2019 RI HAMBURG CONVENTION - WHAT AN INSPIRATIONA BIG thank you to DG Sandy and Deborah Kelly for their "kick-start" campaign to get me to the RI Convention in Hamburg, and to all the other Rotarians in the District that contributed! What a wonderful and inspirational time - what follows is an overview of my trip - the experiences, friends, leadership training, House of Friendship, Miniature Train Museum, dinner at the Elbphilharmonie Concert Hall...and you can't miss the video of DG Sandy and Lou doing the polka at the Hoffbrau Hamburg!!! Hope you enjoy watching it as much as we did filming the King & Queen of Polka!
From left: Yolanda Gotier, Russ Gleason, Ruthe Gleason, Trigg, Bev Mendel
The convention was held at the Hamburg Messe - a huge complex of halls, buildings and what seemed to be airplane hangers! Our convention badge gave us free access to the public bus and train transportation - which was great except you had to know:1. to press the "stop" button for the bus to let you off at your stop or it kept driving!
2. where to catch the bus! Just having the right number didn't tell you where the bus stop is
3. when you did make your stop, which way to go once you stepped off. There are 4 choices...north, south, east or west. Thankfully there was a UPS deliveryman standing on the sidewalk, and most people spoke at least a little English!
The Opening Ceremony was held in two sessions - with about 35,000 attendees, only half could be seated at one time. The Youth Exchange Students' Flag Ceremony was so impressive - they entered from the back of the "hanger" decked out in their badge and pin studded jackets. The ceremony included several speakers and entertainers - most notably to me was Sungbong Choi, who was left at an orphanage at 3 years old, ran away from the abuse at 4 years old, and survived for the next 10 years selling chewing gum and energy drinks. Performing on Korea's Got Talent captured the hearts of millions around the world, and now his music has made him an icon of hope. I know how moved I was.
Of course I spent LOTS of time in the House of Friendship. In addition to all of the project and fellowship booths, my favorite was Mama Afrika Spiritwork - handmade products from Africa. Every item has a story, and many are made from recycled materials - things we would just throw away. Like tin animals made from recycled cans, and Christmas ornaments made from Sea Hearts or Lucky Beans - which are regarded by the Zulu as a sign of steadfastness, loyalty and happiness.
The General and Beakout Sessions were very information, and based on Rotary's Five "pillars" - Leadership, Fellowship, Diversity, Service and Integrity. Here are some of the quotes I wrote down:- It’s easy to make decisions when you know what your values are. – Roy Disney
- Do What You Love in the Service of People Who Love What You Do
- People resist change because they believe they will lose something of value, or fear they will not be able to adapt to the new ways
And then there was the Miniatur Wunderland - the world's larges train museum! (I went twice it was so great!) More than 263,000 tiny, handmade residents on 1,500 square meters in nine worlds: Hamburg, America, Scandinavia, Switzerland, Mid-Germany, Austria, Italy, the fictional Knuffingen and the very realistic Knuffingen Airport. Click here to watch the video.I must admit that while I loved the trains, the airport was my favorite! With 42 planes landing and taking off, following the lighted taxi-ways, stopping for oncoming traffic, and the occasional "special" landing of the space shuttle, Milleneum Falcon, or a bee - you never knew what you were going to see or hear!
The North Baltic Sea has more than 30,000 liters of real water that laps against the Scandanvian coastline. And the blue lights of the emergency vehicles only light up on the way to the destination, not on the way back. And there were lots of emergencies: buildings on fire, car wrecks, train wrecks, cars hanging off a bridge - you could go back over and over and find something new.
And then there was the District dinner at the Stortebeker Beer and Dine Restaurant in the Elbphilharmonie Concert Hall - an amazing building right on the harbour. Once inside we went up the tube, a curved 82 meter long escalator, ending with a wonderful view of the ships and water. Forty of the seventy-five District attendees enjoyed the great food, beer and fellowship.The hall took ten years to build (the Train Museum's version went up three years prior to the actual building's completion) and cost ten times more than was originally planned!
Rotary - what a wonderful organization we all belong to:
Together we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change across the globe in our communities and in ourselves.