Rotary Scholars Conference in England

Hello All -

The past week has been busy and enriching. Lectures started last week, and it looks like this semester’s classes will be intense. On the bright side, the professors are excellent and the material is interesting.

This weekend, I attended the Rotary in Britain and Ireland (RIBI) Link weekend in Bournemouth, England. The conference was held to bring together all of the ambassadorial scholars studying in England, Ireland, and Scotland. On Friday, I flew down to Southampton, England and took the train to Bournemouth. I didn’t know what exactly to expect, but the weekend turned out to be an absolutely amazing experience.

Several of the scholars posing right before eating an amazing English breakfast:
A sample of the scenery during our ferry tour of Poole Harbor:
Rotarians and scholars eating dinner at the "Western Ho-Down." The Swanage club president is pictured at the far right, and Sue and Maggie (two of our host Rotarians) are pictured front and center:
Some fellow scholars from Jamaica, Namibia, and Malta. The caption on the banner in the background is so appropriate!
We just didn't want to leave each other when the conference was over!

In addition to meeting 100+ ambassador scholars from over 20 countries, we were housed and fed in smaller groups by our host families. After meeting my host family on Friday, we travelled to Swanage (the neighboring down) where the host Rotarian, Sue Whitton, lived.

After settling in and meeting the other three scholars at the house, we went to the house of another Swanage Rotarian for an English barbeque! The food was excellent, and the company was even better. In addition to meeting several Swanage Rotarians, about 10 scholars were at the house party. Our dinner hosts, Henry and Rosemary Clark, truly made us feel at home.

The next morning, Sue and Maggie (another Rotarian), cooked us all a traditional English breakfast! It was absolutely delicious. After eating the Rotarians drove us around the coast for a brief tour before taking us to the meeting center in Poole. After a brief presentation, we all boarded a ferry that took us on a tour of the gorgeous Poole Harbor.

After the tour, we changed and went to a “Western Ho-Down” back at the conference center. A live band played folk-type music as many of us square and line danced. Of course, I had to jump in and show them how well Texans dance. ;)

The next morning we woke early and attended several seminars designed to enrich our experience as ambassadorial scholars. Wrapping up the convention, we said goodbyes and headed back to our universities across the UK. I took the bus, then train, then plane and finally arrived back in Aberdeen late last night.

Meeting so many Rotarians and scholars at the convention was a great experience, and I look forward to keeping in touch with them. Several of us have already made plans to visit each other in different cities. Huge thanks to our hosts in England and all of the Rotarians who worked to make this convention such a positive experience.