2009 Rotary District 7980 GSE to District 4250

Retalhuleu

2009-02-17T19:14:00.008-05:00

After a rather long ride, we were warmly greeted by Clemencia of the Retalhuleu Rotary Club. We were checked into our accommodations for the first evening and allowed to relax for a little while. We were then treated to a wonderful dinner with members of the Retalhuleu Rotary Club.

The next day, Sunday morning, we arose early to be transported to new accommodations that would house us until Wednesday. We are in a wonderful resort. This is an amazing place - filled with peacocks and parrots. All employers contribute 1% of their payroll to this non-profit organization. There are several resorts throughout Guatemala - each one offering different amenities. The employees are then able to attend any of these resorts they like. We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast and then had a relaxing day at the water park and the theme park. This is like a miniature Disney. However, it is much cleaner and less crowded. Unfortunately, it is my turn to be hit with stomach issues. I struggled through the morning at the water park. I had bread and water for lunch before asking to go to the hotel. We had been unable to check in an earlier but fortunately it was late enough. I collapsed on my bed while the rest of the teams enjoyed the lovely theme park. I had another dinner of bread and chamomile tea (a natural remedy for bad stomachs). Back to bed - I hope tomorrow will be better!

Well - it is another morning of bread and chamomile tea for me! Today we visited Mayan and Olnex Ruins. The Ruins at Tak Alik Ab Aj were wonderful. They were pre-classic and middle-classic. The site is still being uncovered. Of course Laura was in her glory! I was struggling and hoping the bathrooms weren´t too far away!

After the ruins we visited the government offices. There was a large fire there that destroyed much of the building. The Rotary Club helped to raise the necessary funds to rebuild the offices. The completion date is supposed to be March 2009.

It is about 5 p.m. and I am happy to be going back to the hotel. I have been struggling a little with my stomach all day and appreciate the opportunity to rest a little more.

Panajachel - We packed alot into this day!!

2009-02-17T18:35:00.017-05:00

We all met early for the boat ride across Lake Atitlan to San Lucas to see some projects.

We hopped into the Tuk Tuks to get to the first project. K’aslem Mandala Environmental Education Youth Leadership Program encourages Mayan youth to create environmentally friendly gardens that will help to sustain the community. They teach them Permaculture. Permaculture is a planting method that is in harmony with the local environment and allows for equal distribution of the produce to all persons. They use all organic methods. We helped by planting a couple of trees.

Dawn & Laura planting a tree

We then visited a large school. Rotary had contributed water filters so the children had clean water to drink.

We next visited a very small school in a small village where the El Calde of the village was also the founder of the school and the principal of the school. The one building we saw was for kinder and first grade. They had another building that housed second and third grades but the El Calde paid for that rent himself. The government agreed to pay to build a new school if they could find land suitable for it.

The El Calde and a teacher

Our next stop was at a small production facility. This is such a worthwhile venture. Esperanza, who has been our guide all day and has her hand in all of these projects, has worked with approximately 26 women to get them established as a co-operative. They make a variety of jams, honeys, and sauces. They then bottle and label them for sale. The facility has been USDA approved. This is a huge accomplishment for these women and will go a long way to give them and their families a better future.

Our day is now half over and we are heading back across the lake for a quick lunch before we move on to visit with Sharon and see some of her projects. Sharon is Australian. She lives in Panajachel with her 2 adopted daughters and she contributes alot to the community. Among her list of endeavors are a clinic to spay and neuter dogs, a project to educate men and women about birth control so they can space their children for better health, providing water filters to homes, sponsoring children for school, providing efficient stoves, and the list continues.

Ceramic Water Filters

At Sharon´s we saw the 3 efficient stoves they provide. These are very important because the smoke and particulate matter are greatly reduced. This will improve the health of the families that receive these stoves. The cost of these stoves is approximately $150 - $160 per stove.

WOW - what a busy day. I am so amazed at how many wonderful projects are being done by people that aren´t even formally a Rotary Club yet.

Iximche Ruins to Panajachel

2009-02-13T23:30:00.010-05:00

We left Guatemala City for Panajachel. Along the way we made a brief stop at the ruins of La Ciudad de Iximche. It was a small site but had several nice structures. Iximche was the capital of a Mayan community in the late 1400's. There is a small museum on site that features many artifacts found on site.

