Friday, April 30, 2010
We made it to Pisa! After about 16 hours of travel we made it to this wonderful city. Though we are beat we took some time to walk around and see some of Pisa. I will follow up tomorrow with some more details and pictures. The photo above is the sunset this evening. I hope all is well in the States.
Take care,
Morgan
Take care,
Morgan
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Departure Day has Finally Arrived
In just a few hours the GSE team will be on its way to Italy. I believe I am as ready as I will ever be, given the level of organization I have taken to feel prepared for a lengthy departure from everyday life.
I am still somewhat in disbelief that this is really happening. We've all been planning for this since our notice of acceptance on the team in November, yet here I sit on my couch just a short time away from what is going to be such an amazing experience, still wondering how I got here. (Warning: Sappy stuff coming up.) None of this would have been possible without the love and support of my friends and family. I am forever grateful to everyone that has ever been part of my life. Every goal I've achieved, every dream I've realized has been plenty of hard work and effort on my part, but came to be because of support from you all. And this is yet another experience I will have because of you and cannot wait to share with you.
Thank you to Danielle and everyone at the Delaware Art Museum for supporting me through this and realizing what an opportunity this is for me and the Museum and allowing me the time to be away (I know you'll do a great job keeping things running fabulously without me!). Thank you to Cam for nominating me for this program. Thank you to my family, especially Angie & Mom, who have been on the phone with me so many times over the last weeks, during my highs and lows, and had the patience to deal with my ups and downs so I could make it to this point and be ready to go. Thank you to Darren for getting me away from Italy stuff when I needed it and helping me keep my sanity and not miss out on fun adventures before my departure. Thank you to Tina and Dan, who are amazing friends that will be going out of their way to make sure everything is taken care of for me here in the States. And thank you to Ann, Stephen, Morgan, and Suzy, who have already made me so proud to be part of this group, and who will be my family away from home for the coming weeks.
I cannot wait to share all our adventures with you along the way.
Off we go.......
I am still somewhat in disbelief that this is really happening. We've all been planning for this since our notice of acceptance on the team in November, yet here I sit on my couch just a short time away from what is going to be such an amazing experience, still wondering how I got here. (Warning: Sappy stuff coming up.) None of this would have been possible without the love and support of my friends and family. I am forever grateful to everyone that has ever been part of my life. Every goal I've achieved, every dream I've realized has been plenty of hard work and effort on my part, but came to be because of support from you all. And this is yet another experience I will have because of you and cannot wait to share with you.
Thank you to Danielle and everyone at the Delaware Art Museum for supporting me through this and realizing what an opportunity this is for me and the Museum and allowing me the time to be away (I know you'll do a great job keeping things running fabulously without me!). Thank you to Cam for nominating me for this program. Thank you to my family, especially Angie & Mom, who have been on the phone with me so many times over the last weeks, during my highs and lows, and had the patience to deal with my ups and downs so I could make it to this point and be ready to go. Thank you to Darren for getting me away from Italy stuff when I needed it and helping me keep my sanity and not miss out on fun adventures before my departure. Thank you to Tina and Dan, who are amazing friends that will be going out of their way to make sure everything is taken care of for me here in the States. And thank you to Ann, Stephen, Morgan, and Suzy, who have already made me so proud to be part of this group, and who will be my family away from home for the coming weeks.
I cannot wait to share all our adventures with you along the way.
Off we go.......
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Packed & Ready
Well, here we are on the eve of our departure to Italy. I hope, that when I speak for the team, they will agree that it has been a whole lot of hard work and much fun leading up to this moment. I imagine each of us now, sitting at home, running over the check list that Susan & Stephen made on the way home from our retreat in Lewes, DE, maybe drinking a glass of wine, resting up for the big day, and enjoying the company of the ones we love. I also imagine us savoring these final hours at home doing what we do to feel right and knowing that tomorrow brings one of the greatest adventure of our lives.
Starting with the night in October that Rotary Member Ken Sadler rested his large pottery making hands on my shoulders and suggested that I apply for this trip, I have done little else than think about this opportunity and how special it feels. The support and encouragement that I have felt from my friends & family, my employer the Avalon Theatre, the Easton Rotary Club, and of my very special Tim have given me the courage and the strength to not bail out when I could not pronounce bicycle in Italian, wanted to skip the monthly meetings after a long week and a late night, and felt like it was just too much.
So grazie my friends. I am here, I am ready to fly to Italy, and I am ready to tackle and embrace whatever comes my way. I am so excited to be on the same team as Ann, Morgan, Stephen, and Susan and am confident that we will do District 7630 proud. And thank you Rotary International for having such a cool program, I would never make it to Italy with out all that you do. Ciao!
