We Have Arrived

Well we have finally arrived.  24 hours after departure we arrived in Gwangju.  We were met by Korean Rotary members with large boquets of red roses, flashing cameras, our interpreters...and an overall rockstar greeting.

The journey was long.  We had 14 hours in flight that was relatively smooth except for some rough turbulenece coming down from the North Pole over Russia.  It was enough to make all of us gasp and the 11 year old Korean girl next to me grab my hand.

I must say, I have been taken back by the beauty of the Korean women.  They are all flawless with glowing skin and perfectly placed hair.  Other surprises include the pace at which everyone here moves.

Despite the fact that we were seated at the front of the bus on the ride to Gwangju, we were the last ones off of the bus as all of the Koreans orderly filed off ahead of us.  When we arrived at the hotel, the elevator doors were another challenge.  The closed so quickly that Brandon and I had a comical adventure trying to get all of the luggage out of the doors while they kept shutting on us.

When I arrived at my hotel room, some friendly Koreans had to help me figure out how to get into it.  Apparently you have to pull the door open instead of pushing.  The beds were hard, but not in the floor.  The toilet was quite amusing with many buttons.  I tested it out by pressing all of them of course.  The shower had 5 heads on it and sprayed every which direction.  I even noticed a "courtesey bell" in a bathroom at the airport.  I'm guessing you hit this to hide any sounds that you may be making in your stall.

Not many people here speak english, and most writing is in Korean as well.  I'm quickly realizing just how challenging the next month is going to be in terms of communication and food.

We are off this afternoon to meet our first home stay families.  I'm eager to finally be immersed in the Korean culture and looking forward to the journey ahead.

Until next time - Candace (on behalf of the team).

District Conference

Both teams met up again during the District Conference at the Boar's Head Inn, Charlottesville. We would give a preview of our presentation.  The audience loved the trailer we made previewing our arrival and many compliments on our upbeat, high energy presentation. The team members arrived on Thursday evening, I did not arrive until Friday morning, so during their evening meal they voted to not preform the YMCA song in Korea.  I was okay with that, but pointed out the we did have to offer some from of entertainment at the end of the presentation.  After a couple of options they all agreed to "Take me out to the ballpark"  which is appropriate as baseball is America's favorite past-time and we all know the words.  Nate even went as far as to make a logo and ordered T-shirts for us, we will all bring our own baseball caps to wear.

Two teams at District conference
(Team member, Chris, was unavailable)

The Korean Team dressed in traditional Hanbok, which were all amazing; Mr Park's outfit was the same that he wore at his wedding, many years ago. Suk & Jihyun were breathtaking in their outfits and the men equally handsome.  And, while I have several saris from my travels to India the Hanbok are all individually made and quite costly, so not on my shopping list while there.

The team returned to Gwangju on the 5th and we are looking forward to seeing them again in 11 days!

The countdown starts,  I have purchase my host gifts, as well as those for the Rotary leaders in Gwangju and for children that I know we will meet. The business cards, thank you cards & brochures should all arrive by the weekend.  I did not get the brochures in Korean, my only regret.  I will put the presentation on at least one other team member's laptop as I will only have the flash drive.   My netbook is being used by Chad for school, after his laptop's screen died and he wants to wait to get the newest apple in a couple of months.  A friend has offered the loan of her IPad so I can still blog & email, thanks Linda!!!!

East Meets West

Both Teams with Maggie & Max

While it's been some time but here is an update.  Both the inbound and outbound GSE teams met at my home on March 18th, What a great opportunity to discuss each team's perspective. The Korean team is a fun group and even with a language barrier we were able t communicate.  I think we got he better end of the deal as they were half way through their journey and we had 1 month before ours is to begin.  We took group pictures and discussed what to take, what not to take, what it's like at a host family home.  The basics, mainly we know to pack small and light and a suitcase with 4 wheels is the best. The team knows to be open to all new experiences and is looking forward to our departure, just 16 days away.  Team member Jihyun help me with my translations on the presentation.  Google translate doesn't get it quite right.  So I am immensely grateful for her assistance.

Two Team Leaders

The outbound team w/ Maggie & Max (seated)

Three of the team members stayed at my home but often all 5 were present, as it made it easier for meals.  They especially liked that I had Korean food available.  Thank goodness for the Korean Grocer in Newport News who showed me what to buy.  The team especially liked the homemade Kimchi and spicy noodles.  I had some help cooking the octopus. 

7600 & 7610 GSE Dinner

First, I want to thank district 7600 for inviting our team to join them for a joint meeting and dinner at Kung Sung's in Williamsburg. It is unusual for neighboring districts to both be going to the same country on a GSE experience at the same time.  For both teams it is a great opportunity to learn from one another in the preparation process.  There is a long history between Districts 7600 & 7610, at one time they were a combined district.  We have partnered on many projects (especially Polio Plus) and have a fun rivalry with the 7600/7610 Paul Harris Cup, a trophy that goes to the district with highest Rotary Foundation per capita giving, the cup currently resides with 7610.
The teams met at the home of PDG Jim & Suki Pierce where we watched a video on Jim's & Suki's experience at District 3620's District Conference.  We were all in awe at the number of attendees, over 7500, as we normally have around 300 attend our conference.
Suki was born and raised in Korea and was most helpful in giving us tips on etiquette and cultural customs.  She also ordered all of the food, much of which I am finally recognizing. We learned there are many many different types of Kimchi and Koreans love the sour cabbage Kimchi that has been fermenting for a long duration.
I am trying to avoid the red paste or anything that glistens with red coloring. Jim showed us the proper way to pour a drink and that we never pour our own.  We chatted about everything from what to wear, how to correctly hand a business card to key phrases that we need to learn.  Of course the every needed "where is the bathroom? 화장실이 어디 있어요? (hwa-jang-shi-ree uh-dee-ee-ssuh-yo?)

