We're in LA!

Hello friends, just a (very) quick note to let you all know that we are in LA! Our 5 hour flight here went well, and they are just calling to board for the 14 hours to Brisbane....14 more hours! We have had fun trying to figure out time change questions as well as luggage limits. We are quite tired, but in good spirits!
Talk to you when we get there!!

And they're off to the land downunder!

At precisely 3:33pm Team OZ took off from Detroit headed for the land down under. Manish and DG Stan were there at the airport to wish them well. I especially enjoyed listening to Katy's send off this morning with people both from Chatham and from Australia phoning in to wish her well, giving her advise on everything from the food that she'll be eating to the way the toilet flushes! I especially loved the junior joke...that was my son Carter and the joke??? What do you call a lazy baby kangaroo? A pouch potato! What's ahead for them now? About 20 hours of flight time! We look forward to hearing about their adventures through the blog!

(Manish and DG Stan with Team OZ)

Cheryl, Susanna, Kristi, Katy and Barry

Twas'the night before Australia.....

Here's to a great send off party for the girls and Barry! About 40 Rotarians, family and friends joined team Oz on Sunday to hear their presentation and send them off on the trip of a lifetime! Their itinerary is now posted on the blog, so check it out on the right column and see where they will be and some photos of some of the sights! The team was encouraged by DG Stan Sherman, Don Chrisholm and Wayne Cole and Manish Mehta. Announcements about interviews for Japan in October 2009 were also made by new GSE chairs, Judy, Angie and Kim. I know there are a couple of alternates from this team that are completely intrigued by this country and their culture. Applications are due by March 15, 2009. So girls and Barry, Godspeed!

DG Stan Sherman presenting Cheryl
with gifts to take to Australia

Team Oz (from left back row)
Cheryl (team leader alternate),Heather and Jennifer (alternates),
Katy, Barry, Susanna, Cheryl, Kristi
(front row from left) Wayne Cole, Stan Sherman, Manish Mehta

Your invitation to join us at our send off party...Australia....here we come....

Rotarians, Family and Friends, join team Oz on Sunday February 22, 2009 from 3-5pm at the Homewood Suites in Troy (see blog sponsors section for directions). The team will be giving their formal presentation and bid "g'day mate" in a great send off party as the head down under.


***New*** find the itinerary on the blog and follow them from city to city to see what they'll be up to.

Say Cheese!!!Team OZ hits Chatham This Week....

A story on Team Oz's upcoming trek was published in Chatham This Week. You can read the article here!

Click here to read article

One step closer...but watch your step!

Hello to everyone who is keeping tabs on our blog - we are so excited you've stopped by! Yesterday our team had another great meeting, this time in Chatham, Ontario. We discussed many things, but the highlight was being able to talk to two gentlemen (Ken Boorman and Maarten Graham) who used to live in Australia - Ken in Brisbane, and Maarty in the Sydney area. The team had a lot of questions, and Ken and Maarty provided us with a wealth of useful information. We loved hearing of the different words the Aussies use, and were startled for a moment when Ken suggested that the ladies on the team would probably like to bring a pair of thongs along on the trip...after startled looks and laughter, it was made clear that thongs in Australia are what we here would call sandals! :-) We also had a great lesson on the wildlife in Australia...Katy especially asked many questions on our behalf about the poisonous snakes...we were told to watch our step and we would be fine. I personally would be more than happy to not see a legless reptile of the poisonous variety - or maybe just be able to take a picture of one from a great distance with a telephoto lens! Speaking of pictures, we had a few pictures taken by local media, so if you are in the Chatham-area, check out the papers in the next day or so, and you'll see our smiling faces!

With every passing day, our team takes one step closer to embarking on our journey. I am so excited to meet our hosts and experience Australian culture in a way that most are not privileged to be able to do! Until later!

Our Planning Weekend in Michigan

This past weekend, the entire GSE team met in Troy, Michigan at the Homewood Suites by Hilton. (just a little plug for a great hotel and deal that Melissa offered us, being connected with Rotary) Friday night was spent enjoying a dinner together in a local restaurant. A patron actually approached Barry at the table and shook his hand exclaiming something along the lines of "Congratulations! I'm not sure how you did it...but they are all beautiful women!" We then headed out to the mall looking for the dreaded uniform. While we shopped Barry decided to chat with some mall patrons and observe Dance Dance Revolution. Apparently he had some practice at it over the holidays. So how did we make out with the uniforms? Well, after much stress we decided that we had so many comments at the Gala from people wondering whether we were actually wearing our uniforms that we decided to stick with what we had in the area of black suits for the Rotary meetings and presentations. Over a few glasses of wine and braiding licorice back at the hotel...we were able to surf around on the internet and find some informal golf shirts to be embroidered.Saturday morning we were up bright and early. We were lead through a couple of personality inventories and team building exercises. Thank you Jeanette. We can all agree that is was a great morning getting to know each other a little more, how we tick as well as how we would fair if our plane crashed in Northern Quebec...don't worry, we survived. We all wished Katy farewell as she left on her cruise. Thanks to Mindy, a local Rotarian who was able to pick her up at the hotel and head to the airport in the snow!!! During our working lunch we went through our agenda items which still included our uniforms, flight information and planning, marketing collateral and our presentation. We also planned for future meetings as well as our Send Off Party! It was a great weekend and there is truly a great team headed for "OZ"!