This post is part of a series for World Thinking Day 2016.
Hi everybody, it’s Katie! Some of you may know me from Troop Support, but in the summer I put on my other ‘hat’ and become the Seasonal Director of Camp Lakamaga (it’s a pretty sweet deal – the best of both worlds).
At Girl Scouts River Valleys, we do lots of things to have fun, from our meetings to cookie selling to council-led events, but we especially love to have fun outside at CAMP! Many of your girls have probably enjoyed some of the awesome things we offer at Lakamaga or one of our other camps around the state. It turns out that camp is something Girl Guides and Girl Scouts do for fun all around the world. For today’s World Thinking Day post, I ‘connected’ with some Girl Guides in Phuket, Thailand to find out what we have in common – even though it may look a little different!
Thai Camps and GSRV Camps: Side by Side!
Getting to camp looks pretty similar – girls pack their bags, hop on a bus, and hike out to their campsite where they set up their tents!
In the summer at GSRV, girls especially enjoy riding horses and spending time in the water swimming, kayaking, and paddle boarding. In the winter, we use snowshoes to go for hikes on top of the snow, and learn to cross-country ski to travel across the snow even faster! We also enjoy building snow-people and other sculptures in the snow, and playing outdoor games like broomball.
There is no snow in Phuket, but girls do lots of outdoor activities for their camps, including swimming, hiking, and ball games. They also do some of the same team-building and ropes course activities that we do. Girls go for hikes through the jungle, visit waterfalls, and at night they create skits and sing songs around the campfire, just like us!
At GSRV camp, girls cook lots of tasty foods and desserts outside over the fire. A big favorite is ‘s’mores’, which were actually invented by Girl Scouts in the USA! In Phuket, cookouts look a little different – girls make traditional Thai foods like noodle curries, satay chicken, and stir fries! I wouldn’t mind starting this tradition at our camps – looks delicious!
…and does this look familiar to any of you? The friendship circle looks the same in every country!
Craving a camp experience of your own now (and maybe a s’more… or 10)? Resident Camp Registration for the summer is now open! Check out our camp website to learn more, and sign up today!
Katie Bartels – Along with running programs and events and helping troop leaders, Katie also works with girls on their Gold Awards. She has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota, where she studied Youth Studies, Family Social Science, Public Health, and Spanish. Katie has been a member of Girl Scouts ever since Kindergarten and has experience working with youth of all ages in various non-profit and school settings, including Girl Scout camps with River Valleys and another council. She enjoys all outdoor activities (especially canoeing and camping), exploring new cities and places, and spending time with her family and two cats.
