Small world

The world conference experience begins from the moment you emerge into the airport arrivals hall, where you find a group of local Guides waiting to welcome you. When I attended the South Africa conference in 2008, that was the moment when the experience became real. 

How much more magical to arrive in Hong Kong to discover that the Hong Kong leader waiting to greet me was someone I knew! When  Karmen - who I first met at the UK centenary camp in 2010 and now on the World Conference hospitality team - heard that I was coming, she made sure that her airport shift coincided with my arrival. What a great welcome to Hong Kong!

And that has set the tone for our first 24 hours. It's been quite a challenge getting from one place to another when every few minutes, one or other of us is stopping to greet friends from around the world - people we've met at previous conferences, camps or WAGGGS events. 

We've also started to make new friends - and, in my case, to dust off some rusty language skills  over a late night drink with the French delegation!