My First International Rotary Meeting

Receiving the Rotary Club of Bangkok Flag
at my FIRST International Rotary meeting!

Thursday, 29 September, 2011 marked my first international Rotary meeting.  I visited my host Club, Rotary Bangkok, for their weekly luncheon meeting.  The speaker for this week was none other than the previous year’s Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, who just finished her final exams and was returning home.  It was wonderful to meet her and discuss what to expect (“very firm beds!” – yes, I had figured this one out J and how to better prepare myself for this adventure.

I also received my first Rotary flag.  The Rotary Club of Bangkok, is the oldest Rotary Club in Thailand, founded in 1930, District 3350.  Interestingly enough, the first club chose to speak English as oppose to Thai. 

http://www.rotaryclubofbangkok.org/

I never seemed to look at the right camera...

I included a few pictures of the friends and Rotarians that I met at the meeting.  I can tell you, much like any other Rotary meeting, they LOVE their pictures, and I felt like I was under a constant spotlight with camera flashes everywhere!

Part of my responsibility as an Ambassadorial Scholar, is to travel to various Rotary clubs in the region and give a presentation on my culture, my studies, and what I have learned from my time here.  Just a few weeks in and I am already booked for several months to come!  Not only do I get to interact with amazing Rotarians all over the world…BUT, I get to travel and see the amazing regions of this country!

With various members of Rotary Club of Bangkok
including some of my gracious hosts

I would like to thank my host Club – the Rotary Club of Bangkok, for their amazing hospitality.  The transition to Thailand has been a smooth one, but it would not have been possible without your generosity.  I would also like to give a shout out to my home Club – Foster City.  Being at a Rotary event other than one of your own felt weird - it felt as though something were missing.  I miss you all a lot and know that I think of you often!