Girl Scouts take an international tour
By Angela Greiner Community Reporter

Third-grader Megan Lozouski, representing Egypt, stands with first-grader Christiana Kearns, representing Germany, in front of a six-foot Statue of Liberty. The statue, which was made out of recycled goods - including sheets, pie plates, PVC piping and a mannequin disposed of by a salon - was made by a troop portraying the United States of America. PHOTO/ANGELA GREINER

Marlborough - Three hundred Girl Scouts can now tell you where and what one might eat in Djibouti, thanks to the Annual International Girl Scout Day held March 9 at Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School. Twenty troops attended this year's event, representing an array of countries from around the world.

Coordinator of the event Ginny O'Neill said that this fair has been held annually for at least the past 20 years and has grown into one of the Girl Scouts' biggest events, including girls from first through 11th grade. The fair featured displays, performances and ethnic food sampling.

"This is a great opportunity for girls to learn about other parts of the world," O'Neill said, "and that there are Girl Scouts in other parts of the world."

During the presentations, individual troops sang songs in French, performed traditional German dances and took the audience for a sightseeing trip down the Amazon River in Brazil. The troop portraying Brazil educated the audience with quick facts like there are 500 kinds of frogs and warned the audience that only 6 percent of the rainforest remains and that is predicted to be gone within 40 years.

As the skits wrapped up, girls made their way around tables tasting authentic dishes. Some crowd favorites included salsa and chips from Mexico, spanikopi from Greece, Vegemite and crackers from Australia, and flat bread and butter from Djibouti.

Girls Scout leader Debbie Pickholtz, whose sixth-grade troop chose to study Djibouti, said that the girls served flat bread because the country is impoverished and located in the desert without access to fresh fruits and vegetables. As a troop leader whose scouts have been involved with the event for the past six years, Pickholtz said that this year she was particularly proud of the girls because they did the entire project by themselves.

"They learned something new and it was empowering for them to see something through from start to finish," she said.

Girls Scout leader Theresa Frias said that for the past few years her troop has chosen a country that represents one of the girls in the troop's heritage. This year the girls choose Jamaica because troop member Emily Tolland's grandmother is from there. The girls said they enjoyed learning about Jamaican especially because they got to meet Tolland's grandmother and try diff erent things like coconut milk.

Third-grader Megan Lozouski, who was adorned with beaded tiara, explained that her troop picked Egypt.

"I liked learning about the pharaohs the most," she said. "My favorite is Cleopatra because she was so pretty."

O'Neill explained that every year the scouts get more involved making costumes and finding different countries to represent. She was particularly proud of a few of her former scouts who are now in college or recently graduated who volunteer their time to assist and lead troops.

"Girl Scouts teaches young girls good morals, and it molds them into good people," O'Neill said.