Philippine Rotary Group Study Team Heads Home
Posted by Tony Gilmore
Never seen a moose, never been to New Hampshire or Vermont, never kayaked on a lake, never eaten a Maine lobster, never imagined they'd see so much green - those are just some of the firsts for Anya, Golda, Gelo, Ziggy and their Rotarian Team leader Dick as with a sense of sadness they finished their 30 day visit with Rotary District 7870 (southern New Hampshire and southern Vermont).
From the time they landed at the airport in Manchester, NH to the time they left, their days and nights were filled with a blur of activity - fun, vocational visits, club visitations and volunteer work. Within a couple of days after they arrival, the team joined the Raymond Area Rotary club in a trip to Andover, Massachusetts to do some volunteer work at International Medical Equipment Collaborative, a non-profit company that refurbishes medical equipment for reuse in this country and all over the world and a trip to the scenic costal area of the New Hampshire coast. In the ensuing days with their Raymond hosts, the team hiked and boated in a local park and attended an Off-Broadway Show, "Sweet Charity".
The Team's highlights with Nashua Rotary included a trip to Boston, Massachusetts, a visit to historic Strawberry Banke, a restored settlement in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, a memorable lunch of Maine lobsters at the Lobster Shack, and a semi-professional baseball game.
In the following days Jaffrey/Ringe Rotary hosted the team. The group climbed Mount Monadnock - definitely a high point of the trip. Gelo texted everyone he knew about their achievement. The team tried out their prowess in Kayaks on a lake and only the ladies remained dry. After a busy time and vocational visits, the team was off to the White River Junction club where the spent time on the White River, an aquatic center, doing vocational visits and presenting to local Rotary clubs. Next stop was New London, New Hampshire. Highlights included an alpaca farm, visit to Dartmouth College, a Sunapee lake cruise, a New England style pot-luck dinner attended by 5 area Rotary Clubs and their first presentation of the Philippine national dance.
On to Rutland, Vermont where the Rutland South Rotary Club hosted the team. In Vermont, the team saw the Little Red Schoolhouse (where Rotary founder, Paul Harris went to school in Wallingford, Vermont), a Vermont Maple Sugarhouse, Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream factory, the Vermont State Capitol and the Vermont Teddy Bear Company.
Too soon the Team's trip was drawing to a close. Next stop was the 7870 District Conference in Dixville, New Hampshire - location of the Balsoms Grand Resort. The team joined about three hundred other district Rotarians in celebration of District Governor Alley Boucher's year. The Filipinos presented for their American hosts a final time their national dance and a slide show that had put together on their impressions of the trip. Saturday afternoon free time provided an opportunity to take a ride to Pittsburg, New Hampshire's moose alley and actually see two moose! Their ride south to Nashua following the conference afforded another moose viewing.
The night before their departure, the Team was treated to a night in a hotel and buffet attended by many of their new friends, hosts and their old friends, the outbound GSE Team. The occasion was joyful and more than a little wistful. Promises made to keep in touch and reminiscences of the trip just concluding.
The Team's highlights with Nashua Rotary included a trip to Boston, Massachusetts, a visit to historic Strawberry Banke, a restored settlement in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, a memorable lunch of Maine lobsters at the Lobster Shack, and a semi-professional baseball game.
In the following days Jaffrey/Ringe Rotary hosted the team. The group climbed Mount Monadnock - definitely a high point of the trip. Gelo texted everyone he knew about their achievement. The team tried out their prowess in Kayaks on a lake and only the ladies remained dry. After a busy time and vocational visits, the team was off to the White River Junction club where the spent time on the White River, an aquatic center, doing vocational visits and presenting to local Rotary clubs. Next stop was New London, New Hampshire. Highlights included an alpaca farm, visit to Dartmouth College, a Sunapee lake cruise, a New England style pot-luck dinner attended by 5 area Rotary Clubs and their first presentation of the Philippine national dance.
On to Rutland, Vermont where the Rutland South Rotary Club hosted the team. In Vermont, the team saw the Little Red Schoolhouse (where Rotary founder, Paul Harris went to school in Wallingford, Vermont), a Vermont Maple Sugarhouse, Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream factory, the Vermont State Capitol and the Vermont Teddy Bear Company.
Too soon the Team's trip was drawing to a close. Next stop was the 7870 District Conference in Dixville, New Hampshire - location of the Balsoms Grand Resort. The team joined about three hundred other district Rotarians in celebration of District Governor Alley Boucher's year. The Filipinos presented for their American hosts a final time their national dance and a slide show that had put together on their impressions of the trip. Saturday afternoon free time provided an opportunity to take a ride to Pittsburg, New Hampshire's moose alley and actually see two moose! Their ride south to Nashua following the conference afforded another moose viewing.
The night before their departure, the Team was treated to a night in a hotel and buffet attended by many of their new friends, hosts and their old friends, the outbound GSE Team. The occasion was joyful and more than a little wistful. Promises made to keep in touch and reminiscences of the trip just concluding.