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!! :-)

Friday, 11th May

We started the day at the Spring Township Centennial Rotary meeting and another presentation.

Then it was off to Hersheypark!! (www.hersheypa.com/attractions/hersheypark/index.php)

We managed to do 4 coasters and 1 water ride in the time we were there - the queues were quite long - but worth it!! Special mention must be made of Carl and Kerry-Lynn who made sure they were in the FRONT ROW for every ride!! :-)

The first thing that must be noted is that the Team is very proud of Jaap!! It took a lot of convincing to get him to go on the coasters with us!!! ;-)

The first ride we went on was The Comet which is a wooden roller coaster featuring quick turns and drops. We moved on to the SooperDooperLooper which was the first looping roller coaster on the East Coast and a good ride with some stomach-flipping drops.

Next we went on The Great Bear ride (more convincing was needed for Jaap to do this one!!). The ride is an inverted steel coaster that reaches speeds of 61 miles per hour (100kms) and takes you through an immelman - a loop that turns you out at the top and then drops you like a falling star!!

Jaap, Jack and Ferdi then went on the Coal Cracker, a hydroflume ride that left them soaking! While they were busy with that ride, Carl and Kerry-Lynn (coaster junkies) went on the signature ride in the park - the Storm Runner!!

No words can express the exhilaration and rush of this ride!! It takes you from 0-72mph (+/- 120kms) in 2 seconds!! You're then taken 18 stories straight up and straight down!! After that it takes you on 35-foot cobra loop, barrel rolls, and a dramatic flying snake dive so fast that it all went by in a blur!! Awesome!! :-)

In the evening, we had a pizza and beer party at Bret and Connor's house where we held the first screening of Ferdi's live interview. To give a 'short answer', Ferdi represented South Africa and the GSE Team admirably! :-)

Thursday, 10th May

Another vocational day for us!!

Jaap visited Wolfskill Farms where David showed him the 'no-till' system which is fully functional on his farm. David has experimented with conventional planters and has patented his own components which contributes to the success of the 'no-till' farming.

Ferdi visitied Cocalico High School in Denver, PA and attended accounting and economic classes and did a LIVE television interview with the High School Broadcasting Club. The interview was recorded and the grand premiere will be tomorrow night!! :-) In the afternoon, together with Jack and Kerry-Lynn, Ferdi attended a 1st Team Water Polo practice at Wilson High School in Reading.

Carl went to the Abraham Lincoln Hotel and went on a tour of the Reading Arts and Culture Center. In the afternoon, he visited the Reading WW2 Air Museum and saw the famous P61 aircraft. Carl then went on a tour of the Reading Harley-Davidson Principal Dealership.

Kerry-Lynn met with a CCVP (Cisco Certified Voice Professional) at DSS in Reading and was given a crash course in the IP Telephony setup in the company.

Jack went to the Wyomissing Optometric Center who specialise in low-vision therapy and are in the top 10 largest practices in Pennsylvania. He was able to experience true American optometry at its best!

At lunchtime, we attended the West Reading Wyommissing Rotary meeting and gave another presentation to a captive audience.

The GSE Diet!!

Wednesday, 9th May

We started the day at 'The Amish Farm & House' in Lancaster County where we were given a tour of a typical Amish house and we learnt a lot about the Amish way of life - including that weddings are held on either Tuesdays or Thursdays (to ensure that it doesn't run into Sunday), that they have solar panels to charge their cellphones (!) and the Amish population in Pennsylvania doubles every 25 years! One of the Amish men died recently at the age of 100 and he had 9 children, 64 grandchildren and 243 great-grandchildren!!

After the extensive tour, we went to Fuddruckers for some really tasty burgers with bottomless drinks from the soda fountain! After lunch we took a tour of Reading on the way to The Pagoda on Mount Penn where we had a spectacular view of the Reading area.

Then it was off to the King of Prussia Mall which is the premier shopping destination on the East Coast!! To say this mall is overwhelming is an understatement - the hour that we had couldn't do it justice!!

Sanjay and his wife then took us, Connor and Peter to Desi Village, an Indian restaurant, for dinner and to Coldstone Creamery for dessert!!

Ferdi through the ages...

Tuesday, 8th May

We needed our walking shoes today (takkies/sneakers - whatever!!) ;-)

We started the day at Crystal Cave, located in the heart of the Pennsylvania Dutch Country. The cave was beautiful (but made creepy by our tour guide - and it was not intentional - it was just him! ;-)) Within the cave, we saw the Cathedral Chamber, the Crystal Ballroom, Ear of Corn, Abraham Lincoln, a Totem Pole and the Indian Head.

