Drawing close! by Lizzy

Hey Lizzy here!!

So... IT’S HAPPENING! I REPEAT THE TRIP WE’VE BE PLANNING FOR 2 YEARS is about to happen, in less than a week! If that isn’t crazy exciting, I don’t know what is. We’ll be leaving and coming back in 10 days. The first half of the trip will begin with going to Iceland. Our time there will start pretty nice and slow with a photography session with our sister troop’s leader; then, we will continue with horseback riding, swimming, and caving! After that, we’ll be doing what’s called the Golden Circle tour which involves sightseeing around three major natural attractions. One of these attractions is an actual fault line of the earth! The next day, we’ll visit a local farm, visit our sister troop, and bike around the city. Finally on our last day in Iceland, we will be visiting the American embassy, and then going to come exciting museums. The Iceland portion of  trip is so busy and exciting it could really just be a trip of its own. HOWEVER, right after Iceland we’ll be taking a flight to ENGLAND!! We open the london portion by doing some roaming around, close to the hostel we will be staying at, just to get ourselves acquainted. Then, the next day, we’ll be spending time with our London sister troop and visiting a real English Castle. On our third day, we’ll be visiting the areas  north of Oxford Street. These places will include the British Library, THE FILMING SITE FOR THE SHOW SHERLOCK ON BBC, King’s Cross, and Regent’s Park. After that day, we’ll visit the big attractions like Trafalgar Square, and Big Ben. To finish up the day, we’ll go to the Victoria and Albert Museum or the Science Museum. To conclude the trip, we will be visiting the famous Oxford street, where all the shopping happens. This will also include a visit to Chinatown (a tradition in the troop - to visit a chinatown anywhere we go), and also some cool independent bookstores. Finally, we’ll take a nice walk along the Thames. THEN THE TRIP WILL BE OVER - and we’ll sadly leave for our flight back to the ATL. Even until the end, I am sure this will be a trip of a lifetime!

Lizzy

American Embassy in Iceland by Emma

Hey Guys, It's Emma!

Recently everyone has been getting assignments to write on our blog, and I definitely got the topic I wanted.  I get to share some very exciting news with all of you and I'm so happy to!

A few weeks ago our leaders Susan and Donna got an email from the American Girl Scout Embassy in Iceland. We had previously sent out our schedule for the trip and apparently they had seen it. After doing so they thought we have a really great group, very adventurous and that we are achieving amazing goals. They then sent our leaders an email inviting us for a free tour of the American Embassy and also to host a lunch for us.

We are so honored and thankful for this opportunity, and I will make sure that all of you get every detail of our experience with these wonderful people.


Love you all!,


Emma

Family Farm in Iceland by Brittany

Ok, you're not going to believe this. First off, we were invited to tour the American embassy in Iceland (this is not my article's focus, so I'm not going to spend time on it. Emma's article will be discussing this in further detail.) Second, the people at the embassy hooked us up with a local farm that is willing to let us visit and tour around!! The family raises sheep, dogs, and show horses. I'm so excited!!

Before I continue, I think it's important for you to know something so that you can understand why I am so excited: I am a total horse nerd. I know so much information about horses, and they are a huge part of my life. I'm just naturally attracted to them. I've been riding at a ranch down the street for about 7 years, and I've had a lot of experience around horses. Riding is one of my favorite activities, especially when I'm on a fast horse. I've worked with horses a lot, and I'm one of the most experienced riders at the ranch (which makes it fun because I get to ride the challenging horses). 

 

So, now that I've mentioned that, let me restate something: This farm raises show horses. See why I'm so excited?? It's going to be amazing to see these horses and get to work with them. Oh, and I forgot one tiny detail: The owners gave us permission to ride the horses!!!! So not only am I going to get to see some of the best horses in Iceland, but I'm going to get to ride the equivalent of a racing thoroughbred!!!! I was already excited to ride horses during our hour-and-a-half trail ride (see Selina's article about the horses of Iceland), since Icelandic horses are different from any other bred you could possibly encounter, but I'm going to get to ride a show horse. Not only am I going to be able to ride a show horse, but I'm going to be able to ride a horse without the restrictions of a beginners trail ride, and I'm very much hoping that the owner gives me permission to ride around and test out the horses' different gaits (speeds). I knew this trip was going to be life changing, but this is going to be the experience of a lifetime!

 

Brittany

Lots of Packing! by Coumbah

I am super excited for Iceland and England! This trip will be so busy and filled with so many activities that we won't have enough room to pack everything that we want to pack, but that's okay. 

We are using a carry-on bag so it's important that we meet the airport requirements for carry-on's.We've decided to minimize the amount of items we are taking so that when we come back, we will be able to bring back lots if souvenirs. Instead of bringing different outfits and shirts to wear, we have collectively decided to all wear these black shirts with the words: "Courage,Confidence,Character" written on the back. They look very classy, cute, and they will do a good job distinguishing ourselves in crowded areas! 

 In both Iceland and England, we will be tackling some very cold weather, so we are packing some warm clothes as well. Just the other day, we received these great GS jackets that we ordered a few weeks ago. They are really warm and will be great for the chilly days in these countries!

Coumbah

The Home Stretch by Katie

We're getting down to the last few weeks before our trip to Iceland, which means we're really cracking down on all the planning. Thankfully, we've got all the major planning out of the way, such as where we're going exactly, where we're staying, what we're doing with the sister troop, etc. Right now what's left is filling in the little details leftover, especially the ones the Girl Scout council needs to know. The Iceland team and I need to find information like the addresses of everywhere we are going and important safety information. A big help for me so far in getting information is the leader of our sister troop, Elvar. He's come to us with important information when we were filling in the big gaps, and he has proved to be just as helpful in filling in the cracks as well. Though it can get somewhat stressful at times, planning this trip has been very fun. We're in the home stretch now, and I can't wait to see how all the work my team and I have done pays off!

 

Katie

Bike Riding in Reyjkavik by Selina

Hey Everyone!

We’ve been further outlining out our trip and another decision we’ve made is to rent bikes. Not to deny the pleasures of taking a stroll and all, but a hot pair of wheels sounds fun! So after some research we found this great renting place called The Icelandic Bike Company. There were so many bikes to choose from and some of them were oddly shaped while some of them had cool features. There was even a two person bike! Our leaders have told us they rented 7 bikes for us, and two carts that they can sit in and we can take turns pulling them - do you think they are serious?  We're a little concerned about this!  Anyway, we will have the bikes for 24 hours and will have a whole day in Reykjavik to ride!

 

Selina

What I get out of girl scouts and how does it feel to be the youngest? by Rosie

Being in Girl Scouts allows me to develop skills. I learn leadership skills, social skills, and communication skills. Being the youngest one in the troop doesn’t really affect me. All of the girls feel like older sisters to me, and I feel comfortable around them. It just feels normal because I have known most of these girls since I was in 1^st grade. Girl Scouts has allowed me to create many relationships. :)

Rosie