Today is my last full day in Australia as I am flying out of Canberra in less than 20 hours. This past weekend, we have enjoyed attending the District 9710 conference in Canberra and reuniting with what I now consider to be old friends. We also were given the opportunity to meet the team of Australians who will be travelling to Indiana in April 2008 and I am confident that they will have as great an experience in District 6540 as we have had in their country.
I mentioned this in the presentation we gave this morning at conference and I just thought I should share with all who are reading this blog a few final thoughts:
At the beginning of my trip here, I really felt kind of lost. I had never travelled overseas and have never been away from my family and friends this long. Our first few days here, I was seriously questioning whether or not I had made the right decision in applying for this program as I was extremely homesick. But after being here for 4 weeks, it is with tears in my eyes that I am leaving. I have enjoyed every moment of this exchange and will never forget the experience. The Rotarians that have guided us through this journey have been more than willing to ensure our time here was enjoyable and have opened their homes and hearts to us in a way that I could have never imagined. And even though I may be returning to my family back home, I really feel as though I am leaving two others in my teammates and new Aussie friends.
And finally, I cannot wait to share this experience with Rotarians and others in D6540 upon my return home. I have learned so much about Rotary in the last month and can only hope that I will be able to give as much of myself as those here and around the world have to spread the mission of Rotary.
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3 comments:
Kim:
Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts. Sounds like you had a wonderful experience. The world is a big place and we are such a small part of it. Hopefully, you have learned that Rotary is a great way to reach out to the entire world and learn about our similarties and differences, and to touch the hearts of others different than us.
I am glad that you are leaving Australia with new friends. I look forward to meeting the team that will be visiting here and to your presentation on your GSE experience.
Mary K Kaczka
GSE Team Leader
Tamil Nadu, Indiana '05
Kim- It's great to hear of your experiences and can hardly wait to hear you tell our clubs personally of you experiences. Have a safe trip.
Kim,
Thanks for posting. I also look forward to hearing you speak at a Rotary function in northern Indiana, either at a meeting or at District Conference in May.
Thanks for representing northern Indiana Rotarians. I hope you will be invited to become a Rotarian!
Doug Risser
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