We're home!!

On our way home (just like on our flights to Pennsylvania!) our travel experiences proved to be both ‘bizarre and duplicitous’!! ;-) We had a slight hiccup before our flight from Atlanta to Johannesburg (the flight was overbooked and we were on the waiting list again!!) Jaap was only allowed on at the last minute, which we were very pleased about because we thought he was going to be left alone on the Atlanta airport!! After meeting Kim, Sasha, Lelanie and Nicolene at the Johannesburg airport, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. The next day, obviously because we looked like seasoned travelers, Jack, Carl and Kerry-Lynn were upgraded to Business Class for the final leg of their journey from Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth!! Gin and tonic anyone??!! ;-)

And so, after a whirlwind 5 weeks in Pennsylvania, the journey has come to an end! And without a doubt, we have had an experience of a lifetime!!

Words cannot express our gratitude to the Rotarians of District 7430 for their hospitality and generosity throughout our stay. We met so many fantastic people, saw so much of the area (and beyond!) and truly learnt so much on this trip. I think I speak for everyone when I say that we would do it again in a heartbeat!!

Special thanks must go to our Team Leader, Jaap, for his leadership and support throughout the trip. Also, special thanks to my Team for making this trip a great experience – it was fantastic getting to know you and sharing this adventure with you!! :-)

To my Team and to everyone that we met through this experience:
‘Til we meet again – may God hold you in the palm of His hand!’

Thursday, 17th May

Our last full day in Pennsylvania!! Its kind of a bittersweet day - we've had an amazing experience, but we're really looking forward to getting home!!

This morning we attended our final Rotary Meeting with the Emmaus Club and did our last presentation - and I'm pleased to report that we ended with a bang! Another standing ovation!! :-)

The rest of the morning was spent at Cindy and Chris' house putting all our photos together (all 2600 taken by us - which is not counting all the photos various Rotarians have taken for us!!) and, after lunch, we went back to our host families to pack (no small task!! :-)).

Our final evening in the US was spent at Paul Sarver's house where we had a quiet dinner with all our host families.

Wednesday, 16th May

We left very early for Atlantic City - a mini-Las Vegas along the New Jersey coast!!

We visited the 'Trump Plaza', 'Ballys', 'Wild, Wild West' and 'Trump Taj Mahal' casinos and went for a walk along the New Jersey beach and dipped our toes in the (very cold) Atlantic ocean. For lunch we went to the 'Broadway Buffet' at Trump Plaza - an all you can eat buffet with a huge range of food to choose from.

From Atlantic City, we went along the coast to Brigantine Beach, a small island with beautiful beaches.

For dinner we met with the GSE Team that had gone to South Africa last year at TGI Friday's and had a selection of food from the excellent menu. Len and Dave then 'crashed' our get-together (;-)) and the rest of the evening was spent 'sampling' the various cocktails on offer at the bar! Wine Volcano, Red Bullseye, Electric Lemonade and Long Island Iced Tea (not as innocent as it sounds!!) are just some of the drinks that flowed til the early hours of the morning! ;-) Ole ole ole oleeeee!!! ;-)

Tuesday, 15th May and Farewell Banquet

Our last vocational day!

Jaap went to The Rodale Institute, a 3rd generation company that has been pioneering organic research, education and outreach for the past 60 years. Dr Amadou Diop, a fellow African from Senegal and soil specialist, introduced Jaap to Ardath Rodale, vice-chairman of the Institute. In the afternoon, Jaap visited KidsPeace which is a national center for kids overcoming crisis.

Carl went to the Woodside Country Club and attended a financial committee meeting. After that he visited the Holiday Inn Fogelsville.

Ferdi spent the day at Liberty High School in Bethlehem. It is a school of 1300 learners and over 200 teachers. He had a wonderful experience in all the classes and even taught accounting and, in the afternoon, went to a voting station and took part in the local election process.

Kerry-Lynn had a breakfast meeting with Paul Sarver, founder of myTableware.com, a family owned e-commerce company specialising in pattern dinnerware, and later visited the company. After that she went to INetU, an Enterprise Managed Hosting company that specialises in the management of dedicated server solutions. Kerry-Lynn then had a lunch meeting with Paul Oliver, Director of IT, at Just Born Candies, makers of 'Mike & Ike' and 'Marshmallow Peeps' amongst many other types of candy. She was taken on a tour of the Data Center and the candy-making factory (which involved some mandatory 'taste testing'!).

Jack visited the marketing manager of the Lehigh Valley Hospital. He then went to the Lehigh Valley Center for Sight and spent a few hours with an ophthalmologist and a coordinator for See International, which performs ocular procedures for people in poorer communities.

