Scholarly Experiences

I have been so busy that I have hardly had time to write about my experiences thus far as a Rotary Scholar.

Link weekend
I hadn't been here more then a week before I had my first Rotary event at Leicester (pronounced Le-ster). All of the scholars studying in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland were invited to this cute town in the midlands for a retreat. The highlight of the weekend was meeting the other scholars and spending time with my host family- Rotarian Kevin and his wife Elisa. We managed to see the National Space Center, meet the Mayor, and have a Barn Dance (I still can't really explain what that means, but definitely an experience :)














*Myself, Rotarian Kevin and fellow scholar Angelo; Mayor of Leicester speaking to the scholars

District conference
My host district, London 1130, had its conference a few weeks ago in the seaside town of Eastbourne. We had amazing weather and it was the perfect weekend getaway from London. This was a great opportunity to see Rotary in action here and meet Rotarians from other clubs Nicole Dryburgh shared her truly inspiring story with us - by the age of 20 she has achieved amazing things despite being deaf, blind and wheelchair-bound from her fight against cancer. She is now raising money for the Teenage Cancer Trust.


Bush Hill Park Club
My host club has been very gracious- inviting me to club meetings and their annual Fish and Chips event at the Motor Museum. I have been assigned a host counselor, Dan (pictured here with his wife Wendy, another Rotarian) to help me throughout the year. It has been fun to get to know them and I look forward to many more events in the upcoming months.


Socializing with my fellow scholars
Not surprisingly I have spent a good bit of time with my fellow scholars. Whether at a wine and cheese night, or meeting up at a pub, we always manage to have fun and inevitably end up talking about the various British things that astound us (examples- how inefficient banks are in London, why the tube line you need never seems to operate on the weekend, etc). Here are just a few of my favorites.














*At a pub with two scholars who are also studying at LSE; at the London Symphony this past week.