The camp started Monday with me being picked up from a cafe by a van filled with 4 teenage boys, 2 leaders, and a large amount of bags. I said goodbye to my new host father and hopped in. The drive from Manisa to Fethiye is about 4 and a half hours, but this drive took about 6 due to all the stops we made. One of them was to an ancient Greek city called Euromos, which was a very important city back in its time. Now there wasn't much left of it, except for the Temple of Zeus which stood steadfast just up a hill. The columns were beautifully carved and had stood the test of time. We weren't there for long, but we were there just long enough to take a few pictures of us inside the temple with the sun setting behind us.
Once we pulled up to the campsite, we all jumped out and unloaded. We were greeted by the scouts who were from Mugla, the main city of the province, not too far away. We moved our luggage into our base camp which was a lodge stationed right on the bay, with a beautiful view. After settling and being introduced, we had some food and relaxed a bit. Now having a name like Torvald Paasche, makes it difficult for Turks to address you, so I was given a variety of nick names. The most common one was Pasha (probably because of its striking similarity to my last name), which means "general", the others were Seri, or "yellow" in a reference to my hair. Spirits were high, and every one was excited that camp had started. So in order to reduce the energy levels, they all wanted me to teach them American Football. This worked to little success. I was able to teach them the basic principles, but they got hung up on the concept of downs, lines of scrimmage, and the fact that you can't pass the ball forward once it has already been passed. Eventually they got tired of not understanding what was happening, and we all wandered inside to a warm fire. Since it was dark when we arrived, and we didn't have time to pitch tents, most of the Manisa scouts slept inside for the night.
The next morning we woke to a breakfast of bread, jam, olives, and cheese, and after scarfing that down we were given free time for a bit. I used this free time to pitch my tent, which was a ground tarp and a few ropes. I intended to "rough it," this camp and show them what an American Scout was like. Most of them sat around and asked me what I was doing, since they had never seen anyone pitch a tent like this. After completing my shelter, I crawled inside and took a nap until lunch. Following lunch I indulged in another nap, and was then woken for a field trip. Our trip was to a small village tucked away in a valley. Back in the 18th and 19th century, the stone houses that made up the village were government housing for Greeks that were living in the Ottoman Empire. Now all of the houses are abandoned and seem to have been left to crumble. None the less it was very interesting to walk through the cobblestone streets of a decaying town. Once our adventure was over, we went for another little drive which put us on a wonderful little beach right at sunset. The falling sun reflected its beams off the crystal blue water or the crescent moon bay. As the sun continued to set, hues of pink and red colored the sky. I sat there on the sand and rocks enjoying a coke I had bought from the corner mart, while the other scouts tried to skip rocks off the waves. It was a very relaxing end to a rather sleepy day. That night I slept in my shelter. I lasted about half the night. It didn't take long for the bugs to find me, and once they did, they didn't leave me alone. Also, unknown to me, I pitched camp in a swampy area, which left my pad getting rather wet. Eventually I decided "At least I tried," then grabbed my gear, and retreated to the shelter of the tent my leader had so graciously pitched for me, knowing that I would hear about this in the morning.
Sitting around the breakfast table the following morning my scout leader asked me, "So Torvald, I heard you run away from your shelter, why was that." I really wasn't in the mood to argue my actions, so I simply responded that the bugs got to me and that it was wet. This put my leader off for a little bit, but I was still razzed throughout the day. Breakfast ended and I took another nap due to my lack of sleep the previous night. I was woken up for the days scouting lesson which was knots. Most of them I already knew, but there were some cool ones that our leader taught us. I was able to show the scouts there how to throw a figure-8 knot, which they were all amazed by, and made me feel proud of my skills. The rest of the day passed rather slow. Many games of Connect-4 and Backgammon were played until it was time for dinner. For dessert, I was commissioned to make s'mores for everyone. I really enjoyed sharing a part of American culture with them, and it felt even better when they all said they enjoyed it. Our leader made us chocolate cake, which made the evening even better. Songs were sang, guitars were played, s'mores and cake were eaten. It was a very nice night.
The rest of the week past much like the previous days. Unfortunately a storm rolled through which left us cabin bound. Friday evening the Mugla scouts left, which in turn left the lodge rather empty and quiet. Saturday rolled around, and we all cleaned up and packed. After some group pictures, we loaded up and drove home. It was strange returning to a house that I had just moved into, since it didn't really feel like I was returning home. None-the-less, I was greeted with open arms and a smile. My experience with the Turkish Scouts has been one of my favorite so far, and I really look forward to having more with them.
The crew from Manisa
Hosca Kalin
-Torvald
