A unit of St Albans Brownies has gone global by connecting with a fellow guiding troop in America.
Pippa Pearson, leader of the 24th St Albans group, explained that the Brownies were challenged to connect with another unit as part of their Thinking Day badge: "I searched for other places around the world called St Albans, and sent messages to Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA."
After getting the attention of a Girl Scout leader in St Albans, West Virginia, a special meeting was set up so girls on both sides of the Atlantic could learn about each other's town and city.
World Thinking Day is celebrated across the Guiding community each February, and is an opportunity for the 10 million Girl Guides and Scouts across the globe to connect. This year, World Thinking Day centred on the theme of peacebuilding.
Pippa continued: "Eleven of our girls met up with eight of theirs, and the most discussed topic was favourite foods. We were amazed to learn they don’t have Curly Wurlys and they were keen to recommend Pop Tarts for breakfast! We also discovered their town of St Albans is named after the city of St Albans Vermont, which is named after our lovely city."
Nine-year-old Brownie, Darcy, said: "I was really excited about meeting someone from Guiding in America. It was interesting learning about a different country.
"We talked a lot about the different foods we have. I still can’t believe they didn’t know what fish and chips are!"
Eleanor, seven, also shared her experience of talking to fellow Girlguiding members stateside: "I loved speaking to the Girl Scouts, it was very interesting to hear about what they do when they meet and the things that they enjoy and all the different sweets they have. I showed them how lucky we are to have a big park."
To complete Girlguiding Hertfordshire’s new challenge badge, girls across our county have been taking part in activities to learn more about themselves and their guiding units, and to do something positive in their communities.
Pippa added: "Our international Brownie meeting was very successful. We are going to send badges from our St Albans to the girls in West Virginia, and they are going to reciprocate!"
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