Day 6

I didn't give my alarm a chance to go off this morning, I was up and out of the tent by 5.45am. This may be the best time to shower, I walked straight in and was finished in no time. I swapped my shower bits for my day bag and went to breakfast.
 
I met Rebecca in the queue and we speculated how organised the shop would be today. Breakfast was... bread. I honestly thought I'd lose weight out here but if this keeps up I'll end up gaining it! We were now ready and rearing to get up to the shop and were surprised to see a queue forming already!
The rota was up on the wall, it didn't look too bad.. a day off, a morning and evening shift, a day shift and a day off etc etc. We still didn't know which teams we were in. The Team Leaders seem to realise this too and we huddled by the swimming pool again.
 
We have been split by country, so all thirty of the UK Contingent on Scout Shop are working at the same time. This seems a bit odd, why not mix us all up together? Still, whatever works for them. They then asked for volunteers to work today, I signed up for the first shift. At least it would keep me busy and I could learn on the job.
 
From 9am open to 12.30 we were non-stop. There must have been several hundred people coming through! One guy told me it'd taken him three hours to get from the queue to the checkout. Insane. I spent the whole time unclipping people's security bags and bagging their items. It was tedious work but I'm hoping once we get used to it there'll be "propa bantz".
 
We didn't get the break we were promised after 2hrs and didn't finish on time - it's almost like being at work.. When we had finished just after 12.40, me and Eve and a girl from Taiwan snuck back through the staff entrance to shop. I can understand how people were spending so much, there are a lot of different badges and random tat. It would be easy to get carried away! The most expensive thing I bought was a bandana!!
 
Eve invited me back to hers and we ate our lunch. The cat pouch today was tuna, and although I struggled to get in it and got brine all over my leg, it was enjoyable. It was quite warm and I thought it would be good to go to the beach. Just as I got back to the tent to get my bikini, I saw a massive cloud coming towards camp. It was the weirdest moment ever, I literally watched as the rain poured down, steadily moving closer. It's the quickest I've ever zipped windows and doors!
 
The downpour was very brief and I made it back to Eve's tent without getting any wetter! She was quite happy to lay in the tent for a while, so I thought I'd do some washing. Bumped into Alistair on the way over, we had a little catch up which was nice. I was so worried it was going to rain on my way back to hang the washing out. Luckily I made it and popped my washing line up. It's sagging a bit and I'm not sure my stuff will dry in this humidity but one can hope. I was sweating by this point and I'd only been in the tent about 10mins.   
 
I changed into my bikini and decided to go to the beach. I couldn't see anyone I knew so I just decided to have a wander over on my own. Walking past the canteen, the queue for dinner was short so I decided to make the most of it. Made friends with some Swedes in the queue, they were lovely and we joked about their bags - everyone wants them but they're not giving in!
 
Dinner was curry and rice and I found Alistair and Jack so sat with them. I really enjoyed the food and once again finished everything on my plate. I then did go to the beach. It was quite empty because of the time, and I sat just looking over the sea and beach. It was really relaxing, and as the kids are nearly all here it may be the only quiet day there! 
 
Walking back to the tent I bumped into David from East Midland, I haven't seen him since Gilwell so it was nice to know he was alive!! He too had been wandering around so we chatted and were soon joined by Alex, another Brit. I'd forgotten to photograph my shifts yesterday, so I left them to it and agreed to meet later on.
 
Walking back to the canteen, where Lewis and David apparently were, I spotted a sign for solar chargers. I'm a sucker for cheap logo tat and my phone hasn't had more than 15% battery all week. They were only available today and there were various colours, only ¥3500 and it came fully charged! The nice sales lady told me I should get yellow to match my duck (Daisy).
 
Went and sat with Lewis and that and got an ice cream from the vending machine (!!). Finally saw Gemma, she's on Social Media and seems to be having a whale of a time. I got bored doing nothing so went to say hello to Darren at the First Aid tent. They were overstaffed and underprivileged.. they can't even put plasters on people! Hopefully I won't be needing their services over the next few weeks.
 
Met Alix back at the tent and we made our way over to the HR Tent. Supposedly there was an event happening about 9ish. There was certainly lots of hustle and bustle. There were two sets of circles, both with another circle in the middle. We were told to sit on a bench with someone sitting opposite. And so commenced "Speed Socialising".

I met a very nice chap from Dorset, I can't remember his name which is a shame, as he was very nice... I then spoke to four Dutch girls in a row, a girl from Switzerland and another from Brazil. It was a great idea, the only issue being it was dark, I may not remember what any of my new friends look like in the day!!
 
When it got too loud I left to pop to the loo and clean my teeth. I really will have to have an early night tomorrow, as it was gone 11 when I got back to get changed and sort bits for tomorrow! With the participants all here things are bound to get more lively!!!


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