Acting President Laurie welcomed many guests for this special evening. Among our guests were the Doig, Thompson and Wade families, who had hosted our Rotary Youth Exchange Student Hanna during the past year. Tonight of course Hanna was be our guest speaker to provide us with an update of her the Rotary Safari adventure together with eight other exchange students from different parts of the world. It was with great pleasure that Laurie asked Hanna to present who slideshow and tell us all about her experience. Hanna told us how the adventure commencing with one student getting their dates wrong, not only were they still in bed when the bus arrived to pick them up but of course they hadn’t packed, and the adventures continued from here. Hanna told us about the places they visited, things she saw and did. The experience of dehydration, from extreme heat one day to extreme cold the next. The magnificent sunsets at Broken Hill, posing at the Cooper Pedy sign aka Hollywood sign. Cooper Pedy was one of Hanna’s favourite places as she got to sleep underground, although not sure how much sleeping was actually taking place. Visiting the white landscape of Hart Lake Salt Lake which looked more like snow. Being scared to death of canoeing on the rapids at Mission beach but putting on a brave face to do and encourage others to do it also. Experiencing a great swimming spot at Airlie Beach. To being afraid of the emu, Hanna was originally going to show us only the nice photo of posing with the emu, but decided to show us both as it was all part of the adventure. To one of Hanna’s most special moments cooking dinner for themselves, in Alice Springs. Just being and cooking together, one of life’s simple pleasures. Well most of them helped cook, one student may have undertaken more eating than cooking. How amazing is the ability to pose in one state then walk a bit and then posing in another state. At the end of the presentation Hanna in her own words said: “There are no words that can describe this year. But I can definitely say that it was the best year of my life. I learned so much, opened my mind to new things and felt at home even though I wasn't home. This experience brought people that I consider my family and that I became attached to very quickly. It's sad to think that this year is over and that I'm leaving. It seems like yesterday that I was crying at the airport saying goodbye to my family. It's noticeable how much I've changed, the Hanna that arrived in Australia is not the same Hanna that will return to Brazil. This exchange year made me more independent, I learned to deal with my own feelings and learned new things, always with the thought of "it's not good, it's not bad, it's just different". When I came to Australia, I had only one expectation, which was "to live my exchange intensely" and I can say that I am fulfilled, because I feel that I have lived all I had to live alongside such special people. All experiences here were unique and remarkable, my memories will be with me forever and I will be happy to share them with people. I found my Australian family and the "non" Australian (who are the exchange students from other countries), each one has a special place in my heart. It was amazing my connection with everyone and how welcomed I felt. And as funny as it is, since I arrived I haven't cried saying I wanted to go back to Brazil, but the only times I called my family crying was to say I didn't want to leave Australia.  I would like to thank the Rotary Club of Leeton for hosting me and providing me with this experience. I would also like to thank my three host families: The Wade’s, The Doig’s and The Thompson’s. Thank you for opening your home to a "stranger" and treating me like your daughter. You were my base here, I learned a lot from all of you and I hope you learned from me too. With you I was able to have several experiences, from granddaughter to twin sister to older sister. Last, but not least, I would like to thank my counsellor Carol Weston and George Weston for always being there for me and making sure I was okay. And as the British poet, Robert Southey, said: No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen the friendship of those who are thoroughly persuaded of each other’s worth. So it's never goodbye but see you soon. I will definitely come back and I´ll be waiting for you to visit me. I'll miss everyone and everything from here. Thank you!” To Sue and Catherine who escorted the exchange students on the safari Hanna wrote: “On behalf of all exchange students, I thank Sue Gordon and her daughter Catherine Gordon for being part of the Safari. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to explore the beauties of Australia. Thank you for make the Safari more special with you, we learned a lot and these lessons we will take with us for a lifetime.:” At th end of the presentation Hanna was presented with the traditional coffee mug as well as some small Rotary Club of Leeton banners. He said it had been an extreme pleasure to host Hanna and it would be with a heavy heart that we will say goodbye in a few weeks. His sentiment was echoed throughout the room. ******************************** Welcome Hudson’s to Your Rotary Family This week we officially welcomed our newest member Eric Hudson and his wife Penny into our Rotary family. Laurie said he was extremely pleased to be Acting President tonight so he could participate with the induction of Eric as our newest Club Member. He handed over to George who provided the pre-amble. Eric and Penny Hudson came to the Riverina in 1982. Eric was acting principal at a number of Leeton primary schools and ended up as Principal of Murrami Primary School when he retired from teaching. Eric and Penny have three (3) children. I remember being a mentor for his son Paul when Rotary sponsored the Rotary Australian High School Business program called ‘Young Achievers’. When Eric retired, he could have gone to Port Macquarie, but he decided to retire in Leeton and call it his home. I meet Eric when he joined the Friends of Luro in 2006, I was impressed with his community involvement. Eric has travelled to Timor Leste many times with fellow Club Rotarians, Reece Tehan, Greg Brown, Matt Rhodes and myself to help with some of the Club RAWCS. I believe Eric will bring to Rotary his humanity and skills to make the world a better place and will promote the ideal s of Rotary ******************************** |
