There are so many wonderful experiences that Zoe has had as a Girl Scout, many thanks to their crafty and organized troop leader, who is constantly looking for cool experiences they can join. That leads us to the annual Girl Scout Tasting Bee, a celebration of cultures around the world!

To participate, each troop selects a country, then researches it to create a booth that educates on its culture and customs, including sharing a food that attendees can buy for $1 that represents that country. Zoe’s troop chose Japan (bet you guessed that from the pic). They made chi chi dango, a Japanese desert that looks (and tastes) a lot like mochi.

In the black bowl beside Hello Kitty above, you’ll see what they call “swaps”, small crafts the Scouts make to trade with girls from other troops, which seems to be a common tradition when lots of troops get together. As you’ll see in the article below, the booths were set up both inside their pavilion and outside in the back. Sometimes crowded, but honestly, with hundreds of people there, it was well done.

If you look closely, you’ll see Zoe in the Crescenta Valley Weekly–she made the news (well, sort of)!

Taste of Cultures from Around the World Found in Montrose

While their country (Japan) wasn’t written up, apparently a picture of their outdoor booth was cool enough to be included in the post, twice. They were also featured in this Instagram post of the event!

Excited to see this event firsthand, Ella and I attended and visited EVERY country: China, England, France, Germany, Guatemala, India, Italy, Japan, Scotland, Sweden, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. We purchased tickets at the entrance, along with a passport for which each booth provided a stamp that reflected their country.

The most delicious food at the whole event (sorry, chi chi dango) was the homemade shortbread at the Scotland booth. So delicious. We did not taste the haggis… Ella also loved the small black bean tostadas, her favorite food on the planet, at the Guatemala booth (though she prefers sour cream and cheddar cheese to the cotija cheese, which of course Zoe loves).

We took a picture of the “WOW, that’s a lot of facts!” Swedish booth (though the IKEA ginger snaps in those cups were a “phone it in” attempt at food). Guess they ran out of time making that poster. And Ella took a photo booth pic at the England booth with a tiny British soldier, a corgi, and a tiara:

The Italian meatballs were delicious, and an easy, brilliant idea (remember, $1 each!). They also came with a small, snappy bread stick. One of the most popular booths was the French one, where they sold individually wrapped Madeleine cookies – just like the ones you can buy at Starbucks–a yummy way to phone it in (though I’m not sure of those margins). In Thailand, they prepared and sold Thai tea, and in India, a mango lassi. For anyone with little travel experience, it was a wonderful way to explore.

The Korea booth offered homemade rice balls, which Ella liked but were too seaweedy for me…

And here’s a slightly closer photo of the Japan booth Zoe’s troop made, so you can see the Japanese Manga books, the swaps and the chi chi dango better. And come on, that Hello Kitty rocks.

I must admit, Ella was way more interested the passport stamps and the food, though I tried to draw her in to the knowledge that was posted at every station. Honestly, probably my bad for bringing a hungry kid to a “Tasting Bee”, but we had fun!

And I’d like to think that Zoe had another valuable learning experience as she helped with the planning and making of the chi chi dango, greeted interested booth visitors with her friends, and engaged with other Scouts at their booths to learn and bond. I also know she did not go hungry…