I have lived in three countries – the U.K., the United States, and now Canada – and there is one thing I have learned and that is to get my priorities straight. To me Guiding/Scouting is up there with finding a house! I used to be in Guides but left like many girls do when you grow up and go to college. But after a while, I returned to Guides as a leader in the U.K. It made me feel part of something and part of the community.
I have celebrated three different Guide and Scout centenaries. Crazy, really makes me sound like I am 300 not 30! I celebrated with the U.K. Scout Association in 2007 and then I celebrated as a Girl Guiding U.K. leader 2010. The best part was we all renewed our Promise together across the country at 20:10 on October 20, 2010.
Guiding was so much fun but then I moved to the United States. I felt like I was missing something, that thing that made it feel like home. I reasoned we are all sisters of the same organization so why not contact Girl Scouts and continue. The girls were great and the cookie season was crazy but fun, plus I celebrated my third centenary!
So, when in February I moved again – this time to Canada – the first thing I did to make it feel like home was to contact Girl Guides of Canada and get involved. I was in contact with a unit before we even had our plane tickets booked! When I went to my first Spark session as a leader, I hadn’t even been in the country for 24 hours and had just done a trans-Atlantic flight! My French on that day didn’t go beyond bonjour, but the unit felt like home.
I have discovered what is important to me – being a Girl Guide leader is like saying “this is my home, I am here to stay.” I enjoy helping the girls and sharing my experiences with them. I have learned so much had so much fun and done so much. Why stop Guiding? When you move, we are all sisters.
By guest blogger Jo Povall, a Guider with the 1st Northern Lights Sparks on Montreal’s North Shore. She’s proud to note that she’s slowly learning French.
And we are VERY glad to gave you with us now!