Starting with the night in October that Rotary Member Ken Sadler rested his large pottery making hands on my shoulders and suggested that I apply for this trip, I have done little else than think about this opportunity and how special it feels. The support and encouragement that I have felt from my friends & family, my employer the Avalon Theatre, the Easton Rotary Club, and of my very special Tim have given me the courage and the strength to not bail out when I could not pronounce bicycle in Italian, wanted to skip the monthly meetings after a long week and a late night, and felt like it was just too much.
So grazie my friends. I am here, I am ready to fly to Italy, and I am ready to tackle and embrace whatever comes my way. I am so excited to be on the same team as Ann, Morgan, Stephen, and Susan and am confident that we will do District 7630 proud. And thank you Rotary International for having such a cool program, I would never make it to Italy with out all that you do. Ciao!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Last minute scramble
We gave our first official Rotary presentation at the District Conference in Dover, Delaware. Both the incoming and outgoing teams presented. We have enjoyed meeting the incoming team and look forward to seeing them in Italy. We decided to attempt our presentation in Italy in Italian. Hopefully they will understand what we are saying in our broken Italian. I am eagerly awaiting Thursday. We have a van taking us to the airport in Philadelphia and we fly out at 6:00 pm. Ciao
Friday, April 23, 2010
Here we go!
Rotary Group Study Exchange.
I thought that it would be nice to provide some background on Rotary Group Study Exchange or GSE. GSE is a cultural and vocational exchange facilitated by Rotary International. This exchange allows young professionals (25-40) to travel abroad and have the opportunity to build relationships and understanding globally. Rotary International describes the GSE program as
"The Rotary Foundation’s Group Study Exchange (GSE) program is a unique cultural and vocational exchange opportunity for businesspeople and professionals between the ages of 25 and 40 who are in the early stages of their careers. The program provides travel grants for teams to exchange visits in paired areas of different countries. For four to six weeks, team members experience the host country's culture and institutions, observe how their vocations are practiced abroad, develop personal and professional relationships, and exchange ideas."
GSE 2010 to Italy
There are five team members and a group leader traveling to Italy for the month of May. Susan Zellner, Stephen Keiser, Suzy Moore, and Morgan Ellis make up the team and out team leader is Ann Bedient. We all represent different Rotary Clubs on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and the State of Delaware or Rotary District 7630. For more information on our District please visit http://www.rotary7630.org/ We have been working since December on preparing for our trip to Italy. Our exchange will take us to central Italy or Rotary District 2070. This District covers the Tuscany Region of Italy.
I (Morgan) am sponsored by the Rotary Club of Chestertown, Maryland. The Chestertown Club has been extremely supportive of my participation in this program. I'm very grateful to the Chestertown Club for sponsoring me.
In return for sponsoring me on such a wonderful experience, I wanted to be able to share Italy with everyone at home. So, I thought that the best way to stay in touch and share stories about the exchange would be through a travel blog. I can't promise that I will be able to post an entry everyday, but I am hoping to keep everyone up-to-date with our travels. If you have questions or comments please feel free to email me or another team member on this blog.
Thanks so much!
Morgan
I thought that it would be nice to provide some background on Rotary Group Study Exchange or GSE. GSE is a cultural and vocational exchange facilitated by Rotary International. This exchange allows young professionals (25-40) to travel abroad and have the opportunity to build relationships and understanding globally. Rotary International describes the GSE program as
"The Rotary Foundation’s Group Study Exchange (GSE) program is a unique cultural and vocational exchange opportunity for businesspeople and professionals between the ages of 25 and 40 who are in the early stages of their careers. The program provides travel grants for teams to exchange visits in paired areas of different countries. For four to six weeks, team members experience the host country's culture and institutions, observe how their vocations are practiced abroad, develop personal and professional relationships, and exchange ideas."
GSE 2010 to Italy
There are five team members and a group leader traveling to Italy for the month of May. Susan Zellner, Stephen Keiser, Suzy Moore, and Morgan Ellis make up the team and out team leader is Ann Bedient. We all represent different Rotary Clubs on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and the State of Delaware or Rotary District 7630. For more information on our District please visit http://www.rotary7630.org/ We have been working since December on preparing for our trip to Italy. Our exchange will take us to central Italy or Rotary District 2070. This District covers the Tuscany Region of Italy.
I (Morgan) am sponsored by the Rotary Club of Chestertown, Maryland. The Chestertown Club has been extremely supportive of my participation in this program. I'm very grateful to the Chestertown Club for sponsoring me.
In return for sponsoring me on such a wonderful experience, I wanted to be able to share Italy with everyone at home. So, I thought that the best way to stay in touch and share stories about the exchange would be through a travel blog. I can't promise that I will be able to post an entry everyday, but I am hoping to keep everyone up-to-date with our travels. If you have questions or comments please feel free to email me or another team member on this blog.
Thanks so much!
Morgan
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