We left the ruins and continued on to Panajachel. This small town is located on Lake Atitlan and boasts views of 3 volcanoes. The views and the sunset explain why there are so many tourists located in Panajachel. The town is very nice with the exception of the vendors that follow you around pushing their wares on the tourists. The usual "no, gracias" did not dissuade them. Try to walk away and they follow you - even into a restaurant or store. It really is a shame that I didn't want what they were selling because the further I walked the more the prices were lowered.

Upon our arrival in Panajachel we were met by Freddy. Unfortunately, Panajachel does not have a Rotary Club. Freddy is 1 of several people trying to form the Rotary Club in Panajachel. They have a club to sponsor them but still have to get the required 20 members to gain club status. Several of the "club" members brought us out for a typical Guatemalan dinner of Pepian de Pollo. This is a wonderful chicken and vegetable stew. Several members will be taking us around to see projects they are working on. Not having formal club status has not stopped these people from providing Service Above Self.

Guatemala City

2009-02-11T22:49:00.012-05:00

It was another beautiful day in Guatemala City. It appears we have finally left the rain and cold behind. We met up with Gloria from Fundacion Ayudame a Vivir and started our day by visiting the National Pediatric Oncology Unit. It is very sad that children have to be stricken with cancer, however, this wonderful facility makes the treatment a little easier. There are many issues that surround the illness of a child in Guatemala. The child most likely doesn't receive regular medical care and therefore the cancer is discovered very late. The parents may be unable to take the time to get the treatment for the child because they have to take care of the other children at home. This hospital not only treats the child's cancer but also provides some services for the family. They teach the family about nutrition, they provide shelter at the hospital for the family, they provide transportation for the family, they have spiritual and psychologial support for the family, and many other services. The hospital is almost finished with a new wing for the children. The blood drawing area is designed to look like a barn to encourage the children to want to enter. The new wing is very inviting. We left alot of candy for the staff to pass out to the children that are able to have candy.

We left the hospital for the meeting of the Club Rotario de la Ciudad de Guatemala. This is the oldest Rotary club in Guatemala City. There are over 50 members. Since it is so close to Valentine's Day, the spouses of the members were also invited to the meeting. It was a packed house! We set up to give our presentations in our very bad Spanish and we were asked to keep our presentation brief because the club had a very big agenda. It is difficult for us to alter our presentations "on the fly" because our Spanish is rather poor. However, we managed to cut down the time of our presentations and speak Spanish rather well. Except for Angela who referred to her boyfriend (novio) as her girlfriend (novia). The Spanish language has a lot of words that alter slightly if it is male or female. This is very difficult to get used to. Many times when people are speaking Spanish I cannot distinguish if they have used an 'o' or an 'a' at the end of the word denoting male or female. However, their more discerning ear can obviously detect the difference. The bad thing is we didn't know why they were laughing. There was a very nice picture of Angela's boyfriend. It was later that someone told us about the mistake. I had made a similar mistake and made reference to my "wife" at a dinner last week. I guess we all have to be a little more careful.

After our wonderful lunch and quick presentations Mike and Laura left to visit a children's museum in a Walmart??? We will have to get an update from them later.

Angela and I accompanied Isabela to a home provided by Fundaninas. This is a wonderful program that provides shelter, food, support, and education for girls that otherwise would be abused and/or abandoned and living on the streets. The home we went to visit has approximately 27 girls residing there ranging in age from 4 years old to 18 years old. The girls are not only taught the necessary skills to live independently when they reach the age of 18 but they are also given the skills to support themselves. Some go on to become nurses, accountants, and hair dressers. Still others may become chefs. Fundaninas becomes the guardians for these girls and provides them with clothing, food, medical care, and school - in some cases private school. It is not just routine medical exams and care that is provided. While there we met a young child that has a very serious kidney disease and Fundaninas pays for all of her treatments including dialysis. We saw another girl with braces on her teeth. The girls were very well behaved and very sweet. The older girls wanted to know if we were married, what we liked to do, what our favorite musicians were, and what our favorite colours were. The younger girls admired our hair and eyes. They wanted us to take their pictures and then they wanted to look at them. They also liked looking at the pictures of my dogs. They grouped together and sang several songs for us. Even when we passed out candy to them they were very respectful. They thanked us. Nobody tried to grab for multiple bags or claim they hadn't gotten a bag. Angela and I received many hugs and kisses. It was a heartwarming experience.

