Rotary World Understanding Month

On February 23^rd Rotary celebrated its 107^th anniversary.  As a global non-profit organization, The Rotary Foundation has designated themes or celebrations for each month.  This month is World Understanding month.  November is Foundation month, March is Literacy month, etc.

As a Rotary International Scholar, I have been invited recently to many Rotary Club gatherings for international celebrations.  On Friday, I had the pleasure of attending the Rotary Club of Gombak’s International Night.  We were treated to a presentation by the High Commissioner of Kenya and also in attendance were the Ambassadors of Namibia, Russia, and many other countries around the globe.   With all attendees, there were 14 countries represented in all.  It was great fun to be in such a diverse room and learn from people all over the world. 

The dress code was "ethnic" so I pulled the kebaya out.

The next day I attended the Rotary Club of Kelana Jaya’s “Out of Africa” themed international night.  I took place at a rare African restaurant at a sports club.  The food was very ethnic and we were treated to a key note address by the Commissioner of South Africa who was very jolly and even sang for us at the end of the evening.

The past few weeks and coming weeks are also filled with many Rotary Club presentations for me.  I’ve been happy to share my passion for Alaska, Rotary in Alaska, and my role as an Ambassadorial Scholar with the Rotary Clubs of Pudu, Kelana Jaya, and shared some info with the Rotary Club of Kajang at their international night at one of the member’s homes.  As I’ve mentioned before, one of my favourite parts of this experience is being invited to people’s homes to see how local people really live.  In the coming week I will be visiting my wonderful host club while in Malaysia (RC Titiwangsa), as it’s been a while since I’ve actually been able to attend one of their official meetings.  Additionally, I will make an appearance at a “visitor night” for RC Danau Desa.  I look forward to presenting more about Alaska and my “culture” to a joint meeting of RC Subang and RC USJ and then heading back to Seremban to visit another favourite club there (RC Senawang) with my roommate and Ambassadorial Scholar Tomoko.  Lastly, right before I leave for Vietnam, I will present to a joint meeting of RC Danau Desa and RC Bernam Valley in Rawang. 

I have some creative ideas for what I am going to do with all these flags once I get back.

Maybe this post is more of a reminder to myself than it is of importance to those who are reading J  But it at least gives you a glimpse into some of the activities and responsibilities of being part of this program and trying to perform the true duties of an ambassador.  And not to forget that I also get to attend classes, meet many new people outside of Rotary, and engage in volunteer projects.

I’m really looking forward to the Rotary International Convention in Bangkok in May as a chance to meet many of the other Ambassadorial Scholars in the region and to share/compare our experiences.  I don’t think I’ve described it here, but this year there are roughly 400 Ambassadorial Scholars scattered around the globe.  In SE Asia we have 6 or so in Singapore, 2 in Malaysia, at least 3 in Thailand, 1 in Hong Kong, 1 in India, etc. etc. and those are just the ones I know about!  Someone started a Facebook page for SE Asia Ambassadorial Scholars so its fun to know who is out there.