Kotoe K. (ことえ) (Ambassador)

Kotoe has not only been a Girl Scout in Tokyo Japan, but she has also been a Girl Scout (American Girl Scout Overseas) in Seoul, Korea and a Juliette in the UK.

As young child in Japan, Kotoe’s parents sent her to an International School in Tokyo. When Kotoe was in third grade she joined the Brownie troop at her school. As a “Japanese Girl Scout” (part of Japan’s Girl Scout Association) Kotoe wore the Japanese Girl Scout uniform. Her uniform consisted of a light blue beret, a white shirt, a light blue skirt, a navy blue belt, navy blue knee high socks, black shoes and a red scarf (the color specific to Brownies, when she became a Junior she began to wear a brown scarf). Despite being a Japanese Girl Scout, Kotoe earned the American Brownie Try-Its and sewed them on her uniform.

Kotoe's first overnight camping happened during her time as a Brownie. During their trip it rained so hard that they couldn’t light a fire, so they lit candles. When it was time for sleep Kotoe remembers they had to “put the light away” with their fingers.

In fifth grade, Kotoe quit Girl Scouts. In the time when she was absent from the Girl Scout organization, she moved to Korea and proceeded to go to another international school. In seventh grade, a Cadet Girl Scout Troop was formed at her school and Kotoe joined it. Kotoe’s troop was made of the daughters of expats from Bolivia, the UK, Australia, Italy, the USA and Japan (Kotoe). Kotoe’s new troop often took trains to different parts of Korea to do different activities. Once they made sandwiches for the homeless of Seoul. Another time they took a trip to the army base in Seoul. Yet another time they rented snowboards and went snowboarding together. They tried to earn the Lady Baden-Powell Badge together but they couldn’t complete the camping part of it due to the fear that they might catch swine flu.

As was mentioned above, Kotoe is considered part of the American troop and her troop occasionally did joint events with the local Korean Girl Scouts. To communicate they mostly used English with the Korean girls who knew English translating for those who didn’t. They also used a good deal of hand-motions and shows of emotion.

Besides learning about the culture of her host country, Kotoe also learned about the different cultures of the countries of the girls in her troop. The troop would often go to different girls houses to do different activities (like once they baked Christmas cookies at the Bolivian girl’s house) and while Kotoe was at the houses of her fellow scouts she would often learn a bit about their native country due to the food her fellow Girl Scouts served or the decorations that adorned their walls.

When Kotoe was in elementary school in Japan, she was never the outdoorsy type but that all changed when she got the opportunity to go to Girl Scout camps. She attended camps during her summer breaks from school in Korea and later from school in the UK.

The first camp she ever went to was located near Amalu’s hometown in Okinawa. It lasted for around a week (the longest time Kotoe had spent in a tent up until that time) and consisted of the normal camp things like singing and games. Some of the songs Kotoe knows like Five Little Angels, The Princess Pat, The Guiding Light (learned from an Indian Girl Scout) and Taps, were learned at that original camp.

The second camp was at a place called Tama Hills. Kotoe’s campsite was parked at the top of a tall hill. It took half an hour to get up or down the hill. Kotoe thinks they spent at least two hours a day going up and down the hill. They had to go down the hill to eat meals (breakfast and dinner (not lunch)) and to do some activities. They traveled the hill so often that they got blisters on their feet.

At almost all the camps Kotoe went to, it rained. It rains so much that generally, by the end of the week, all the Girl Scouts are huddled in a cafeteria or craft room of the camp due to the unfortunate fact that their tents and campsites are flooded. Tama Hills was no exception to this common occurrence.

At the time she did this camp (the first Tama Hills experience), Kotoe was 15 and she was the odd one out since all the other 15-yearolds were P.A.s. At the time Kotoe didn’t even know what a P.A. was but when she found out, she decided it was something she wanted to do. The next year Kotoe did the camp she came back as a P.A. and she loved it. Teaching younger girls how to do crafts, sing and more has given Kotoe the chance to build her confidence and communication skills. At her school, Kotoe interacts with younger and older girls alike in many ways, if Kotoe hadn’t been a P.A., she might not have had the skills and guts to become the head girl at her all girls boarding school in the UK.

Due to Girl Scouts, Kotoe went to the same Mt. Fuji Leadership program that Amalu did. At the program, Kotoe learned a variety of things; to sew, to make cosmetics from food (Kool-Aid to lip gloss), do orienteering and how to be a leader. To Kotoe, leadership is not just the job of the “appointed leader”, it is a job shared by everyone. Everyone is a leader in her own way.

Another Girl Scout event Kotoe went to was one located in Iwate, Japan. Kotoe and some other scouts took a bus to visit Japanese Girl Guides in Iwate whose homes were affected by a tsunami. They taught the Iwate Girl Guides American Girl Scout songs and games, and they even shared a meal of classic PB&J, a meal some of the girls had never tasted before in their lives.

Kotoe also recently visited the WAGGGS gender equality event in Tokyo called The World We Want for Girls. The event discussed the different examples of gender equality around the world and possible ways to reduce the gender inequality in some places and improve the life of women around the world. Kotoe was especially touched by a Girl Guide leader from Maldives. In her country girls are married in their late teens and have children in their early twenties. Love is not even a factor in their marriages. Kotoe had heard stories like this before, but hearing it from one who had actually experienced it meant way more to her then the stories she had read or seen in the news.

Kotoe has just graduated high school and the road of her life is ahead of her. When she goes to college in the UK or in Japan, she plans to become a Girl Scout leader. Kotoe wants to share the opportunities, skills and knowledge she has gained. One of the final things she mentioned in the interview is that Girl Scouts taught her that happiness is contagious. As a Girl Scout, one does many good deeds, and each one, no matter if it is small or large, is bound to make at least one person happy. That one person will spread their happiness to countless other people. This will improve our world one person at a time.