An RI GSE primer...read on, you'll understand.

For those of you reading these posts I think I need to give you a little heads-up as to what we're going to be doing. First I thought I would start with some terminology for you readers out there. As with any large organization, there are many acronyms. In the days to come our blogs will be filled with these abbreviations, so here's a little help:

Rotary= Rotary International (also RI), the Rotary Foundation is the sponsor of the GSE program. RI is an international service organization comprised of local Rotary Clubs. Their motto is "Service above Self".

Rotarian= a member of a local Rotary Club.

GSE= Group Study Exchange, is an exchange of delegations between two countries. Our group is traveling to Australia in March. The Australian delegation traveled to Missouri last October 2010.

D6080= District 6080 which is the area in Missouri from which our delegation hails from. Here is a map.

D9640= District 9640 to which we will be traveling to. That map can be found here.

A GSE is a unique cultural and vocational exchange opportunity for young business people and professionals in the early stages of their careers. Travel grants are awarded to teams to exchange visits between pairs of different countries. The Australian delegation traveled to Missouri in October 2010, and now a Missouri delegation is making the reciprocal exchange in March 2011.

Our team consists of four non-Rotarians and one Rotarian leader. The GSE lasts four weeks. During that time our team will travel to various places in D9640 and experience Australian culture. Each team member is housed in a Rotarian's home for a few days during the visit. Each team member will end up staying with eight different hosts over four weeks.

The hosting Rotary clubs are responsible for arranging the activities of the team. There will be some group activities and some individual vocational days. A vocational day is tailored to an individual team member. I have spoken with several of my hosts and they have already made arrangements for me to visit a retail garden center, a wholesale nursery, and a meeting with a faculty member of a college that teaches horticulture at the same level I do.

Our team has been preparing for the GSE over the past few months. We will be giving presentations to Rotary clubs in Australia and will talk about our personal and professional activities. We will also speak about our home state of Missouri and its history, industry, and natural resources.