Well, the World Jamboree is now over. After two weeks in a tent, my bed seems like heaven, though waking up on a site with 1800 people on it from all over the world was pretty cool. More than that, really- excellent fun. The most unexpected people there spoke very good English, but nonetheless, the Americans were hilarious because we kept confusing them entirely accidentally- for instance, the various uses for the word 'tea' (UK traditional drink, high tea, afternoon tea and dinner, which is complex enough).

To put it in context, there were a group of us sat on a bus with an American scout leader, and we'd arranged to eat with them that night- hence, one of the guys I was with (who's Scottish, complete with thick accent) asked when we'd be having tea, as in dinner. The look on the leader's face was, frankly hilarious.

"Uhh... I think it's a bit late for tea, right?" He said, scratching his head bemusedly (he was from the central region- Kansas area, I think). "I mean, don't you normally serve tea at, like, three o'clock?"

Trying to explain this nuance was a tall order, at best. The English dialect is a marvellous thing because it's so different from everywhere else, and it changes so rapidly it's hard keeping up. In fact, it took an American boy scout (no girls on their contingent) to basically translate.

It was bizarre because we were in an sort of enclosed bubble- everyone was friendly and wackiness prevailed, and you just don't get that IRL. Aside from in London on Thursday, where there were people from the site wearing their neckers- we were too, and the little greeting thing we'd done throughout camp was shouted from Regent's Street to Buckingham Palace. It's a shame that it's not always like that, but that's life.

(For the record, I'm a Sea Explorer Scout, and if this gets brought up more, virtually whack me over the head, please? I don't feel like boring the nonexistent people reading to tears.)