Host Families - Derry Rotary

Hayley and Richard

We were dropped off at Scott and Marty Copeland’s place in Derry and the cold beer that was waiting for us made up for all the stress of the last 5 days! We had a great chat with Scott and Marty and made it to bed in the early hours, or about 6am body clock time!

The day started with a wonderful cooked breakfast (for Richard) kindly prepared by Scott followed by coffee on the balcony. It was a beautiful morning – warm, sunny and fresh. Hayley went off for her vocational visit after breakfast and Richard spent an hour chatting to Marty on the balcony while Scott went to work downstairs in their orthodontic surgery. Marty showed Richard around the surgery and told him about some of the challenges and joys they face in their business.



Abi and Charlotte

On our first night Abi and Charlotte stayed with Bill (Woody) and Jackie Wood. Bill is the President of Derry Rotary. Having arrived late in the evening, there was just time for a quick chat and then bed. We left early the next day, but luckily we will be able to see them again at the conference. Thank you to Bill and Jackie for hosting us - sorry we couldn't stay longer!

Ruth
We were warmly greeted with a welcome banner with our group photo on, and a great welcome committee. After hearty introductions we all went to a Mexican Restaurant (Off the Border) then home with our hosts. I stayed with Peter and Noeleen March in their home in Pepperell, Massachusetts. This morning I met their 5 year old son Chris who picked a bunch of daffodil from the garden for me.

Rotary Club of Derry - Thursday 22nd April 2010

The Rotary Club of Derry were our hosts for the lunch meeting. It was great meeting everyone at the club and we each gave a short presentation to introduce ourselves. We weren’t the only guests though, a lady called Karen Testerman who is campaigning to be Governor of New Hampshire was also there and it was fascinating to listen to her talk. A real insight into State politics.

After lunch we all climbed aboard ‘The Beast’ and Peter drove us to a local art museum which had a diverse collection of European and New England art. We met Linda, Jay and Bob at the museum
After this visit we headed to Bow and met our host families.

Abi Buxton
Well... we finally made it! Started off the first day with a vocational visit to Broadway Chiropractic Office in Derry with Dr’s Phil and Jessica. It was an excellent opportunity to compare assessment and treatment practices between physiotherapists and chiropractors in general and to find out more about the American Health Care system. A brilliant start to the trip!

Hayley Richardson
I spent time today at Home Health and Hospice Care in Merrimack. It was an excellent opportunity for me to learn more about the Hospice movement in America. Mary McInnes, Clinical Resource Coordinator spent time explaining the financial options, care packages and limitations that they work with in America. I was then lucky enough to be given a tour of the House and introduced to Wendy Sage, Development Associate who explained the fundraising activity that they have and areas that they require support to assist in the services that they offer.
An eye opening vocational visit that has given me a greater understanding of Hospice Care in America and it is only day one!!

Richard Smith
Peter March arrived to collect me for my vocational visit. We drove to his office and workshop on the other side of town where his business, NH Signs, is based. Peter explained their business to me and we had some great discussions about the company. It was really interesting to hear that many of the challenges and issues NH Signs faces are similar to Maybo’s and I enjoyed sharing some of our ideas and experiences with each other.

Peter showed me around the office and workshop and introduced me to the team. His designer Cliff kindly told me about his work and talked me through a number of key projects they’d worked on. Peter also explained their scheduling approach. It was really interesting to learn how they organise their work and production line, particularly the manufacturing side because I’ve only ever worked for service companies.

After meeting Peter’s wife (and colleague) Noleen, Peter and I drove into Manchester and visited a couple of his team who were fitting a new sign to a tanning salon.

