You can view the great pictures below the message.....
From: Rusk, Angela
Sent: Wednesday, April 05, 2006 9:48 AM
Subject: District Conference 9800
Hello Everyone:)
I have just returned a couple of days ago from the Rotary District 9800 Conference in Geelong, where I attended all three days of the conference. The theme for the conference was "Embrace the Rhythm of Life". Geelong is located approximately 1 1/2 hours southwest of Melbourne and is a medium sized town in Australia. The Rotary Conference was very informative and gave good insights about the community and service project focuses of Rotary District 9800. We had speakers talk about the various fund raisers to help local hospitals, ovarian cancer research, Rotaract and Interact, and the Royal Children's Hospital (which I was very excited about, as this is the primary hospital I have been completing my clinical placements in). Presenters also talked about District wide projects to assist poor and under developed neighboring countries, such as East Timor and New Guinea. A few of the really engaging speakers were Glenn Capelli, who challenged everyone to "think outside the box" and improve open communication skills and Professor Neil Coles who discussed Mental Health and Illness. The speaker, who I feel touched and inspired everyone, was Li Cunxin. Li grew up in an impoverished little village in China, during the reign of Mao, who was given an opportunity to help his family by attending a ballet school, at the age of 11. He was required to move away from home, where he saw his family only one time per year, and through very hard work and dedication, for the next 7 years, was one of the first 2 students to ever be granted a scholarship to a ballet school in Texas (with the aid of Barbara Bush). He eventually became a very famous ballet dancer and successful business and family man. He has written and published a popular book titled "Mao's Last Dancer". Li had everyone listening intently to his story and the major obstacles which he had to overcome to help his family; thus encouraging everyone to never give up on their dreams and persevere through everything.
While at the conference I also helped give a group Ambassadorial Scholar presentation on Sunday. Currently there are 4 active Ambassadorial Scholars in this Rotary District. Three of us (Mary, Ryan, and myself) are from the United States, and Momoyo is from Japan. We were able to meet a couple of time as a group prior to the conference to plan our presentation, and then met while at the conference, during tea times, to finalize our presentation. Unfortunately our presentation time was only 10 minutes, so we presented a brief overview of what the Ambassadorial Scholarship was and our duties as scholars. We then introduced ourselves, told everyone our home towns, and gave a few examples of different "stereotypes" for our states, as we wanted to touch on the topic of cultural awareness. We presented this in a short skit, were we stated some of the "stereotypes" for what foreigners might say about Australia, and then went on to state that "We soon learn that not all the stereotypes are true, and we are very excited to learn about our host country, while proudly representing our own countries and states." While introducing myself I stated that Indiana was home to the Indianapolis 500, as several of the males in Australia have heard of our famous race, and that we were also known for our agriculture and beautiful state parks. We then informed the Rotarians that we were happy to come to their clubs and explain in greater details about the Ambassadorial Scholar Program.
As I was talking with several Rotarians throughout the weekend, a popular question would always be asked, "So which state are you from?". I would proudly state "Indiana", to which 9 of 10 times I would hear..."Oh, I've never been there." , to which I would reply...."Well, you'll just have to stop by Indiana next time and see how beautiful it is for yourself." It seems that most people had been to Evanston or Chicago. And much to my surprise, Michigan, Ohio, and Kentucky, they just hadn't made it into Indiana.
The conference also allowed me to become more acquainted with the members of the Carlton Rotary Club, my host club over here in Australia. We enjoyed a lovely meal at the Geelong Yacht Club on Friday night and on Saturday night there was a dance and band performance. All of the Ambassadorial Scholars were surprised that 90% of the music played was from an American band, and have all commented at different times about how much American and foreign influences have impacted the Australian culture.
This conference has also given all of the Ambassadorial Scholars opportunities to network with several Rotarians and different clubs in our region. I have handed out several of my business cards and have already received a couple of formal initiations to come and talk to Rotary Clubs.
At this time my computer is not allowing me to send pictures over e-mail; however, I will continue to make attempts at sending pictures as quickly as I can.
I hope that everyone has had a good week. Enjoy your District Rotary Conference and tell all of the scholars and Rotarian's Hello for me:)
Sincerely,
Angela Rusk
Geelong bay
Four active Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars (Mary, Ryan, Angela and Momo)
Angela with District Governor John Wigley