Angela and I ended our day with a wonderful dinner with our host and hostess. They have made our stay in Guatemala City most enjoyable. I will be sorry when we have to leave tomorrow morning.

Guatemala City

2009-02-09T23:38:00.011-05:00

We awoke to a beautiful day in Guatemala City. Our group was led by Andres of the Metropoli Guatemala Rotary Club. He drove us to Amatitlan where we met up with Angela, the wife of another Rotarian.

We toured Andre's steel fabrication plant. It is a family owned business that has been in operation for 50 years. He and his brother now own the plant.

We had a wonderful lunch of typical Guatemalan food. This explains why my clothes no longer fit!

We left Amatitlan and headed back to Guatemala City and the traffic. Once there Angela gave us a driving tour of the City before heading over to the City Planner's office. Oliver Hartleben gave a presentation so we could see the plans they have for Guatemala City.

We then went for a tour of the Universidad Francisco Marroquin. It is a beautiful, small, private university. Luis Figueroa gave us an inside look at the history of the school and the wonderful private collection of books and maps in the library. WOW - they had books from the 1700's. It was a wonderful collection.

We ended this very busy day by attending the meeting for the Metropoli Guatemala Rotary Club. They are a small club with 18 Rotarians. Everyone welcomed us very warmly and appreciated our presentation - even if our Spanish wasn't great.

Fun in the Sun - Puerto San Jose

2009-02-08T22:43:00.007-05:00

We traveled by bus from Chiquimula to Guatemala City. It was an interesting bus ride. We all felt as though we were risking life and limb. The bus driver seemed unconcerned with the sharp turns and the high speeds at which the bus was travelling. We were tossed around the bus like little rag dolls. Whenever the bus stopped to pick up or drop off passengers, vendors would enter the bus selling food and beverages. It was a very interesting bus ride.

But three hours later we arrived in Guatemala City where we were warmly greeted by Roberto Fuentes and Adrien Caceres. They had been warned of the large amount of luggage with which we traveled so they brought large vehicles. We went to Roberto's house where his wife prepared us a wonderful lunch. We then met up with the GSE team from District 5080.

The two teams then traveled to Puerto San Jose for a weekend at the beach. It was our first planned beach time that we actually saw the sun. Yes - I said SUN!! The beach was wonderful. There was black volcano sand, blue water, white waves and SUN. Of course this now means that I have red legs. On Sunday evening we traveled back to Guatemala City - and the cold weather - where we enjoyed another wonderful mean prepared by Roberto's wife. The food is wonderful and I may never leave.

A Blustery Day in Chiquimula

2009-02-06T23:01:00.012-05:00

Our day started with a visit to Reyitas de Luz, a school for special needs children. Special needs children in Quatemala include children with physical or mental disabilities. The school has about 36 students. They have to turn children away since they are at capacity. Disabled children attend school until they are 21 years old. They are never mainstreamed into standard schools.

The Chiquimula de la Sierra Rotary Club partnered with the Modesta (California) Rotary Club to provide a shower for the school. Unfortunately, there are times during the day when special needs children may need to have a shower and change of clothes. Before this shower was constructed the children would have to be washed outside with cold water from a hose. It was very embarrassing for the children.

In Guatemala the government doesn't contribute anything to schools for special needs children except for the standard salary for teachers.

After handing out several bags of candy to the children at the school we went to Lorena's house for a typical Guatemalan breakfast. It was que rica (very delicious), except that Angela and I mistook the salt for sugar and ruined our coffee.

After breakfast we met up with the Modesta Rotary Club and traveled to The Basilica de Esquipulas where the the Black Christ is located. Many people in Latin America make the pilgrimage to see the Black Christ. It is believed that people are cured when they pray to the Black Christ.

We left The Basilica for Convento Franciscano Belen. It was built in preparation for a visit by Mother Theresa of Calcutta shortly before her death. There is currently 1 priest that resides there.

We enjoyed a dinner of pupesa de queso and pupesa de chicharron with the Chiquimula and Modesta Rotary Clubs.

