Small World .....

Everyone has a small world story, and the older you get, the more you seem to add to them.

In Rotary, one of our International projects at the District level is the Group Study Exchange program. Teams of five individuals from different vocations are formed at the District level, and a five week exchange is made with a District from another country. In Stratford, we are part of District 6330, an international district in that some of our clubs are in Ontario and some in Michigan.

Last weekend, while assisting one of the participants from Brazil to his room, I noticed a Rotary emblem on a duffle bag from Fenton, MI. When I asked if he was a Rotarian he responded yes, but that he obtained the bag while a member of a GSE team that visited USA and Canada. When we narrowed it down, Idiscovered his exchange was with our District in 2002, and he had in fact stayed in Stratford for a few days. Well it turns out Marlene and I hosted one of his team members, (remember Fabio, Katrina? - I still remember the comment he made after you cooked him a nice dinner). Ezekiel is an Estate Attorney in southern Brazil.

Several of the participants who take the training here are Rotarians back home, which should come as no surprise to Rotary members since the strategy of Haggai is to "start at the top and train from within".

Disappointing news this past week here has been another shark attack, right here in Kehei, with the victim being a Canadian. He is making a remarkable recovery, and was able to attend a wedding on Monday, which was the reason he was here. There were two shark attacks last year while we were here.

We have had four couples leave and four arrive over the past couple of days - the revolving door never stops.