Nobuko A. (Lifetime Girl Scout/Leader)

When Nobuko was ten, she heard about a Girl Scout exchange program between Japan and Korea in the news. She was so impressed with the idea of an international exchange and having sisters abroad that she decided she wanted to join the Girl Scouts. Since her mother knew nothing about how to join, she used the phone directory to find the Girl Scout headquarters in Shizuoka.  When she told them she wanted to be a Girl Scout, they got her in contact with her local troop. That was almost fifty years ago.
In the time Nobuko has been a Girl Scout, the uniform has changed three times, Girl Scouts broke into different levels (Tenderfoots, Brownies, Juniors, Seniors & Rangers), the role of Girl Scouts in Japan changed and the words of the Japanese Girl Scout Promise changed (but they still kept their original foundation).

One of Nobuko’s favorite memories from when she was fourteen her leader planned international exchanges. Nobuko had an Okinawan Girl Scout (in an American Girl Scout uniform) come and stay at her house. They stayed in touch for a few years after that, but lost touch when the girl graduated high school and moved to the mainland. But that wasn’t the end of Nobuko’s international experiences. With the Ranger Scouts she learned of the Girl Scouts of the West Pacific. In the offices of the Girl Scouts of the West Pacific, she made a friend who invited her to a conference. At the conference, she got to meet some very active leaders, some of whom were American.

Comparing the Japanese Girl Scouts and the American Girl Scouts, Nobuko said that the Japanese girls more quiet, preferring to listen rather than talk. The American girls, on the other hand, have a lot to say. Nobuko liked the “American Way” - as she put it, and she kept in contact with the leaders. Together, they created a program where American Girl Scouts on military bases and Japanese Girl Scouts get to meet each other and have get-togethers and exchanges. The program that Nobuko is part of is called Friends of the US.

Recently, Nobuko’s Girl Scout troop had a tea ceremony with an American troop for the New Year’s festivities. They also invited foreign Girl Scout troops to their Girls’ Day (Hinamatsuri) festivities.

Nobuko always starts her meetings with the song When E're You Make a Promise. Nobuko has taught this song to many of her American friends, and she is surprised that this song fell out of favor with younger leaders since it's that promise that is what Girl Scouting is all about. Nobuko also know the internationally famous Friendship Song, Taps, Smile Everybody Smile (lyrics in a comment under post) and the song Penguin Attention.

Nobuko plays many games with her troop. Two of the most popular games she plays are Kim’s game and Wide Game. Every year Nobuko’s troop competes in the annual badge design completion. On the topic of earning badges, Nobuko always tries to instill in her girls that even after the badge is earned, they must keep going forward and learning more.

If Nobuko hadn’t been in Girl Scouts, she wouldn’t be able to speak English; she wouldn’t have made as many friends; and she wouldn’t have such a deep feeling of sisterhood and camaraderie with all the girls of the world. In Nobuko’s eyes, Girl Scouts are the seed for world peace.

“In one hundred and forty-five countries, there are many Girl Scouts. So the Girl Scouts make world peace because we are sisters all together, no more war, no more fighting. That’s the value of Girl Scouting.”

Nobuko was especially touched when she watched Malala’s speech and immediately came to the conclusion that she was a Girl Scout (though, she isn’t). Nobuko feels that all girls should be like her and tell their opinions to the world.

Fun fact About Japanese Girl Scouts: They don’t actually sell Girl Scout cookies. Instead, three days of the year are spent gathering donations for the Red Cross and for things like nature conservation.

Nobuko has shared a story on the history of Girl Scouting in Japan elsewhere. The story can be found here.

Jaimee C. (Past Girl Scout and Current Leader)

Jaimee always tries her best to be “honest and helpful.” She is always “responsible for what [she] says and [does]” and she definitely “[respects] authority.”

Did you notice that I was quoting the Girl Scout Law? That’s because the things mentioned above are all things Jaimee learned as a Girl Scout.

Jaimee’s troop leader was a good mentor; she was very structured and organized. She always had something to do or teach. She led their troop to learn how to bake cupcakes, earn their sewing badge, making fire starters, cooking over an open flame and doing community service (outreaches to the local Boys and Girls Club where they would help underprivileged children).

Jaimee’s favorite part of Girl Scouts was definitely Girl Scout camp. Her troop would all pack up their mess-kits and clothes in their suitcases and then hit the road to camp. When they finally got to camp they would separate and each of them would go to their assigned cabin. The cabins were on raised platforms and each carried six bunks. The cabins were spread in different camps all over the main camp and lake area, but they all shared the same mess hall.

At the mess hall, their meals were like this; breakfast was always something simple like cereal, at lunch they would make their own sandwiches and at dinner it would always be a big dish that was cooked in bulk (like pasta). They would also have campfires where they would eat s'mores.

By doing Girl Scouts, Jaimee gained many valuable skills for life and she also gained a greater appreciation for friendship. If she hadn’t done Girl Scouts, her life might not be the same.

Carol J. (Troop Leader, Life Time Girl Scout)

Carol grew up on a farm in a place that no Girl Scout troops existed, but when she had children of her own both her daughters became Girl Scouts. She has been actively involved in Girl Scouts for about 50 years now.

