Rotary Toulouse-Est

I am here in France not only because of my supportive friends and family, but because of the amazing Rotary organization. This opportunity is because of Rotary, specifically my sponsoring club Wausau Rotary and my host club Toulouse-Est Rotary. I've been to a few meetings so far since I have been here. They are different every time; some are dinners while others are just shorter meetings. My club here in Toulouse meets on Monday nights at a hotel in the city, and it is always nice especially the food. Whenever we have dinners they last very long, and are full of a lot of socializing. I do not attend every week
because I'm not needed and just the regular
meetings are really not too exciting, all business, and I already have a problem understanding. My club here is smaller than in Wausau. This club only usually has about 20-30 people attend, but it is nice because we then sit at one large table with everyone. We have a four-five course dinner, which is typical French. They discuss news and events going on like the fund raisers and for example the Toulouse marathon this weekend. I get a chance to get to know the Rotarians and practice my French. A few of the Rotarians know some English and even some have been to the United States, many for business. At the first meeting I

gave a short introduction in French, and struggled throughout the rest of the night with my poor French especially since I had only been there for less than a week. I also exchanged my Rotary banner for the banner of the club with the president, who is the nicest guy ever. We had a meal that was common for Toulouse. It included some very strange tasted, like duck liver, which I ate happily, haha. It was just very different from what I am used to, but change is good and keeps life exciting. The club even auctions me off, no not for my awesome humor, but to host me for a weekend. I already spent one weekend with a Rotarian and his family. He had a daughter and three boys, so it was nice to be in a bigger family for a weekend. We went into the city, and went to the St. Michel festival that went on all over France for almost a month. This festival brings activites and a carnival which of course means rides. I am not one who like roller coasters at all; I avoid them at all costs. But I thought to myself "Hey, I'm in France. Why not do something I would never do back home?" So I got on one of the scariest rides there with their daughter, and definitely had a new experience. I thought I was going to die!!! It was the scariest thing I have ever been on! It was fast and spun and put us upside down. It was so much fun though, and I'm glad I forced myself. That night we attended a concert with African music. It is very popular in France and very much in Toulouse. It was really cool, and even involved some dancing. Sunday we then went and visited a castle outside of Toulouse. It was the castle of the man who had created the plans for the canal that runs through Toulouse. He is know for being a genius because it connects the Atlantic Ocean, Bordeaux, to the Mediterranean Sea all in the 1600's. He was able to find a source that no one had had success with in the past. His castle wasn't as grand as those throughout France and Europe, but was very interesting, and it was another beautiful day so the it was a great adventure. It even had a moat! Any castle is so intriguing to me, because I don't see many back in Wisconsin, haha. It was a great weekend with them, though it felt almost like I had started all over with being in a new home. Now for the next three weekends I am booked with different Rotarians. Every time is different and always exciting in some way. You never know what the weekend will bring, but they usually plan something fun.

I attended a meeting last week that was probably one of the most special of all year. The governor of our district, 1700, visited and talked. We had the best dinner yet and I got a chance to here him speak, which thankfully since I have been here longer, I could understand most that he said. It was also great because I had talked about the new international president, Ray, whom I luckily got a chance to hear speak and meet. When I told the Rotarians I had heard him speak before and had my picture with him, they were definitely impressed. It was even great because the governor analyzed the new motto for this year; translating it from English to French so I really knew what was going on and was quite interesting. This meeting I also had an easier time understanding the Rotarians and making small talk with them, though my speaking is still very poor. I am so glad that they have so much patience with me. They are also so interested in me and my life in the United States. They do however have difficulty knowing where Wisconsin is or anything about it. I always make sure to explain that it's north of Chicago and next to the Great Lakes, then usually many people understand the area. One Rotarian surprised me though this week when I impressed me that he had know Wisconsin was the Dairy State. Usually they don't even recognize the name, but mainly that is blamed on my Midwestern accent. Most the time I have to say Wisconsin in a French accent then it all makes sense to them.  I really like my Rotary club here, and in many ways they remind me of the Wausau club. I am having a great time here all because of Rotary, the Rotary clubs, and Rotarians. I will never be able to thank Rotary enough for this amazing opportunity! I love sharing about where I come from and break down the many stereotypes they have of America. Also I love being able to share about French culture back home. France is very much in many ways just like the United States. When you look past the language, food, and surroundings the people are very alike. We all have the same needs, and have similar interests and activities. I love seeing the similarities between two very different cultures. I am learning so much here; things I could not learn in school or books. Spending this year abroad with Rotary I know will change me forever; it already has changed me in just two months, and I am only growing more and more each day.