Making a world of difference

It may just be the only place where you can find Germany sandwiched between Egypt and Oman.

Or Mongolia and China — nations which border one another — on opposite ends of a map.

But that's all right.

Girl Scouts World Thinking Day at Milo Bail Student Center on the campus of the University of Nebraska at Omaha is an event where geography is trumped by a more important worldview: mutual respect and understanding.

"There's Egypt, France, Kenya, Italy, Mongolia, China — you can be at almost every point of the world at once," said Michaela Lentsch as she surveyed her surroundings. "All in one room."

World Thinking Day, which has been a signature event for 86 of the 100 years the Girl Scouts have been in existence, encourages scouts to get beyond their particular place and expand their knowledge of the 196 nations around the globe.

Michaela, one of 17 girls from Ralston's Girl Scout Troop 45492, was standing at her post, a display of the culture and contributions of Germany, and taking in the sights and sounds all around her as more than 500 scouts, leaders and parents milled around rows upon rows of displays from all corners of the globe.

The Saudi Arabia display was providing henna tatoos. Kenya had set up a traditional grass hut. The girls at the Egypt booth were dressed in traditional clothing.

"The saying that you can't be two places at once is false," said Annabelle McDonald, another sixth-grade member of Troop 45492. "Here were at how many places at once? In the same room? Greece over there, Egypt right there. You can be in about 30 places at once here."

Troop 45492's Germany display featured the girls' handmade renderings of gingerbread houses, a Maypole, a Christmas tree and a well-candled papier-mâché birthday cake — just a few of the notable contributions Germany has made to the world sphere.

The display also featured photographs of the country's sweeping landscape — from the Alps in the south to the seaside in the north.

Emily Workman, a fifth-grader in Troop 45492, explained the German custom of hiding a pickle in a Christmas tree to a set of younger scouts stopping by the Germany display.

"It's kind of funny, isn't it?" she asked, as the girls nodded their heads with smiles.

"Telling people how people in other countries live is a really fun part of this," Emily said, as she signed the passports of the younger girls — one of the purposes of World Thinking Day is to visit as many of the country booths as possible. "We're showing them how things are different, but how we're also very similar, how we've got some of the same traditions."

The girls also learn about their counterparts in their chosen World Thinking Day nation.

The Pfadfinderen — the German equivalent of the Girl Scouts — participate in many of the same activities as their American comrades.

"It's a really big word that's hard to say," said Kelsey Knight, a fifth-grader. "But they do the same things we do. It's interesting learning about the different countries and what the Girl Scouts are like there."

And that, ultimately, is what World Thinking Day is all about.

The Girl Scout Law that asks girls to be "Honest and Fair, Friendly and Helpful, Considerate and Caring, Courageous and Strong," is all tied into the understanding being built at World Thinking Day, as the girls in Troop 45492 pointed out.

"This is a great place to learn about all the world has to offer," Michaela said. "I think you could probably learn just as much here as if you actually visited the country for real."

At least as far as what makes up the shared humanity in the upstairs ballroom at the Bail Center.

"Doesn't every Girl Scout have to think that?" Annabelle said, when asked if she thought the day was brining more harmony to the world. "We're all part of this planet. We're all doing our best to understand each other."

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