Tuesday night was time to say goodbye to all our previous host families and other Rotarians at our Farewell Banquet in the William Penn Inn.

After a delicious dinner, we were shown a slideshow of the many photos taken by Rotarians over the past 5 weeks and it was great to see our Team through the eyes of others!! :-)

But there were more surprises in store!! Ferdi, Jack, Kerry-Lynn and Carl took part in a quiz show with many questions about our trip and the area. For each correctly answered question a small American flag was awarded and the person with the most flags could go home to SA as reward!! ;-) We were each given a small bicycle bell (with a Winnie the Pooh theme - which Jack promptly broke!) which we had to ring if we knew the answer. Jaap had to determine who rang the bell first and hand out the flags. Ferdi collected the most flags and all the Tastycakes!

The best answer of the evening was in response to this question:
True or False: Open shoes can be worn on the Harley-Davidson Factory Tour
to which Jack answered 'Crocs!!' And before you ask - the rest of us don't know - you'll have to ask Jack about that one!!

At the end of the evening - the time had come to say (in Kerry's case - very teary) goodbyes to everyone!

Monday, 14th May

Today was another early morning for the GSE Team! By 6:30am we were on the road to Washington DC!!

Our first stop in Washington was meant to be a tour of the Capitol Building, but due to traffic delays on the way into the city we missed our time slot. So we decided to take a walking tour of DC instead.

Starting at the Capitol Building, we walked along Pennsylvania Avenue passing famous buildings such as the F.B.I Building, the National Archives, Federal Trade Commission and the Department of the Treasury, on the way to the White House (which was smaller than we had imagined!), home of President Bush, 43rd President of the US. After a few photos we made our way to the World War II Memorial featuring all 50 US States on pillars around a magnificent fountain. From there we walked alongside the famous Reflecting Pool towards the Lincoln Memorial. This marble statue immortalizes the 16th President of the United States known as the Great Emancipator and preserver of the nation during the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln.

From there we walked through the West Potomac Park to view the Korean War Veterans Memorial which features many 'larger than life' soldier statues walking through a battlefield. 17 South Africans died in the Korean War and South Africa is mentioned at the memorial together with other countries that participated in the war. On the way to our next monument, we saw the Thomas Jefferson Memorial across the Tidal Basin. Next stop was the Washington Monument, dedicated to the 'Father of the Country' and first US President, George Washington. This obelisk stands at 555 feet (we used this as our compass point throughout the city!) and is reflected in the aptly named Reflecting Pool (seen in the Forrest Gump movie).

We then made our way to the National Mall (not a shopping center) and the museums of the Smithsonian Institution. The Institution comprises 15 museums which all provide free entrance to the public and we saw many schools on field trips taking advantage of this incredible educational experience!! On the way to the museums we stopped for footlong hot dogs at a street vendor (for the diet!) and then decided to split up to attempt to take in as much as possible in the time that we had. We covered the Air and Space Museum, the National Archives (which house the original Magna Carta, Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution and Bill of Rights in the Rotunda), Museum of American Indian and the Museum of Natural Hisotry. We saw some amazing exhibits, but it would take weeks (if not months) to truly do these museums justice!

It was then time to meet back at the bus and make our way back to Pennsylvania. On the way home we stopped at a restaurant called the 'Old Country Buffet' where we had an 'all-you-can' eat buffet.

This was a fantastic (if not exhausting!) day!! Thanks to the Rotary Club of Emmaus for organising the trip!!

Sunday, 13th May

After spending the morning with our hosts we met at Cindy and Chris' for a barbecue under a marquee tent in their backyard where we encountered some very familiar faces!! A few of our previous hosts were at the barbecue and it was lovely to see them again!! :-)

After playing both the South African and US national anthems and introducing ourselves to the new Club, we were treated to many salads, meat and desserts (and a keg of beer - well done Carl for getting the technique right!!) ;-) Beer, of course, is one of the four main food groups of our GSE Team (the other three being pizza, root beer and ice-cream!).

Happy Mothers' Day to everyone back home!

P.S. Great news about the Sharks and Bulls!! :-D

Saturday, 12th May

Our final changeover to new hosts!!

As a farewell, Connor and Lew took us for brunch at a typical American diner - the Starlite - where (once again!) we indulged in a huge meal of pancakes, french toast, scrapple, sausage, eggs, potatoes, juice and coffee!

We spent the evening with our respective hosts.

Special thanks to Connor for a truly fantastic few days!! :-)