As you all know a Rotary Scholar is required to visit Rotary Clubs and give presentations about himself, his district back home, and share with the club members his experiences in their country. As well, scholars are given a host club and a host counselor to help facilitate their relationship with Rotary. I'm very fortunate to have such a wonderful host counselor, Willie Cittadini, who has been beyond helpful since I've arrived. We met on Tuesday for lunch to get acquainted with one another and he invited me to his Rotary meeting on Wednesday.
Around 8:30 Willie picked me up for our Rotary date. As Villa del Parque is a suburb of Buenos Aires we had some time in the car for Willie to prepare me for my first presentation. We had to work extra hard on the word for scholarship "la beca" because the way I was pronouncing it sounded like the word for cow "la vaca" (“v" makes the "b" sound). Willie didn't want me to thank them for the cow their club has provided me. We made a quick stop at his house to meet his wife and kids. Lots of kisses on the cheek and questions later we were on our way.
Villa del Parque is a small club of about 15 and is only for men. Their meetings begin at 9:30 in the evening and have no official ending time, and they are held at the public library. Everyone was very welcoming, complimentary, and excited to have a visitor, as guest speakers aren't a norm for the smaller clubs in the area. Keeping to Rotary norms we began the meeting with an official sounding of the bell and their national anthem. Business was taking care of first before dinner, and after the meal we had the chance to relax and socialize. I did speak to the club and I'm sure they're eager to see my improvement with the language...We'll just say they humored me a bit. At around 12:00 Willie and I left to get some ice cream and re-cap on the night's events. Tired and full, Willie dropped me off around one in the morning. Not quite how we do it in the states, but I wasn't expecting it to be.
I've attached two pictures. The first is of the club president, and me and the second is of Willie and me. Needless to say I miss my family back home very much, but after the meeting I felt a strong sense of family right here. I suppose that's just the magic of Rotary.
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