This is a blog about my experiences as a 2011-2012 Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar. I will be living in Glasgow, Scotland and studying at the University of Strathclyde
Hello everyone! I cannot believe that more than a month has flown by! It has been a great few weeks with Rotary, school, and travels. All of my literary efforts have been taken up in assignments for my studies but I am making my blog a priority this week... I have at least six different posts I am working on and will be putting up soon. But to keep you interested, here are a few photos the first snow in Glasgow this winter!
Taking a break from lectures to enjoy the weather :)
Wednesday, I woke up to a beautiful, sunshine filled day in Glasgow.I am still having moments when I look around and think “wow, I am living in Scotland!”Still seems surreal at times, especially when I have the opportunity to go to the Scottish Graduate Fair.Some classmates and I made our way to the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Center for the fair.
Sunshine! Waiting for class to start
The ladies at the Lamar University Career and Testing Center would be so proud, I even made a map of who I wanted to speak to and where they would be set up.So, map and CV in hand I made the rounds talking to companies about marketing job opportunities and graduate schemes. No one get excited though, I am not in the process of applying for jobs in the UK. I was more interested in seeing what companies were hiring and what opportunities where available. And after helping with career fairs at LU, I was partially just curious how the career fairs were set up here.
Wednesday also marked my first Rotary CLUB presentation in Scotland!The Hunterston Club was a great start for the year. We had a wonderful, three course meal, heard about some great things they are involved with and learned about projects they are doing. After my presentation, Club President James Morton and I exchanged club banners. My first Rotary Banner Exchange! The Beaumont Rotary Club can be looking forward to adding at least one more banner to their collection!
Banner Exchange!
President James Morton showing off the bandana I brought from Texas :)
The weekend began a little early for me last week! Don't you love it when that happens?
Thursday got everything started with a graduate marketing programs dinner. It was so nice to get outside the classroom and have a chance to get to know one another at a social event. With such a diverse group, I'm so glad we are able to have serious discussions in class, where we critique each other and discuss differences, but then are able to respect each others opinions and enjoy dinner together.
Just a few of the students in International Marketing!
Friday night and Saturday, I was excited to be invited to Dumbarton. A couple, from the church I am attending here in Glasgow, welcomed me into their home and showed me more sites of Scotland! We took a trip to Aberfoyle and visited Little Fawn Waterfall, in the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park. When typical Scottish rain came rolling in, we were not able to explore more of the park, but still have a great time.
Sister Mekwi
Brother Mekwi
The Little Fawn Waterfall
Sunday night finished the weekend with my first authentic Chinese dinner! Since I have two Chinese flatmates, I have been attempting to learn Chinese. It is a slow process with a lot of repetition but I have not given up yet! One of my flatmates invited me to have dinner with her friends, what better way to practice the language than to be surrounded by native speakers?! Dinner was delicious and the conversation was fun. They were all so encouraging and helped me learn more of the language. If I reach some level of fluency at the end of the academic year then they just might give me a Chinese name and have a special dinner for the occasion. That is pretty great motivation!
They were all pretty surprised that I could use chopsticks the proper way. A big thank you goes to my parents for teaching us kids at home to use chopsticks during stir-fry nights! I think all those little (and big) things we learned growing up, prepared me for an adventure like this. From my mother always tell me "it doesn't matter what they have for dinner, try it even if you think you wont like it" to my dad saying "yes you can, just practice some more." Trying new things and listening to what other cultures have to teach me has opened even more doors and opportunities. Who would have guessed I would come to Scotland and have the opportunity to learn Mandarin Chinese?
The master chef, Nason
The other chef, Leon
Mandy, me, and Purple
Purple, Darny, and Mandy
Some of the delicious food!
Yes! I can use chopsticks!
Sunday was a beautiful day in Glasgow with a few last rays of sunshine for a while. Today turned quite cool with temperatures around 7 degrees Celsius (about 45 Fahrenheit) and rain most of the day. So far I have been handling the cold, rainy weather pretty good. It is amazing how much scarves help!