We leave early tomorrow morning for Guatemala City and Puerto San Jose.

Goodbye Rain - Hello Chiquimula

2009-02-06T00:11:00.011-05:00

While we enjoyed our time in Honduras we were tired of the rain. The border welcomed us along with the Rotarians from Chiquimula, Guatemala. We were met at the border and shown a few of the sites on our way to Town.

After dropping our stuff at the hotel - we went to see Iglisia Santisima Trinidad. It is a great church. It was destroyed several times by earthquakes. The first time being in 1765. After the last time it was destroyed they did not rebuild it. They are currently doing some basic work to structure. They are trying to make it strong so that it doesn't become any worse.

The Chiquimula Rotary Club greeting us with a nice dinner. After which we all went home to rest for a busy day tomorrow.

We said goodby to the rainey skyes of Honduras and said Heloo to

2009-02-06T00:10:00.000-05:00

Copan - We are Undaunted

2009-02-05T12:24:00.008-05:00

Despite the bad weather we are going to make the best of Copan. We went to the Copan Ruins. They were absolutely wonderful. Our hostess here in Copan, Sandra, graciously called a friend of hers to give us a tour of the Ruins. We got a great history lesson along with the tour. It is definitely worthwhile to get the guided tour. We also took the opportunity to see the Tunnels. It was disappointing that the plexi glass was in such poor condition. It would have been great to have a better view of Rosalila - a temple found under another temple. We also took a run through the museum while we were there.

We ran back to Casa de Todo where we had a quick lunch and then our guides picked us up for our Canopy Tour. Again - thanks to Sandra this was another great experience. We went down about 11 lines. The views were amazing.
Dawn going down a zip line

Mike coming down a zip line

One of the guides showing his skills on the zip line

Laura coming down a zip line tandem with a guide

Angela coming down a zip line

Mike's new cruiser!

Thanks again to Sandra for making Copan a wonderful experience and to Roberto for driving us around and putting a roof over our heads. We are off to Guatemala in a little while. Hopefully they will let us in!

Adios Honduras.

At Last - Copan

2009-02-04T09:25:00.018-05:00

Street in Copan

We left San Pedro Sula yesterday for the trip to Copan. It rained almost the entire way. Copan is beautiful. There are cobbled streets and pretty buildings. It is definitely a tourist destination. We were greeted by Sandra, the past president of the Copan Rotary Club. Sandra is delightful. She owns 3 shops in town, works with culture and tourism, is in Rotary - you get the idea, she is very involved in her community. She has kindly offered one of her shops as our home base while we are here. After a lovely lunch with Sandra we met Roberto, another Rotarian, and we were taken to his place. His place is a group of rental cabins. We have an entire cabin to ourselves. It is very nice.

After settling in Roberto dropped us off at the Macaw Sanctuary. The Macaw is the national bird. For only $10 we had a personal guided tour. The Sanctuary takes in abandoned birds and cares for them.

Birds from the Sanctuary - Owl, Toucan, Toucan, and Macaws

Most of the birds were in cages, however, there was an interactive center. The birds here had cages but they were allowed to be free as well. There is someone there whenever the birds are out so that if they fly away they know approximately which direction the bird went and then they can find them if they do not return. The person is also there to scare off any potential predators. Mike, Laura and I got to hold the birds.

After leaving the bird sanctuary we hopped in 2 moto taxis and went back into town. The moto taxi is a fairly inexpensive way to get around Copan - 20 Limpira per person.

We ended with a wonderful meal at Nia Lola - a recommendation by Margarita in San Pedro Sula. The food was good, the beer cold, and the waitresses carried things on their heads.

Now off with Roberto back to our cabin so we can rest for Copan Ruins tomorrow.

San Pedro Sula - We Have Returned

2009-02-03T02:19:00.013-05:00

On our return visit to San Pedro Sula we were delighted to be able to visit the Museum of Anthropolgy and History for the Valley Region. We had two personal tour guides taking us through the museum. Margarita is the wife of Jack, a San Pedro Sula Rotarian. She is on the board of directors for the Museum and is very knowledgeable about the artifacts in the museum. Theresa, who is the director of the museum, was also showing us the artifacts and providing much history of the region.

