Rotary: Building Communities, Bridging Continents

Every year, Rotary International comes up with a new slogan. The one from the title of this post was their 2010-2011 slogan. I remember that was the first year I applied for the Ambassadorial Scholarship-of which I am a current recipient-and for some reason it really stuck with me. "Building Communities, Bridging Continents"...has a nice ring to it, don't it? For me, it strikes a cord with what I am doing now in Colombia, what I did at my job in the international office of W&J College, and what I hope to continue to do in the future; bring people together through goodwill and understanding, simple as that.

When Rotary sends us to study in different countries all over the world-preferably developing ones- they also want us to get involved with some type of humanitarian aid project, which can be anything from economic development to combating disease among children to building homes for the poor. When we help out in these communities, we are establishing relationships that bridge continents and create understanding between two different cultures. Simply put, these people may never see my city or my country, but it doesn't matter because the goodwill forged between us is more than enough to supersede any geographical or political boundary. 

One of my other responsibilities other than those mentioned above is visiting other Rotary clubs while I am here in Colombia. I have to give a 10-15 minute Powerpoint presentation at every club I visit about myself, where I come from, why I am here, etc. It seems basic, but these Rotarians get real excited about it. This past week, I had the opportunity to visit the oldest Rotary Club in Medellin. They have over 90 members come to their weekly meetings! Just to put that in perspective, the club who sponsored me in the states located in Allison Park has somewhere in the teens. So yeah, I was kind of nervous, but at the same time starving. I ran out of food like the afternoon of the day before and had class til 10pm, so I never made it to the grocery store. I knew there would be food at the Rotary meeting, so as I walked in I made B line straight to the buffet line, however, before I could even fill my nostrils with the sweet smell of the creamy bisque in front of me, I was snatched away but some local Rotarians who knew I was ...well,  new. I cant complain because they seriously gave me the nicest seat in the house and treated me like one of their own. They had a big screen set up so my presentation was super nice. So, all  my family and friends reading this, there is a good chance one of your snapshots with me was supersized on a movie screen for all to enjoy. All in all, it was a great day and good chance to get my feet wet with Rotary down here. However, I was totally up-staged by a 96 year old engineer who followed my presentation. This guy was sharp, I mean wow. He showed some of his work and between his mumbled Spanish and intense graphs, I was lost. This is the type of guy who could probably draft the plans for a bridge that connects Alaska with Russia during his lunch break. I will definitely be coming back to this club soon.

Anywho, 1 Rotary Presentation down, 9 more to go. (And any local news coverage they swing my way, eat your heart out Patrice King Brown)