Tips for Girl Scouts Attending a Wider Opportunity

Pictures:
1. Although you may think that your roommate looks funny in the morning, you don't need 10 pictures of her a.m. appearance. Make sure you take lots of pictures of your group (& yourself) doing things. Don't be afraid to hand your camera to a friend & ask her to snap some pictures of you working on that craft, learning that folk dance, or whatever!You'll notice that there aren't many pictures from my Wider Ops on my pages...that's because I didn't think about getting pictures like that...all my pictures are of poeple sticking their tongues out, or of landscapes.
2. Get your pictures developed as soon as you can when you get home. Then, write a description on the back of each picture:
*Who is in the picture?
* What are they doing? (be specific!)
* Where are they doing the activity?
* When did it happen?
If you do this while your memory is still fresh & you still have your Wider Op schedule in front of you, you won't be caught trying to play a memory game later on.

There are many things I wish I had thought about when I went on my Wider Opportunities. Fortunately, now I can help others avoid the mistakes & regrets that I have by offering tips from my own experience. Keep in mind, none of this is official Girl Scout statements. It is simply my own comments & opinion based on my experiences. If you have a tip you would like to share for girls going on a Wider Op, feel free to send it. I'll add it to the list & give you credit, of course!

Uniform:
Why should you wear a full uniform when travelling to & from your Wider Op? It identifies you as a Girl Scout! So? So, you get treated differently from the average kid travelling alone. You might get:
* a tour of the airplane cockpit
* Invited into the first class waiting areas
* more polite customer service if you have a problem

You'll also be more easily recognized by those who will be meeting you at your final destination. And, it might help you out of possibly bad situations. Here's an example that actually happened on one of my Wider Ops:

We were returning from Europe (10 girls & 2 adults) & one of our flights was overbooked. We were told that half of us could go on that flight & the other half would have to wait, thus missing our connecting flight back to the US. Stunned, we began drawing straws to see which girls would stay. Out of the blue, a small group of businessmen approached & asked if we were Girl Scouts. We all nodded. Then, they gave us their seats on that flight so we could all go home together! (Of course, after that we all had to draw straws to see who got the primo first-class seats!) If we hadn't all been in uniform, we would've been just another group of stranded tourists. Being recognized as Girl Scouts enabled us all to get home on time!

Packing:
Take only what you need. Follow the packing list you are sent, and feel free to add what you feel truly necessary, but don't go overboard. There are two reasons for this:
1. You'll have to lug all that stuff around & you will get tired of it.
2. You'll be coming home with more than you left with. You'll be getting SWAPs, souvenirs, etc. & you'll want space to pack it all to bring home.

SWAPS:
What kind of SWAPS should you take? How many do you need? There are so many questions about SWAPS & no one right answer. Here is how I always approached it.
Q. What kind of SWAPs should I take?
A. Your SWAPS should have something to do with you or your area. Do you collect frogs? Make a frog SWAP! Is your home town known for its annual mushroom festival? Make a mushroom SWAP! The only real no-no, in my mind, is do not make SWAPS from perishable items. SWAPS should be something the recipient can keep & remember you by years from now!

Are you craft impaired? Out of time? Just want more "stuff" to give out with your hand-made SWAPS? Write to your congressmen, state tourism department, & local chamber of commerce & ask them for some brochures & other items. Just tell them in your letter that you have been chosen to represent your area at a national Girl Scout event. Most of the time, you will get a nice packet of stuff in the mail; often more than you can use! Just remember, a postcard is not a SWAP. A postcard of your area is nice to give in addition to a SWAP, though!

Make sure your name & address are attached to your SWAPS. How else will anyone remember who gave them that beautiful frog pin?

Q. How many SWAPS should I take?
A. Take enough to give one to every girl attending the event with you, plus enough for the adult event staff. (You may need to estimate the number of staff.) Will you be meeting any local Girl Scout Troops during the event? They may not have anything to exchange, but they would be thrilled & honored to receive one of your SWAPS! If you don't have enough to give one to each girl, give one to the troop leader for the troop. Chances are that the troops you'll meet during the event have put time & effort into making sure you have a great experience - a SWAP is a wonderful way to say "Thanks!"

Need SWAP ideas? See the links to the right for some fantastic SWAP sites!

SWAP Compilation : A good page that has SWAP ideas divided by theme & major materials used.

Trudy's SWAPS Ideas : Has lots of good ideas, many are very cute & very easy!

The Craft Bin SWAPS : Has ideas divided by theme & materals. Not a lot of ideas, but some very good ones!

Making Friends : This is an overall great crafts site & has many SWAP ideas. Many of the other crafts could also be used as SWAPS!