Garifuna Artifact

We then enjoyed lunch at Jalapeno's. Some of the Rotarians were able to take some time off from work to join us for lunch. After lunch we visited with Margarita some more. She gave us some homemade dulces (candy) and coffee. She also gave each of us a wonderful book on the architecture of San Pedro Sula.

The Brewery

Angela, Mike, and I then went to Cerveceria Honduran S.A. Angela opined as to whether they would give us samples. When we arrived we were offered full bottles of the beer they make - that is a big sample. We had as many as we wanted. Since I am already fond of the Port Royal beer, I decided to try something different and went for the Barena. It was muy delicioso. The trip was organized by the Valle de Sula Rotary Club. This is the second of the 3 Rotary Clubs in San Pedro Sula. Leda was the GSE team leader from 2007. She brought her team to Arizona. She has been to Hartford several times as she has a friend that lives there. All of these new Rotarian friends were very nice. Again, we received a personalized tour from the Brewmaster himself!!! That is a job I would like to have - note to self go back to school, again, to become a brewmaster.

Members from the Valle de Sula Rotary Club.

We ended our day with a wonderful party at Noel's house. All of our friends from the San Pedro Sula Rotary Club were there. We gave them some items to remember us by and agreed to keep in touch.

Tomorrow morning we leave for Copan with mixed emotions. We are sad to say goodby to our friends but we are excited for all that Copan has to offer.

Leaving La Ceiba

2009-02-03T01:35:00.010-05:00

On our last night in La Ceiba our host, Gustavo, dropped us off at a great restaurant for dinner. We should have worn our swimsuits. It had begun to rain. We couldn't believe how quickly the roads filled with water. The water was over the curbs. We made quite the entrace into Tango Mango's as we ran through the downpour and the flooded parking lot. It was raining so hard we could hardly hear ourselves talking above the din from the rain hitting the metal roof. But the food was good and the company was great. The team got another opportunity to know each other better.

Gustavo picked us up "bright and early" according to La Ceiba time for our drive to Tela where we were going to meet our friends from San Pedro Sula. On the way to Tela we stopped to visit the waterfalls in La Ceiba. They were wonderful. Despite the rain there were families there having a picnic and swimming.

The Waterfalls at La Ceiba

We arrived in Tela where we were supposed to have a day on la playa (the beach). Of course it was raining all day. The rain gods must have heard we were going to the beach and decided to "bless" us with rain. We have determined that if Honduras needs rain then they just need to invite us to the beach. They will promptly be provided with lluvia (rain). We had a wonderful lunch on la playa and were able to watch the waves roll in. The rain did not seem to thwart the swimming efforts of the local Hondurans.

Waves at Tela

With the Rotary Club of San Pedro Sula

Martha, Patty, Laura, Mike, Angela, Alex, Dawn & Raquel

We left Tela for the ride to San Pedro Sula, where, upon arrival we were settled into our host family homes. Angela and I were staying at Noel's home where we each had our own en suite room. It was luxurious. Mike and Laura were staying with Jack and Margarita.

The City of La Ceiba

2009-02-01T09:09:00.007-05:00

We have been in La Ceiba for the past 2 days. The city is very modern with great roads. The Rotary Club has 21 members - 3 of which are women. They have their own meeting house. This is their first time hosting a Group Study Exchange Team, however, they have flags from all over the world because of projects they have worked on with other Rotary Clubs.

We visited the University and saw the department of agriculture there. They grow and experiment with orchids, the national flower. They also have several acres dedicated to growing a variety of fruit trees.

We were able to go to the Jungle School. It is incredible. The school is free to children. It is available for children that otherwise might not be able to go to school. They were able to buy text books with money donated by the Rotary Club. They really need 3 chalkboards. They have 1 paid teacher and the rest are volunteers. The school year here runs from February to November.

Sign for the Jungle School

The school provides a hot lunch, rice and beans. It is often the only food these children will eat all day.

Jungle School Kitchen/Stove

The same person that runs this school also runs an orphanage. There were approximately 20 children there. They attend a school next to the orphanage.

Children at the Orphanage

We also visited a small village for a group of persons that had been displaced from their land when the land lease expired. The land for this small village was donated to them to build their houses.

