Girl Scouts experience other lands
Martinez and Evans Girl Scouts spent a recent Saturday morning traveling to foreign lands without ever leaving Lakeside Middle School.
Thinking Day was the name of the Girl Scouts Lakeside Service Unit event in the cafeteria of the school, which featured 12 troops showcasing data, memorabilia and displays focusing on another country.
"Each troop focuses on a country that also has Girl Scouts," Thinking Day organizer and Brownies Troop 319 Leader Alison Williams said. "They learn as much as they can about that country, make booths displaying what they learned and then share it with other troops."
Girl Scout Brownie Maggie Widener, 7, learned that if she ever visits Norway to bring a jacket.
"It's really cold there," she said.
Other Brownies found the wildlife, not the weather, more interesting.
"They've got dingos and kangaroos," Williams' 8-year-old daughter, Alaina, said of Australia.
Older Girl Scouts sought lesser-known lands to discover.
"Gibraltar is a British colony that's about 300 years old," Junior Girl Scout Kaitlyn Bisso said.
"It's known for having lots of monkeys. Instead of a national bird, they have a national monkey," the 13-year-old said. "They're also famous for the Rock of Gibraltar."
Other featured countries included Japan, Mexico, Egypt, the Bahamas, Martinique, Great Britain, Sweden, Austria and Ireland.
Some girls dressed in clothing native to their chosen country, while others served foreign cuisine.
Half of the troops would visit booths while the other half demonstrated their knowledge of their chosen country. Each troop set up donation cups at the booths so the girls could vote on what they thought was the best booth by placing a dime in the cup.
At the end of the event, the dimes were collected and donated to the Juliette Gordon Low Foundation, a charitable organization named for the Girl Scouts founder.