Mutual Admiration

By Suzanne Wilson

The Shawnee Trails Council and the Owensboro, Ky., Sister Cities program host camp staff from the Czech Republic through the BSA's International Camp Staff Program.

Kentucky Lake was fairly calm on a July morning as a boatload of Scouts headed out for their waterskiing session at Camp Roy C. Manchester.

Tyson Wheeler, 16, of Troop 628, St. Charles, Mo., was first to take the towrope. Pulled along behind the speeding boat, he crossed and jumped its wake, well on the way to earning his merit badge.

"This group is really good," observed instructor Hana Pavlu, 23. "They all got up on the skis on the first day."

That same morning, motorboating instructor Eva Konárová, 18, watched a Scout's performance in her class as he piloted the boat away from the dock and across the lake.

It's not unusual for young women to serve as counselors at a Boy Scout camp, but aside from their gender, Hana and Eva have something else in common: Both are from the city of Olomouc (pronounced Olomotz) in the Czech Republic.

The two Czech Scouters were among the 88 Scouters from 29 countries to serve on summer camp staffs in 2003 through the BSA's International Camp Staff Program.

They came from countries as diverse as Bolivia, Finland, Kenya, Republic of China, Togo, and Turkey. Six worked at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico; the others, like Hana and Eva, served on staff at local council summer camps.

The program benefits both campers and international Scout visitors. Scouts get to meet staff members from different countries and cultures and learn about their Scouting programs; the visiting counselors experience the United States, U.S. Scouting, and gain new friends. And many improve their English language skills in the process.

A Natural Match

International Scouters have been a regular part of the Shawnee Trails Council's summer camp program for several years. In recent summers, Camp Roy C. Manchester has hosted staff from Ecuador, England, and Denmark.

Hana and Eva, however, represented something special: Since 1994, their hometown of Olomouc has been the sister city of Owensboro, Ky., headquarters of the Shawnee Trails Council.

That relationship, developed through Sister Cities International, has led to Scout exchanges with Czech Scouts attending the camp in 2000 and Shawnee Trails Scouts visiting the Czech Republic in 2002. And this coming summer, Czech Scouts will return to Camp Manchester.

Meanwhile, the International Camp Staff Program touches all Scouts who come to Camp Manchester.

The program lets Scouts know there are Scouts all around the world and that Scouting varies in other countries, said Bill West, the Shawnee Trails Council's international representative.

"They learn that not everyone has to do everything exactly the same way to meet the goals of Scouting," he explained, "while understanding that we're all still tied together with the same general principles laid down by Lord Baden-Powell."

While most applicants to the International Camp Staff program are matched to councils by the BSA's International Division, some councils find applicants by using connections they've made through world jamborees or sister city programs. West, who is also executive director of Owensboro Sister Cities International, worked with Jan Pec’nka, district Scoutmaster in the Olomouc area, to find Hana Pavlu and Eva Konárová.

Where Is It?

Every day at camp, as they worked and relaxed, Hana and Eva were great sources for stories about their country and their Scouting adventures. Often, a geography lesson was included.

"While some think the Czech Republic is part of Russia," said Hana, "most everyone thinks [the country is still] Czechoslovakia." (That country became two, Czech Republic and Slovakia, in 1993.) She offered an easy way to locate her homeland: "You know where Europe is. Find the middle. That's it."

Hana, a university student studying primary teaching and English, was a Cub Scout leader at home. Eva, with one more year of high school ahead (the thirteenth year of school there), held a position in her Scout troop similar to patrol leader. For both, it was their first visit to the United States.

Eva had heard American kids were spoiled, and Hana had concerns, too.

"When I came here, I thought the kids won't be nice to us," she confessed. "They'll be very naughty, and we won't know how to talk with them. But they talk to us very nice; they're perfect."

The admiration was mutual, whether Scouts spent time with the Czechs in classes or sought them out at break times.

Thomas Ortiz, 12, Troop 628, St. Charles, Mo., said of Hana, "She's nice to everyone. She speaks Czech to her buddy real fast, and we're like, "What?'"

"Having an instructor from another country is pretty cool, and I never really knew anyone from the Czech Republic," admitted Drew King, 14, Troop 516, Lawrenceville, Ga., after participating in Eva's motorboating class. "She's a good teacher, and her class was fun."

On The Waterfront

Although Hana and Eva had previous aquatics experience, including swimming, lifesaving, and canoeing, they received pre-camp training for coaching their sports. In fact, Hana's first time on water skis was during staff week—and she was the only staff member to successfully ski on her first try.

"It's been great having them here," said camp director Matt Roberts. "They're more proficient in English than I thought they would be, and it's easy to communicate with them. And they've been great at the waterfront."

To campers' questions about Scouting in the Czech Republic, Eva explained that Czech Scouts go to summer camp for three weeks, where they are able to complete only two merit badges. One reason for this, she pointed out, is that Czech Scouting merit badges have more requirements than BSA merit badges.

Czech camping is more rustic, she noted, because the camps have no permanent facilities and no electricity. Scouts cook over fires, but even then, "Czech food is better," she said, smiling.

Hana recalled one of her troop's unusual adventures. "Once we had breakfast in a tree, 50 people up in one huge tree." Two people climbed around, serving bowls of cornflakes and milk. "It took a long time, but it was fun."

