This weekend I travelled to rural Corgémont in the Jura, northwestern Switzerland. The reason for this trip: The scouting group of Boll-Stettlen’s annual summer camp. Walking towards the camping site, I could hear kids running around and see some tents shining through the trees. The team did quite an impressive job, building the largest tent out of 75 tarpaulins (square peaces of canvas, about 1.5m large). There was a game going on when I arrived. Children proudly told me they just traded a four-carat diamond against 80 units of gold, then run away with their treasures trying to avoid the robbers and complete their quest for resources…

Camp life feels very special. You can see some pictures of it on the scouting group website. Or close your eyes and try to imagine

• The smell of fire smoke in your clothes,
• the kids,
• the songs and guitar music,
• hearing the rain falling on your tent and knowing you’ll stay dry because you stayed awake digging trenches around the tents till after midnight ;-)
• the traditional naming ceremony, where children that have been scouts for a while receive their scouting name,
• … and so much more, in just a Weekend!

Although I do like my internship, I felt a trace of sadness because I had to go home again, back to work on Monday morning. Of course a dry and warm office might seem more comfortable than a muddy, rainy campsite, but the ambience of a camp has it’s own attractiveness.