Many Firsts on a Wednesday

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 :)

 

How Was Your Weekend?

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!

Rotary District 1230 Conference

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!