Spending a weekend at a Rotary District Conference could be one of the best ways to start of a year of serving as an Ambassadorial Scholar. On Friday, September 30, I traveled to Pitlochry for the District 1230 Conference. It was a weekend full of fun and learning about my host district. I love that no matter where I have been, Rotarians are always welcoming and have the same great passion to help the world. A Rotarian actually arranged bus transport, so I was able to start the trip with beautiful scenery and getting to know fellow Rotarians of the district.
View during the drive to the conference
The arrangement of the conference was wonderful and had a lot of youth speakers from various programs. Saturday morning, I gave a short presentation about where I come from in the USA and what I was going to be doing in Scotland. My first presentation for the year! It was also a chance to let Rotarians know I would love to come to their club meetings and present there as well. Afterward, several people asked me to come to their clubs, so I have a list started.
District Governor Roberta Gaitan
Rotaract presenter, Jill
Interact presenter, Adam
Presenter for Euroscola, Amanda
I was really excited to get to know some lovely ladies of the Rotaract Club of Glasgow. After being involved in Rotaract at Lamar University, it was almost like meeting distant relatives. They were very welcoming and included me into their group as if I had been there all along. I am hoping to get a chance to go to their meetings and work with them on service projects as well.
Rotaract table in the Hall of Friendship
Yay for Rotaract!
Overall it was a great conference! It was also a great setting for me to be introduced to Rotary in Scotland. Beautiful, small town with fun people to show me around.
View of the Atholl Palace Hotel, where the conference was held
View of a church in the town
Louise and I on the streets of Pitlochry
Formal evening with kilts!
Me and my host counselors, Ian and Louise
Adam plays the bagpipes as well!
Me with DG Roberta and, fellow Rotarian, Mariela
Fun times, great memories, and awesome people! Hope everyone at home is having a great week!
This city is something one can hardly describe! Though I have really enjoyed living in Glasgow, the beauty of Edinburgh is breathtaking. I traveled there last weekend, for a two day trip, with a group of international students.
We toured around the Royal Mile on Saturday afternoon and finished the day with a hike up Arthur's Seat. The view from the top was incredible! Well worth the hike up. Sunday was another hike to Carlton Hill where you can see the other side of the city and especially Edinburgh castle. A walking tour was the closing of the trip where we learned a lot about the great and harsh past of Edinburgh.
Streets of Edinburgh
Stephanie and Rebekah at the Queen's Palace Gardens
A chilly, rainy day in Glasgow. What better setting for meeting my first Rotary contact for coffee? Last week, I was able to meet John Aitken, Rotary District 1230 Ambassadorial Scholar Committee Chairman, after many emails and a few phone calls.
Rebekah and John Aitken
We discussed the upcoming District Conference (happening this weekend, September 30th-October 2nd) and my first Rotary presentation to take place at the conference. He also shared some stories of other Ambassadorial Scholars, who came to Glasgow, and interpreted some Scottish words and customs for me. Like other Rotarians I know, Mr. Aitken set me at ease about my upcoming presentation and future Scottish events.
This past Monday, I was also able to meet my host counselors, Ian and Louise Dickson. I am so thankful to have such enthusiastic host counselors, who have great ideas for the next year and exciting possibilities. During dinner, we discussed how the presentations for Rotary clubs worked and what to expect at the conference. Ian promised to wear his kilt for conference on Saturday evening! I hope to have some great photos to post.
They all proved once again, that no matter where you go in the world there is a friendly Rotarian there to help you along the way. The caring spirit of Rotary is such a great thing. No matter if you have grown up in an area or if you have been somewhere for less than a month, Rotarians want to help you succeed. Is there a better way to travel the world and study at the university level?
Arrived in Glasgow, Scotland on Sunday! I have heard many people say if you have seen one big city, you have seen them all. I would have to disagree, when it comes to Glasgow at least. When you can see Victorian architecture next to modern designs there is something to take notice of.
Walking around the City Centre.