The 7600 team  begins their journey on April 2, almost 3 weeks ahead of us, we are looking forward to reading their blog and hopefully getting more great tips.  Thank you Jim & Suki for a hosting great evening.

Welcome Chris Rottenberg!

We recently were saddened to learned that Crystal would not be able to make the journey to Gwangju, she has been instrumental in the helping us to prepare.  And, while she will not be able to travel, she is able to support the team with the continued development of our presentation, for which we are immensely grateful.

Unfortunately one team member will dropout about 50% of the time with the Group Study Exchange program, especially since we begin more than 6 months out, life events come up that change our course of direction.  

We are however very happy to have a new team member join our group and share this vocational and cultural exchange set before us.  Chris Rottenberg is from the Washington DC area, a Program Associate for the Osgood Center for International Studies.  He is also a alumni of Norwich University where he earned his masters degree in diplomacy along with team member Candace.  Chris is eager to meet everyone and participate in this journey.

January...Better late than never

The GSE outbound team met on January 22 at Choi’s Korean Kitchen in Fredericksburg, to sample Korean cuisine and learn about Korean etiquette and history from Owner Choi-Kim Aultman.  Choi was excited to learn about our upcoming journey and eager to share her culture and food. We were all a little skeptical about the food, as we have read many stories of live seafood and silkworms.  The food was fantastic, the over abundance of appetizers, soups and entrees that followed were delicious even if some were a little spicy.  While the preparation was different, we all walked away with a new appreciation for Korean food. 

Living just north of Gwangju Choi share her experience as a then teenager of the Massacre of 1980, it was a very somber and humbling story to say the least.   During our visit the anniversary of the Massacre will be honored and such we know that visiting the memorial will stay with us long after we return.

Squid & Scallion Fratata, delicious!

My favorite kind of Sushi..Vegetarian

Tons of side dishes

The egg was mixed in after the picture, very good

Chef Choi with Crystal, Brandon & Nate

Ronnie & Steve Joined us this day. We miss you Candace.

We learned that no matter what food is offered, we will graciously except it with a smile. Food is extremely important in Korean culture and not something to be diminshed.  Koreans we learned work hard and play hard, so we are expecting long days with our hosts.  Having the opportunity to meet with someone who actually lived in Korea is an amazing benefit to further our understanding and increase our knowledge of Korea.  In the end we all agreed that we would meet at Choi’s again before leaving on our journey.  Our February meetings will focus on preparing our presentation. 

Preparing for Departure: T-90 Days

Less than 90 days until District 7610 GSE Team is South Korea bound!  It is hard to believe how time is flying by as we prepare to leave.

This past weekend the team traveled to Greensboro, NC for our first training.  It was an intense 2 days filled with cross-cultural training, learning about Rotary, and of course networking (the food was pretty good too). 

Thanks to our fearless leader (who also happens to be fiercely organized) we already had our casual team outfits and were ready to start pinning our many new pins to our vests this weekend.

L-R: Colleen, Brandon, Nate, Crystal, Candace

Aside from the normal things, like discussing presentations, gifts, and planning our vocational visits, there is much to do behind the scenes before we leave.  I found that out today first hand. 

Today was filled with calls to insurance companies to insure that I had the right coverage for medical, life, and repatriation of remains should something happen abroad.  The next stop was www.state.gov for some research on passport and visa requirements.  Lucky me…I have to do a renewal since my name has changed since my last passport issue.  Double lucky for me, my striking good looks haven’t changed much in eight years.  And yes, one must have a sense of humor about these sort of things.

New pictures for the Passport.

 After the passport requirements were shipped out it was onto the doctor to find out what vaccinations I needed.  It turns out that this is not as simple as it seems.  We knew that Hepatitis A, Tetanus, and Typhoid were necessary for me.  The mystery came when we needed to check on boosters for Polio, Measles, Mumps, Rubella, and Hepatitis B.  A lot of these are common immunizations in the U.S. as a child, but as we get older and look at international travel it is a good idea to have antibody levels tested and get whatever booster shots you may need.  I’ll be waiting for some blood-work results before getting any more shots (whew).

Trying to put on a brave face (but OUCH that hurt)!

 In addition to the typical shots, I was issued prescriptions for Ciprro (for any GI issues abroad) and a Z-Pak (for any respiratory infections).  And while we may have all joked about getting a sleeping aid to manage the jet-lag from the 12 hour time difference, I was actually brave enough to ask my doctor for something to help in this arena, and she was happy to oblige.

Activity for all of us is ramping up and is sure to continue as we get closer.  We hope you will stay tuned to the blog to follow us in our travels.  And again….THANK YOU…to all of the wonderful Rotarians who are making this trip possible for all of us, and to our employers who are letting us have the time to go.