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