One of the big changes she has seen in Girl Scouts during her time is the way that girls progress through the program and the order they do things in. It used to be that you would start by “gaining steps” at the time you were a Daisy to Brownie. You would cook simple things like bugs in a log and the first overnight camp out would start at the end of Brownie year. For Carol’s troop’s first overnight, they camped out in Sycamore Canyon Park (California).  Later, they went to the Spanish Trails Girl Scout conference. As a Junior, a girl would go both scout house camping and open camping. Carol’s troop went to Mt. Palomar in San Diego to see the observatory and camp out. Cadets could go even farther on trips.  For example, Carol’s troop went to the state capital as their Cadet trip.  They also went to Sea World. As a Senior Girl you would run and direct the camps with adults, teaching cooking and songs like Something In My Pocket (AKA Brownie Smile Song) (most songs were found in a small grey book called “The Girl Scout Song Book”).

Back in the day, leaders - not only Girl Scouts - had to wear uniforms. Carol has three different Girl Scout leader uniforms hanging in her closet. As Carol worked closely with her daughter’s troop, she made friends with many fellow leaders along the way.

Carol’s Girl Scout troop did many crafts and projects:  they wrote letters and made Care Packages for the returning Vietnam veterans, they cleaned up hiking trails, they helped out at hospitals and they won their “First Class” Award. Carol has never been that much of an artsy person, so when she was running activities with her fellow leaders, she was the person who taught the girls respect, the flag ceremony and all the outdoorsy things. She also helped run many Girl Scout camps and mini camps.

Carol really enjoyed watching her daughters grow up and learn how to accomplish anything they wanted in life. Carol holds the Girl Scout values of respect, honor and care of the nature close to her heart. She really believes in what the motivational speakers that she used to bring in to her Girl Scout troop said about how a strong woman can accomplish anything.

Kiera M. (Daisy - Ambassador)

Kiera came from long line of Girl Scouts, her mother was a Girl Scout and her mother's mother was a Girl Scout.  With her mother as her troop leader, Kiera's troop was formed around Kindergarten and lasted past high school.

Kiera started out as a Daisy and came out an Ambassador. As time passed, she earned many badges, as well as her Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards. She also learned how to sing many songs that are still popular today like Little Red Wagon, Princess Pat, Percy the Pale Faced Polar Bear and Little Piece of Tin.

Besides being a long-time Girl Scout, Kiera has also been a Girl Scout camp counselor. She started her counselor-career at the “Adventure Weekend Camp” near San Diego. This camp was at the end of the week and lasted two days at a time, each two-day time-span had a different theme. Kiera remembers that one week was a nature theme and they learned about the environment and did tie-dye. At this camp she was a counselor to Brownies and Juniors, but she later progressed to being a counselor for older girls. Kiera spent every summer, between the ages of 6-18 at Girl Scout camp.

Kiera also works for Voice 4 Girls. Her jobs mission is to build strong independent girls. As a result of Kiera's Girl Scout background, Kiera is strong and very outspoken about what she believes in,  Primarily, this gift has taught her to be always be giving and live a life of generosity, which she tries to impart this gift to the girls she works with.

Kiera’s troop could have given up and broken apart while she was growing up, but they became a tight unit and stayed together during tough times. As they passed those boundaries, Kiera slowly became the person she is today and learned that she could make a difference. As she points out, many female leaders in the U.S. were Girls Scouts, which includes 80% of American female entrepreneurs.  See list.

Kiera is really happy that Girl Scouts was part of her life and if she has a daughter, her daughter will definitely become a Girl Scout.

Sanna F. (Former Girl Scout, Current Leader)

A girl in baby blue pants, a beige shirt, a scarf, a sash and a hat with a name pin and troop number. That girl in uniform was Sanna from age 7 to around 14. Sanna was a Swedish Girl Scout in the late 70s and early 80s.

Sanna was part of a 30 to 40 person CO-ED troop with 3 leaders and a lot of parent volunteers.  Shocking as this may seem, it is how it was back then where she lived. Her troop didn’t sell nuts or cookies and was funded solely by the member’s fathers and mothers.

Sanna’s troop did community service, camping, survival backpacking and more. They traveled out of their city to the countryside to do their camping. When they went camping, it was “primitive” in her words. When she and her daughter’s troop go camping, they bring lots of pre-made stuff and wood. When Sanna’s troop went camping it wasn’t always on designated campsites.

The tents would have 6 to 8 people per tent and an adult. They would hike and backpack the whole day. They would also gather wood for the fire, discover natural foods and catalog tree leaves.

When they went camping they learned about nature. There were plenty of trees and they would often find new leaves to place in their books. They each carried a book in which they collected crushed leaves. They would identify what tree each leaf belonged to and learn a bit about it.

Back then they didn’t have the awards or Journeys, but they did have patches, songs and campfires. Girl Scouts helped Sanna learn how to forge bonds. She compares it to her daughter’s troop which started with seven friends in Kindergarten and grew from there. Sanna still has friends in Sweden from her scouting days. Since 2005, she has been the leader of her daughter’s American Girl Scout troop.