What to pack? That is the question...

Had a great meeting with my GSE Team yesterday as well as the inbound GSE'rs from Brazil.  It appears they must be much better at packing than what we might be.  They each only brought one bag...hmmm...how is that even humanly possible?  I think the next couple of weeks will be absolutely a learning experience as we all decide what is going to be the most versitile clothing to bring along, that will carry us through a day of professional visits and into a fun night out and about in the night life of Salvador.  Jill admittedly will have the most shoes along.  If only I wore her size...hmmm...that would make life so much more fun!  A young inbound Youth Exchange Student was visiting with us also yesterday and she suggested the vaccuum bags...she said that is exactly how she survived the packing to come here.  I think that might just be the ticket.

I'm hoping to spend a bit more time with the inbound team this week, but will have to see how my work week plays out.  Looking forward to spending some time with them while in Brazil.  By the sounds of it, we'll likely be crossing paths again at the District conference while we are there!

Signing off for the night!  Counting down the days...now only 13 days to departure.

boa noite ~

Monica

Welcome Sergio, Angela, Daniele, Denise, and Priscila

Today we will be gathering at the Laura Baker School in Northfield to Welcome the Inbound GSE Brazil team to District 5960.  I had an opportunity to spend a few minutes with the team at Old Chicago the other night and am looking forward to spending more time with them today.  Sergio, Angela, Daniele, Denise, Priscila - We welcome you to our wonderful part of the world and wish you the best as you learn about all the Minnesota and Wisconsin have to offer.  We are fortunate to be hosting you in District 5960.

Preparations & Introductions

The outbound Brazil GSE Team is well on our way to preparing for our upcoming trip.  It was months ago when we started this process and I know for me it seems like the time has flown by.  We are within our last three weeks before departure.

I will introduce you to my fellow ambassadors...I promise I will be nice ladies:

Jill Frey - works as a financial planner for State Farm and travels all throughout the midwest for her job.  She's a social butterfly when not hard at work for State Farm.  She seems to enjoy her travels!  She spent time working in Japan after graduating college.  I'm very excited to get to know Jill better.  I believe she'll be the fashionista on our team and will help the rest of us look like the the Diva's we really truely are.

Erin Mayberry - works as a recreational coordinator for Northfield Schools.  I'm pretty sure she enjoys this job and is amazing at it because she truely is a kid at heart.  She appears to have a very focused side, but I just know she and I are going to get along great...because she knows how to have a great time.  She's always smiling and I love that about her! 

Amy Schreiner - owns and operates her own Chiropractic clinic in River Falls, WI.  She and Erin share an equally contagious smile and Amy just happens to have a crazy fun laugh to go with her great smile.  Amy and I share a love for helping people - so I know we'll have tons to talk about on our voyage to Brazil!   She served her community as an EMT for many years!  I'm sure along with the many lives she touches on a daily basis in her Chiropractic business, she impacted many in the EMS field as well over the years. 

Team Leader Vicki Dilley - what can I say about Vicki?  Hmmm....I adore her fun smile!  Her great voice just fits her small stature like mine :).  Vicki is self employed with the Melaleuca company.  Her passion for the Rotary and the youth exchange program is amazing to watch.  I'm sure she'll make a great leader and someone we can all learn alot from.  I'm confident that those that were charged with picking out a leader for our group recognized this passion in Vicki and knew from the start that she was the perfect person for the job!

And then there is me...well...I'm certain those of you that follow this blog throughout this adventure will get to know all of us better...so I will keep you guessing about me for now.  Perhaps one of my companion travelers will like to figure out how to log into this blog and they can write their true thoughts about me :)

All I can say for now is, I look forward to this adventure.  All kidding aside, I'm so very fortunate to have been selected along with the rest of these ladies to represent Rotary District 5960 and I think I can safely speak on everyones behalf when I say, "Thank you for this amazing opportunity!  We will proudly represent Rotary's mission throughout our time in Brazil and for many years to come!"