dog) but has recently started wanting to hang out in the mornings, evenings, and especially at 3am when he gets in from wherever it is that cats go late at night.

If the maps are anything to go by, he goes quite some distance late at night!

So that, in a nutshell, is me! I hope this has helped, and if you are still wondering about what I am doing then keep checking the blog and the Facebook page. I also have a Twitter Feed which you can check for updates about the trip, and other tidbits about cats, bowler hats, and anything else that interests me!

Ciao!

Plans coming together...

I had forgotten how traumatic planning a trip can be. The emotional rollercoaster of thinking that this trip will be the best thing you've ever done, then remembering that you don't know where you're spending the first night yet (don't worry folks, I'll be booking a hostel!), then feeling like you've never been less prepared for something in your entire life, is exhausting. Then there's the constant war with things that are actually happening now, which seem to demand more attention than things that will be happening in two months' time, no matter how awesome those things are.



Going to the moon next week? Sure, but these Sims won't dress themselves
(Image source http://www.mygamesfile.com/sims2game/img/1l.jpg)

However, I now have some things that will help keep me on topic, rather than playing PlayStation or going to the pub with friends or staring at passing dogs. I have maps! Large maps of Mexico and the US, on which I have previously mentioned I am going to use to plan where I am going.

The map of Mexico came very well protected indeed.




If those airbags were filled with helium I could have saved a plane ticket and just floated to Mexico

And with the help of a few thumb tacks and an obliging wall, I now have this to stare at every morning and every evening!

I'm pointing to the maps because, this being the internet, 90% of you will only have seen the cat

 

 

Tomorrow the plan is to stick pins in everywhere that I know I have to go, and then I will have a bit more of an idea where everything is in relation to everything else, and what I might have to do to get between my meeting places. It's all very exciting, because places to visit are piling up fast! I already have contacts in Guadalajara, Saltillo, Celaya, North Carolina somewhere, Connecticut, Montreal, Rochester, Halifax, and all this pretty much makes up for the fact that I had no idea how far away Hawaii was from the rest of the USA, and how unlikely it is that I will actually sensibly be able to go there. Booooo.

I'll update you when I've stuck some pins in the map, but for now I have to go and make sure tea isn't burning, and finish my grant applications. Jon the Scone out!