Charlotte Jones
Gilbert H. Hood Middle School, Derry, New Hampshire
I spent time with Pam Richard, the school's social worker. It was fascinating to learn about the education system and to see how much the school does to support its children. School nurses, occupational therapists, speech therapists and counsellors are all based at the school (part of the staff) for immediate action if a child needs support. Pam showed me the "Upper Room" in Derry - similar to a children's centre in the UK but for families with children of all ages, not just 0-5yrs. A great idea! It was wonderful and heart warming to see Pam's passion and commitment to supporting the children and their families. It's people like this that can really make a difference!

Ruth Portway
My first vocational session, shared with Abi, at the Chiropractitioner practice of Philip and Jessica Szalowski in Broadway, Derry. A really interesting morning, both being shown techniques and sharing clinical experiences. Abi had a physical assessment carried by Jessica as a demonstration of the procedure she would typically us.

We have arrived!

After a very stress couple of days in the UK awaiting news on the Ash Cloud we finally caught our flight out of London Heathrow on Wednesday Lunchtime.

We were welcomed buy a lovely group at Boston Airport which was just the boost that we all needed after a 7 hour flight and 4 day delay!

After dinner we were whisked off to our first host families; we are sorry that we were unable to spend more time with you in Derry. After a busy morning of vocation visits and Derry Rotary Lunch Meeting we were taken to the Concorde Art Museum which was a relaxing and enjoyable experience.

We have tonight (Thursday 22nd May) arrived with our hosts for four nights at Bow and Concorde; a relaxing evening with our hosts has give us the opportunity to recharge our jet lagged batteries and take in the fact that we have actually arrived!!

GSE Group Grounded!

The team is awaiting news on when we will be able flying out to District 7870 following the volcanic ash from Iceland which has brought England to a standstill.

All flights from the UK are currently grounded until at least 1am Sunday morning; BBC news are reporting this morning things look like they could get worse over the weekend due to the wind!

Ruth is currently at Heathrow Airport awaiting news and trying to arrange alternative flights for us all. Due to the backlog of passengers our departure date is unknown and there is the possibility we maybe traveling our separately.

We want to send our best wishes to District 7870 that were all prepared for our arrival. They are saying that an occurrence happens like this once every 200 years and that England has not seen so much disruption in the country since World War II.

We will keep you all updated!

Good Luck - Email!!

Hi Team!

It was great to meet you all last Friday, and am very envious of your planned visit to district 7870.

Having been a GSE Team member myself, I KNOW what a fantastic and life-changing experience you are about to have!

Enjoy it, and I and the rest of The Rotary Club of Canterbury Sunrise look forward to reading updates from you over the next 4 weeks.

Steve Charman
Vice President - RC Canterbury Sunrise

PS: Please team make sure Charlotte does NOT read any work emails whilst with you!!!

STAY IN TOUCH!

We have our own email address; if you have any comments about the team or the blog then please email us! We will be post all your messages on to our blog!

The address is gse11202010@hotmail.co.uk

Farewell Dinner - Friday 9th April

A huge thank you to Rochester Rotary Club for hosting the most wonderful farewell dinner for the team. The farewell cake was a lovely gesture and unexpected; thank you!

It was our first time running through the presentation as a group and it went really well. The feedback that we received will give us the opportunity to develop the presentation for our host district. Although we must stress that the Morris Dancing is really NOT going to happen; although Abi did have an attempt!

We are all very excited and left the farewell dinner with the excitement of the forth coming adventure and the knowledge that the next time we will be boarding our flight and ready to embrace every opportunity waiting for us!

The team would also like to take the opportunity to thank our sponsoring clubs:-
Richard – Bexhill - www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/homepage.asp?ClubID=696
Abi – Canterbury - http://www.rotarycanterbury.org.uk/
Charlotte – Canterbury Sunrise - http://www.rotarycanterburysunrise.org/
Hayley – Medway - http://www.medwayrotary.org.uk/

We would also like to thank Euan Eddie (District Governor) and Ray Dixon (GSE Chairman) for their hard work on the lead up to the exchange and for choosing each of us for this exciting opportunity. Ray you were missed at the Farewell Dinner but thank you for your kind message.