House in Village

School in Village

Our Spanish Progress

2009-01-30T09:34:00.003-05:00

We are all working diligently on our Spanish. Laura is speaking Spanish with an Italian accent. Mike is picking up all the ¨good¨ words. Angela speaks beautiful Spanish. How am I doing you may ask - no se. This is my new favorite phrase. It means I don´t know. Of course no comprendo is coming in a close second. I have lost all illusions that I will be fluent in Spanish by the time I return home.

Internet Problems

2009-01-30T09:29:00.003-05:00

We have all taken many wonderful pictures of the people, projects, and places. Unfortunately, the internet connections in Honduras are not allowing us to connect them to our posts. Perhaps the internet gods will shine more favorably on us in La Ceiba. I apologize now to my computer at home and my internet connection at home - I will never yell at you again for being slow!!

Our First Presentation - Tocoa

2009-01-30T09:15:00.006-05:00

We made it to Tocoa and settled into our hotel rooms. The Tocoa Rotary Club showed us many of their wonderful projects. At one of their projects, a school, we met a young boy about 8 years old that told us he works 7 days each week to help support his family because his father drinks. This young boy earns the equivalent of ten dollars each week. He is a mechanic and can fix cars.

School in Tocoa

We also saw a Hogar Maternidad (home for pregnant women). Without this critial pre-natal care the infant mortality rate would be higher than it already is. The Rotary Club paid to build the home and also pays to support the running of the facility. The home is near a hospital. We went to visit the pediatric ward. The boys and girls had separate ¨wards¨. There were childen there suffering from asthma and dengue fever. They even had a burn unit where one child was being treated.

Home for Pregnant Women

We were very greatful that Carlos, one of the Rotarians, spoke beautiful English. In addition, there was a woman here from MIT working on her Ph.D. project which is an early warning system for flooding.

We visited a fire house where we met many bomberos (fire fighters). The Tocoa Rotary Club provided all of the equipment for the firehouse including several trucks and a boat. Most of the fire fighters are volunteers.

Firehouse in Tocoa

On our last night in Tocoa we gave our presentations to the Rotary Club. They were very kind since our Spanish is very bad. We leave today for La Ceiba.

Tocoa Rotary Club

The Long Road to Trujillo

2009-01-28T10:33:00.007-05:00

We left San Pedro Sula for the long ride to Trujillo. The ride was made worse by the horrible roads. The weather was wonderful with the sun shining brightly for the entire ride. The trip was made worth while when we were greeted very warmly by some of the women of the Trujillo Rotary Club.

Church in Trujillo

They are a small club but very active. Some of their projects include a kindergarten, computers for a school, a playground for the kindergarten, reforesting the mountain to prevent errosion, a 36,000 gallon water shed to service the Garifuna community, a mobile library for children and a kindergarten for the Pech community.

Watershed Project

We were able to see much of the town including Fort Santa Barbara, the Pech community, and the Garifuna community.

House in the Pech Community

On our first night in Trujillo they welcomed us with a wonderful dinner.

Welcome Dinner

On our last night in Trujillo we had a wonderful farewell dinner which included some traditional Garifuna dancing.

Farewell Dinner

San Pedro Sula - We have arrived!!!

2009-01-25T21:10:00.010-05:00

We landed in San Pedro Sula around 10 pm last night after long day of travel with heavy luggage. We had three great Rotarians waiting for us despite it taking 2 hours to get off the plane and through customs. It was humid and rainy - much to the dismay of Angela's hair.

Mike is staying with a wonderful family that has 4 girls. He had many cervesas with Hugo on his first night. Angela, Laura and I have the pleasure of staying with Horacio and his lovely wife Alba.

Today we had an early start and saw el centro de ciudad. We witnessed a baptism at San Pedro Cathedral and saw the capital building. While we were downtown, we saw an ambulance that was donated to the city by the San Pedro Sula Rotary Club.

We then went to Tito's place at the beach. It was wonderful and his wife put out a grand meal. Many of the Rotarians from San Pedro Sula Rotary Club attended. After walking on the beach under overcast skies, we went to a museum and fort where the Spanish defended Honduras from British invasion. The sun finally came out. We also went to visit a project the club is working on in Omoa. There is a small village there that is growing. They are providing computers for the school, a clinic, a waste treatment facility and water supply system.