American Scouts were fascinated with the complex sounds of the Czech language and attempted to learn words and phrases. One determined staff member borrowed Hana's Czech-English dictionary and tried to have a conversation with her in Czech, looking up one word at a time.

Meanwhile, Eva found her English improving during the camping season. "At first, I was always saying: "What? One more time, please.' Now, I understand more."

Scout Hospitality

They missed home, of course, especially "the food and my parents and friends," said Hana. They confessed that any mention of their favorite Czech sweet dumplings would start their mouths watering.

But Scouts and Scouters entertained them, inviting them to a troop campsite for cake and to a barbecue party outside the camp. At the camp ranger's house, where they'd stayed before staff week, they could check their e-mail and write home. They took "plenty of e-mail addresses" of staff friends home with them.

Near the end of their stay, Eva said she was going to miss her American friends "and the lake." She asked camp friends to write "messages of memory" in her notebook.

Hana wrote in her diary every day and asked friends to write in it, too. After camp closed, they toured their Sister City of Owensboro, hosted by a Scout family and Bill West.

There's no doubt they'll have memories of their stay here, and they'll be remembered by many of the young campers they worked with.

"It's a totally new experience dealing with someone from another culture," said Dava McCann, aquatics director, "but it's neat to see how the two [cultures] can come together and understand each other."

Contributing editor Suzanne Wilson lives in Joplin, Mo.


What Are Sister Cities?

When an American city and a city in another part of the world become sister cities, they establish a bond that leads to interaction and understanding. The relationship often includes youth and adult exchange visits, student and professional exchanges, cultural events, and business and trade development.

Shawnee Trails Council international representative Bill West, who also serves as executive director of Owensboro Sister Cities International, says Owensboro and Olomouc, Czech Republic, have much in common.

"Both have theater groups, symphonies, an industrial base, and institutions of higher education, and are surrounded by rich agriculture regions. Both are river towns," he notes. "You also learn about the different ideas and concepts sister cities use in areas like fire and police protection, water purification, housing, medical services, and other functions."

Many cities have been matched through Sister Cities International, "a citizen diplomacy network creating and strengthening partnerships between U.S. and international communities to increase global cooperation at the local level." Cities post "Request for a Sister City" forms on the Web site, www.sister-cities.org.

— S.W.


BSA International Camp Staff Program

International Camp Staff counselors must be age 18 to 30, have their national Scout associations' approval, and speak English well enough to instruct Scouts.

The Selection Process

In September, the BSA International Division sends applications to Scout associations in other countries. Applicants submit them with dates that they are available and a list of their Scouting skills. Esther Scoggins, international executive and program administrator, matches applicants to council requests for counselors.

Visas And Costs

The U.S. State Department sponsors the international camp counselor programs of the BSA and other youth organizations as a cultural exchange. When counselors are matched to BSA camps, Scoggins provides a DS-2019 form for them to take to the U.S. Consulate in their country; the form allows them to apply for an exchange visitor visa from the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.

The council pays counselors the same salary as American staff and pays the BSA a small fee for administrative services. (Shawnee Trails Council and Owensboro Sister Cities International shared in paying the fees for the Czech counselors.) The visitor pays for travel expenses and medical and accident insurance.

When They Arrive

The counselors train with the rest of the staff the week before camp opens. Part of their job is to acquaint Scouts with their Scouting programs, so they bring their uniforms and Scout books.

European Camp Staff Program

BSA Scouters age 18 to 30 can work as volunteers in European camps; they apply through the BSA International Division. Scouters pay travel expenses, which are partially reimbursed. The BSA has an annual quota of 50 counselors who can work in the program.

For More Information

Contact the BSA International Division at (972) 580-2401 or intnldiv@netbsa.org for information about resources for planning international Scouting experiences and to establish contact with a national Scout association in another country.


A Scout Visits the Czech Republic

Shaun West discovered that Scouting can be different in the Czech Republic when he visited there for three weeks in the summer of 2002.

Shaun, 14, of Troop 10, Owensboro, Ky., went with a small group of Scouts from the Shawnee Trails Council, Greater St. Louis Area Council, and Atlanta Area Council. Their hosts were Scouts from the Olomouc area who had come to Shawnee Trails' Camp Manchester in 2000. (Shaun is the son of Bill West, international representative for Shawnee Trails.)

The Scouts met at Kandersteg International Scout Centre in Switzerland, where the Czech Scouts suggested they go on a short hike. "Their version of a short hike is climbing several miles up a mountain," says Shaun. Jet lag and the altitude change made it challenging for the Americans. Czech Scouts, they quickly learned, are big on hiking.

They traveled to the Czech Republic for home stays in the Olomouc area and then to a Scout camp. Each morning at camp began with calisthenics and stretches, followed by running to a cold lake and jumping in, "to wake us up," says Shaun, "and it worked."

In one memorable event, Czech and American Scouts were to build tree houses using only ropes. Venturer Beth Gibson of Franklin, Ky., was the only American to complete a tree house and sleep in it overnight.

Shaun even learned a bit of the Czech language. He says his most useful phrase was, "Do you speak English?" He's looking forward to another trip there.

— S.W.

Top of Page

January - February 2004 Table of Contents

Copyright © 2004 by the Boy Scouts of America. All rights thereunder reserved; anything appearing in Scouting magazine or on its Web site may not be reprinted either wholly or in part without written permission. Because of freedom given authors, opinions may not reflect official concurrence.