Jumi grew up an only-child in Chiba, Japan. When she was
eight, her father decided she should be more of a people-person, so he signed
her up to be a Brownie with her local Girl Scout Troop.
When Jumi was a Brownie, she remembers her troop mainly
focusing on songs and games. When she progressed to being a Junior however,
they began to learn skills like building a tent or creating a DIY oven. The
different skills started becoming harder and harder, making Jumi want to quit.
But after she talked with her Girl Scout leader she gave it all another try and
continued being a Girl Scout. Nowadays, Jumi’s friends often compliment her on
her perseverance and determination.
When Jumi was still a Senior Scout, she took her first troop
trip out of country to visit Quezon City in the Philippines. This was the first
opportunity Jumi got to use her English socially and it made her realize that
if she wanted to communicate properly with people around the world she would need
to study harder. So when Jumi returned to Japan, she threw herself into her
studies.
Later on, Jumi became a Brownie leader of her own Girl Scout
troop. She taught her girls the skills, songs and games she learned when she
was a Scout and watched them grow into Ranger Scouts.
As a Girl Scout, Jumi wore a navy blue ensemble of a skirt,
shirt and cap. The uniform was the same until about two years ago where the
uniform changed to reflect level. As a leader, Jumi wears a uniform consisting
of a navy-blue suit.
World Thinking Day has remained unchanged from when Jumi was
a girl however. In Jumi’s area, they choose eight global action themes a year.
Each troop chooses two to focus on and then the council has a group discussion.
Two of the songs that Jumi taught her troop are the Princess Pat (a song Jumi learned
in the USA) and Conpact. Conpact is a Japanese game song where
the girls dance as they sing about getting ready for a date.
Jumi’s troop celebrates the holidays together with parties
at New Year and Christmas. They also have cooking competitions where they quiz
the girls who are “on the stage” about different skills and dishes.
Instead of the American cookie selling, they go around
collecting donations for UNICEF once a year. Jumi often takes this opportunity
to teach her girls about how to handle money and how the money they collect
will be spent. As Ranger Scouts, they used these skills to help them help
people affected by the Earthquake.
Jumi has traveled to the USA for Girl Scouts and she noticed
a few differences between the American and Japanese Girl Scout Way. One difference is troops are attached to
schools in America, while in Japan they are attached as one troop per town. She
also noticed a difference in teaching style. She used the idiom “don’t cry over spilled milk” to illustrate her point. She said that when a Japanese Girl Scout
spilled milk, the Leader would be sweet and come help her clean it up with a
paper towel or a mop, but if an American Girl Scout spilled milk, the leader
would give her a hint to clean it up. Jumi noticed benefits in both of the
methods, but she said that if she was continually helping a girl clean up her
“spilled milk”, the girl would never learn to do it on her own.
At this point in time, Girl Scout’s is Jumi’s life. Her
troop is “like a house” and her family is inside.
If you want to know the stages in Japanese Girl Scouting, go to the Index Page and check near the bottom.
