Lots of traveling. Staying in a foreign land. Living with strangers. Competing in events you’ve never tried before.
For some, that might sound like an uncomfortable situation, but for Matt Hansen it all added up to the time of his life.
Hansen participated in the World Scout Winter Games last month in Kandersteg, Switzerland.
His selection, as one of just 12 scouts from across the United States, was profiled in the Feb. 27 edition of The Review.
‘It was definitely an experience I’ll never forget,? said Hansen, 16, a member of Troop 186 based out of St. Joseph in Lake Orion.
Hansen was on one of the U.S. contingent’s two six-member teams, and picked up a first-place finish in synchronized skiing.
‘We had no clue what it was,? he said of the event.
But his team came up with the winning routine and performed it well, in part because of unusually bad snow conditions in the Alps.
‘The snow conditions were just horrible. It was like skiing on wet mashed potatoes,? Hansen recalled. ‘But I was like, ‘oh, I ski on this all the time.??
The teams from Europe might not have won that event, but they won some others along the way. Hansen noted that scouting in Europe is co-ed and the scouts chosen from other countries were a few years older.
‘It was hard to compete in some of those events, like cross-country skiing, against 20-year-olds,? he said.
Still, he had a great time learning plenty of new events, like curling, which became one of his favorites.
‘That was a lot of fun,? Hansen said, ‘We learned there was a lot more to it than pushing a rock down the ice.?
Hansen recommended the experience to anyone, though there won’t be another World Scout Winter Games until 2010. He hopes to return to Switzerland as a volunteer for the scouts in a future summer season.
In the meantime, Hansen has kept in touch with several of the other scouts, many of which he now considers good friends.
‘I’ve been sending some e-mails to some scouts from the Swedish and U.S. teams,? he noted.