Being blown off by the wind…..and hospitality at Rotary Headquarters!!
The story begins at North-East Link, when I met the outbound Coordinator, Brent Dage and he suggested that since I am so inspired by Rotary, I should visit the Headquarters. He also added that my then-coordinator (since I am an inbound scholar) Bryant Brownlee could help me get in touch with some Rotarian, who could help me arrange for stay and plan the trip. So, I started literally bugging Bryant, and he finally introduced me to Patrick Linden, who is a Rotarian with RC Chicago Far North and also had been Scholarships Coordinator for the District. So, we started planning my trip way back in November. Initially, the President of his club offered to host me but due to some circumstances, that didn’t work out. Meanwhile, I had made an appointment with the RI HQ for a tour, informed my coordinators (Laura Allen for World Peace Fellow, past coordinator Bryant Brownlee and present coordinator Jill Gunter, Scholarships head Renee Stephenson) that I would be visiting and I would love to spend some time with them. I also got in touch with the Rotract Incharge at RI HQ and got contact details of the District Rotract Representative (DRR) for Chicago, Holly. I wanted to utilize the trip to the maximum and hence wanted to meet some Rotractors as well as present at some Rotary Clubs. So, while Patrick helped me arrange for two presentations, Holly got me in touch with the Rotract Presidents in Chicago. I also made an appointment to visit the first club ever, RC Chicago, also known as Rotary One. When the housing with the club president didn’t work out, one of the Rotractor helped me find a place with some of his friends. SO, there I was, starting my Spring Break, visiting a city where I practically didn’t know anyone personally, all because they had the Rotary connection.
With Paul Harris’ Statue at HQ
Reaching Chicago:
My Host District’s (7890) Asst Gov, Marcel was a sweetheart to drop me off at the airport. Patrick and his daughter, Noell, came to receive me at the airport and we headed to a fund-raising event for their club. It was a Jazz night at a pub and the proceeds from the bar would go to a Project they were supporting in Uganda. Yes! Rotary from the moment I landed! It was actually fun, as
I am not too much into Jazz bands. We headed out pretty early as I had a hectic week coming up and was also tired after the journey!
Day One and I am the Princess...:
With President D.K.Lee
My very first appointment for the trip was at RI HQ. Thanks to a package that Patrick had given me, which contained maps, directions, places to visit as a tourist and other items, I reached Evanston on my own (Evanston is on the northern side of Chicago, and very much accessible via subway trains). I started my tour with another Rotarian, who had been an Exchange Student as well and she was like, “It’s like visiting our Mecca!” I could not help, but agree with her. While we were taking pictures, President Lee walked up to me and asked if I were a Rotarian. I said, “No, I am a Scholar from India”. He said, that then we should definitely take a picture together. He then mentioned that he met another Scholar from India at RI/UN Day. I smiled, and informed him that it was me! :)
After the tour, I met my coordinator Jill, who along with Laura, took me out for coffee. I exchanged my experiences with them, asked them about their experience at Rotary and how was it like to work there. Post-coffee, I met with the Alumni Coordinator, who inspired me to be in touch even when I finish my term. They have all sorts of cool things---conventions for Alumni, newsletters for the activities that Alums have been doing but their biggest challenge is for the Alums to keep in touch! Lunch was next on the agenda, with Bryant, Renee and Jill, where we exchanged more news and experiences. Honestly, I had been emailing them for so long—it was so good to put faces to names! I really felt like a Princess at Rotary Headquarters---especially when they said they had arranged for a photo-shoot for me. It was just out-of the world experience. I would recommend to all Scholars to visit HQ, if they can.
Row one: (Left) L-R: Laura, me and Jill; (Right) L-R: Bryant, me and Renee; Row Two: (Left) L-R: Jill, me and Renee; (Right) RI HQ Entrance.
I explored Evanston a bit, before meeting up with one of my college seniors from India, who, as I found out a week before visiting Chicago, was working at North-Western University and living in Chicago. Downtown Chicago was next on my list and I walked up and down the Magnificent Mile, before heading back.
Day two and some more Rotary!
Tuesday started with presentation at RC Chicago Far North and followed by visit to RC Chicago, with Millennium Park (Yes, the famous Chicago Bean) and the Art Institute in between. Noell had volunteered to take me to Devon Avenue, the Indian area in Chicago for lunch and we explored the area. I really felt like I was in India when I got there! Tuesday was a beautiful day and I utilized it to walk on Michigan Avenue, near the Lake and enjoying the evening breeze.
A day for myself...
I didn’t have any appointments for Wednesday, at least not till the evening, and I wore my tourist shoes and explored the city on foot, literally! Adler Planetarium, Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, Navy Pier and Deep-dish Pizza at Numero Uno! The day was adventurous as I almost got lost on my way to Navy Pier and walked the whole day…The evening was reserved for a Game-Night at a Rotract Meeting but I was so tried, after early mornings for 3 days, hardly any sleep and walking around the city, that I decided to skip it (which was probably a bad idea but at that time, looked like the best one L ). But, the best part is, the tourist in me was satisfied. I had never explored any city on my own, especially a new city and now, I am confident to go anywhere in the world and not worry that there is no one to take me around, or help me go to places or just give me company. I actually enjoyed the day with myself, exploring, getting lost and finding the way back again!
Final day in the Windy City…
A presentation at RC Lakeview started the last day in Chicago. I had explored most of the city, so I headed back to Devon Ave (On Tuesday, most of the shops were closed!) and ate a nice Indian lunch, followed by some window-shopping. It was a relaxed day and I wanted to end it early—I had an early morning flight the next day and had to leave for airport at 4:30am in the morning! Phew! And, of course, Marcel came to receive me at the airport again! Honestly, I don’t know what I would do without him around!!
Lastly…….
Just a note to all the Scholars, whether you are inbound or outbound, do visit the HQ when you can—even after your term is over…it is just amazing…and do keep in touch with them, they REALLY want to know what we do once we finish our terms. And, guess what, we can always apply for a job at HQ—some of the people who worked there were Scholars as well! Nice, isn’t it?
This was one weekend that changed a lot of things in my life----first and foremost, I met a number of scholars who have been selected by Rotary International to go abroad from USA and come to USA...the exchange of ideas, notions, beliefs was amazing…and what was more reassuring was the sharing of common apprehensions of the inbound scholars. The orientation was very well-organized and it was really nice when we split in groups so that inbound and outbound scholars could discuss things that concern them separately. Concerns like weather (which is a HUGE conc
club…it was a presentation I did without the powerpoint and it was much better than the last one (whoever said we couldn’t survive without technology, I certainly did better without it!!)…there were other Indians in the club and we all sang the National Anthem of India in the beginning of the presen