We finished our day back at the beach, watching the bright Honduran sun set behind layers of clouds and mountains. The landscape was breathtaking. Tomorrow we head out to Trujillo, a city approximately 5 hours from San Pedro Sula. Another day of new experiences, new places and new friends.

We have a Plan

2009-01-07T12:53:00.003-05:00

WOW - we only have a couple of weeks left before we leave. We just received our itinerary from District 4250. It is very exciting. We have several professional/vocational visits planned as well as cultural events. The only disappointing aspect is that we are not going to Belize.

Rotary Education - The "Holiday" Spirit

2008-12-19T10:33:00.003-05:00

Since it is the Holiday Season, I thought I would bring some Rotary Education about Tolerance and International Differences:

Rotarians are memebers of an international organization that is dedicated to world understanding and peace. As Rotarians we should be tolerant and understanding of the differences in the laws, customs and traditions of other countries. We should strive to strenghten the bonds of understanding, goodwill, and friendship through our tolerance of others regardless of these differences.

What I do for Rotary!

2008-12-17T10:02:00.003-05:00

I went to UCONN Travel Clinic for my innoculations to prepare for the upcoming trip. The Clinic is about 45 minutes from my house and I felt pretty good on the ride up. Felt alright in the waiting room too. But then the nurse called me in and I began to panic. I hate needles and I was expecting 4 of them. I was extremely relieved when the doctor told me I only needed Hepatits A and Tetanus. Apparently Typhoid is an oral vaccine - I can't swallow pills but I will figure that out later. At least I am now down to 2 shots. I warned the doctor of my distate for needles and she seemed concerned that I would faint. I assured her fainting was not an issue - crying maybe - but not fainting. I have to say the shots themselves didn't hurt at all. The muscle pain from the Hepatitis A set in fairly soon after the shot. My entire left arm hurt - from wrist to arm pit. Later the welt from the Tetanus appeared. I couldn't sleep on either side for several nights.

I can't wait to see the size of the Typhoid, Malaria, and Cipro pills!

Rotary Education - The Four Way Test

2008-12-10T21:00:00.003-05:00

The 4-Way Test was adopted by Rotary in 1943 and is a good statement of business ethics.

Of the things we think, say, or do:
1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?"

Every year Rotary District 7980 holds a 4-Way Test Speech Contest for high school students. A few years ago I was privileged to attend the event at which the winner was chosen. The finalists gave their speeches about how they applied the 4-way test to an event in their life. These students were extemely impressive and some even brought many of the attendees to tears.

How do you apply the 4-Way Test apply to your life?

Rotary Education - Polio Plus

2008-12-04T14:55:00.001-05:00

Polio Plus is an initiative started by Rotary in 1985 to immunize children against polio. At the time there were more than 125 countries that were polio-endemic with over $350,000 children paralyzed by the disease each year. Today there are only four countries that are still polio-endemic: Afghanistan, Nigeria, Pakistan, and India. Rotarians not only raise the funds but they also contribute their time and own personal resources to volunteer at mass immunization days.

Rotary Education - Four Avenues of Service

2008-12-02T13:34:00.004-05:00

Rotary has four Avenues of Service. The "Avenues" refer to the four elements of the Object of Rotary: Club Service, Vocational Service, Community Service and International Service.
"Club Service" involves all of the activities necessary for Rotarians to perform to make their club function successfully.
"Vocational Service" is a description of the opportunity each Rotarian has to represent the dignity and utility of one's vocation to the other members of the club.
"Community Service" pertains to those activities which Rotarians undertake to improve the quality of life in their community. It frequently involves assistance to youth, the aged, handicapped and others who look to Rotary as a source of hope for a better life.
"International Service," describes the many programs and activities which Rotarians undertake to advance international understanding, goodwill and peace. International Service projects are designed to meet humanitarian needs of people in many lands.

Rotary Education - Service Above Self

2008-11-25T12:04:00.004-05:00

The motto for Rotarians is Service Above Self.

"Rotary is an organization of business and professional persons united worldwide who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations and help build goodwill and peace in the world."

The Team is Chosen

2008-11-25T10:48:00.006-05:00

The Rotary District 7980 chose the team members to go to Belize, Honduras, and Guatemala in February 2009. We have 90 days to learn Spanish and prepare our presentations! It is the 90 days to learn Spanish that is the most daunting.