By SARAH DOOLITTLE, Four Points News
The Lake Austin Service Unit Girl Scouts of Four Points celebrated World Thinking Day on Feb. 22 at Canyon Ridge Middle School. Troops of all ages came to event to either represent countries from around the world or to tour.
Thirty-one troops in all participated in the event, which is celebrated every Feb. 22 by Girl Scouts and Girl Guides everywhere.
Brownie Troop 1572 represented Hungary with native costumes, chicken paprikash (csirke paprikas) and a native dance.
Top row: Tara Nash, Angelika Judd, Cindy Reynolds, Kerry Smith, Kristen Caldwell and Leader Lorraine Nagar.
Bottom row: Avery, Ellen, Haley, Rachel, Grace, Casey and Lily.
Photo by Denisha Colston
Brownie Troop #1837 represented Switzerland at World Thinking Day. From Left, Ella, Jen Snyman, and Madeline.
Photo by Emily McElmurry
This year’s countries presented by Four Points troops included France, Pakistan, Hungary, Italy, Australia, the Philippines, Israel, Japan, Germany, South Korea, South Africa, Switzerland and Zimbabwe. Each troop offered samples of a native dish for touring troops to try as well as SWAPS, small, handmade pins designed to represent each country. In many cases, troop parents were natives of the countries represented and cooked their own favorite recipes.
In addition to the food and SWAPS, girls prepared informative presentations about their countries and several troops performed. Japan opened the event with a candle ceremony, Israel danced to the Hebrew song “Neshika (Kiss, Kiss),” and France sang “Alouette,” to name a few.
Deb Lovett, a Girl Scout leader and the event organizer for three years running, was pleased with the turnout and the larger message of Thinking Day.
“It is deeply meaningful to see our daughters watch as their moms and their friends’ moms who have lived abroad or been raised in another culture share what it was like to be a Girl Scout or Girl Guide outside the U.S.,” Lovett said.
She added too that, while some troops are already familiar with their country of choice, others, “simply put themselves in the shoes of those girls on the other side of the world for a day. And one of the most amazing things is that girls all over the world are doing the very same thing, in their own town or village on the same day.”
The idea for WTD arose in in 1926 at the fourth annual Girl Guide/Girl Scout International Conference. In 1932 it was decided to add a fundraising element to the event, and the World Association’s Thinking Day Fund was founded. This fund helps to provide Girl Guiding/Girl Scouting opportunities to girls worldwide. Attendees of WTD bring pennies to donate to the fund.
WTD is just one of many events hosted by the Lake Austin Service Unit Girl Scouts, who represent all Four Points public and private schools. In March they will host a Daddy-Daughter dance and in April a skating party. For more information about LASU Girls Scouts, visit www.lasugirlscouts.org.