These first few days have been full of getting settled, registering for school, finding grocery stores, and meeting new friends! Finding my accommodation was fairly easy, just had to work my two large suitcases in and out of the bus a few times and walk down a few flights of stairs. Luckily, I had help from a fellow student and once we got to my building there as a lift (elevator) so we did not have to haul the luggage up six flights of stairs. Everyone around campus was very nice and helpful with figuring out where to go.
I am sharing a flat with three other postgraduate students here at Strathclyde and we are about a ten to fifteen minute walk from campus. Being able to walk everywhere has been so nice and there is so much to see it feels more like a tour. Though the weather changes in a blink of an eye, so you must be equipped with an umbrella for the day (thanks for the tip Allen)! I was actually walking out of my building where it was raining and went about 10 feet and it stopped instantly.
The street in front of Andrew Ure Hall.
Yesterday, I was able to register with the school and get my id card. While in line I met two other female, international students in my program and so we were able to chat about the up coming orientation, hopes and concerns for the year, and how we were adjusting to the city. It will be great to see two familiar faces at orientation on Friday. The rest of the day was filled with grocery shopping (I'm so excited to have a store right down the block from my building) and getting to know other students.
I spent most of today walking through part of the city and buying things for the semester. Since my dad had brought me to visit Glasgow in March, I have been able to make my way back to the areas we saw and feel like I have a head start. Hopefully that is a good sign for the start of a new school year and living in a new country.
It is hard to believe that this journey is about to start. More than a year of preparing, applying for the scholarship, going through interviews, being selected, and going through training for a trip of a lifetime. When I first started thinking of applying for a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship I wasn’t even sure it would be possible.
To understand my involvement with Rotary International, I really should start back to January 2010 lounging in the Honors Program Building at Lamar University. I was waiting for a meeting to start and enjoying not having any homework yet in the semester. Dr. Kevin Dodson, the Honors Program Director, walked through the room to pour a fresh cup of coffee, turned to me and said, “Do you want to go to Belize?” Of course my answer was yes, as I had never been out of the country, and he responded by saying, “Okay, we need to get you into Rotaract.” My younger sister, Elisabeth, was also in the room and we both started asking about this student organization.
Rotaract is a service club for men and women ages 18-30. Clubs are either community or university based and sponsored by a local Rotary club. Rotarians and Rotaractors work together as “partners in service” to promote peace and goodwill throughout the world. Rotaract clubs support community service projects and work toward international projects across the world. At Lamar University, my sister and I quickly fell in love with the small but strong hearted club that stood for the international motto of “Service Above Self.”
When I became an official member of Rotaract, in March, I decided to get involved as much as possible. I worked with a variety of service projects including the END POLIO NOW campaign and the Southeast Texas Soap Box Derby sponsored by the Spindletop Rotary Club, and fundraisers to support Camp Believe in Belize.
In May 2010, Elisabeth and I were able to travel to Chunox Village, Belize for the international service project Camp Believe. The Rotaract president that year, Jennifer Mikel, graciously gave up her place on the trip so that Elisabeth and I could go together. With our advisor, Teresa Simpson, set out for Belize. Camp Believe started as a soccer camp for students in the Chunox Village. After helping with the camp a Rotaract student was so inspired, he came back to Texas and raised enough funds to provide 10 scholarships to students so they could complete high school. This year Teresa gave me the opportunity to plan and coordinate all of the activities we did with the students. We taught career exploration activities and team building to 6th grade students of the Primary School in Chunox. We also worked with the scholarship recipients of St. Viator High School in team building and leadership activities.
That trip was where it all began for me and the journey to becoming a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar. Toward the end of the trip in Belize, Teresa told me about the scholarship and suggested I seriously consider applying during the summer. After seeing how much of an impact Rotary has had across the world, even through smaller clubs such as Rotaract, I started researching the scholarship and application process.
After completing the seventeen page application, three essays, four interviews, and three levels of the selection process, I was selected as a 2011-2012 Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar to Glasgow, Scotland!