After some mandatory shopping at the gift store (where we posed with Philly Cheesesteaks on our heads!), Connor took us on a tour of the Hex Signs in the area. We spotted some colourful and intricate signs and Ferdi 'attempted' to interpret them for us (he was briefly assisted by a farmer - who looked more like a Harley-Davidson owner than a farmer, with tattoos and a 'Lord of Darkness' t-shirt!)

After the Hex Signs Tour we went to Cracker Barrel Old Country Store for lunch - a Southern-style restaurant with good, hearty meals! The food included meatloaf, steak fries, corn, beans, carrots, chicken-and-dumplings, hashbrown casserole, country fried steak, deep fried okra, mashed potatoes and, of course, root beer to wash it all down!! :-)

After such a big lunch it was time to work off those calories - the next stop was a hike up Hawk Mountain!! Hawk Mountain is a sanctuary for birds of prey along the Appalachian Flyway where more than 20 species of hawks can be spotted. We took the 'Express Route' to the North Lookout (quite a steep climb!) and sat admiring the view and watching the hawks meandering on the breeze.

Next we went to The Peanut Shop in Port Clinton for some candy shopping. We found some very unusual sweets and Carl bought a stack of Pop Rocks and was popping all the way home! Although the day wasn't fast-paced, we were all feeling tired by the end of it - with the exception of Jack, who dozes off every time a car starts moving!! ;-)

After a teeny bit of shopping at Target, we were taken back to our host families for the evening.

Monday, 7th May

We began the day Lehigh Valley Industrial Park (LVIP), former site of Bethlehem Steel, which was the second largest producer of steel in the US and provided steel for New York's Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center and San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. Kerry Wrobel, President of LVIP, gave us a history of Bethlehem's steel industry and showed us around LVIP 7.

We then moved on to the Banana Factory, Bethlehem's Community Cultural Arts Center and Gallery, where we were given an interesting tour by Jeff Parks, founder of the Banana Factory and organizer of the hugely popular Musikfest that takes place annually in Bethlehem.

Then it was time for lunch at the Iacocca Institute at Lehigh University where we met with many people involved in the Global Village that is run annually through the Iacocca Institute.

We were then taken to meet our fifth host families from the Reading area.

Sunday, 6th May

After breakfast at the conference, it was time to pack-up, check-out and return to our host families in the Bethlehem/Nazareth areas.

The afternoon was spent with host families (Jack went on a 20 mile cycle with Ron!) and that evening we went to Tom Moore's home (with the party porch!) and had a fantastic 'braai' with Elk and Bison sausage and burgers!

A heartfelt thanks to the Rotary Clubs of Bethlehem and Nazareth for a great (albeit short) stay! :-)

Saturday, 5th May

Our big presentation day!! We were part of the first session of the morning and after the presentation we received another STANDING OVATION!! It really made all the hard work we put in at our Team Meetings worth it!! :-)

After lunch, we all chose different activities to keep us busy for the afternoon. Jaap, Jack and Carl went clay-pigeon shooting, Ferdi played golf and Kerry-Lynn went to the Spa. It was a good afternoon!! :-)

The Team attended the formal banquet that evening and were extremely impressed with the guest-speaker, Eric Motley, who was a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar and now works as an advisor to the US President.

Then it was back to the Hospitality Suites of Bethlehem, Blue Bell and Pottstown for another fun evening (can't wait to hear the results of the bet Joy and Len!!) :-)

Thank you to DG Ron Smith and District 7430 for a fantastic conference!!

Friday, 4th May

This morning the Team went on a tour of Martin & Co. in Nazareth which was established in 1833 and makes acoustic instruments that are acknowledged to be the finest in the world! We were given a guided factory tour which showed us the art of making a guitar which requires more than 300 steps to complete!! Famous artists who own Martin Guitars include Eric Clapton, John Mayer, Paul Simon, Johnny Cash and Sting amongst many, many others.

In the afternoon we travelled to the Pocono Manor & Spa in the Pocono Mountain (known as the Great Lady of the Mountains) for the District Conference. We immediately found the Pottstown Hospitality Suite and spent the afternoon catching up with our previous host families - it was great to see everyone again!! :-)

Friday night was International Evening at the Conference and we each hosted a table which we decorated in an African theme representing the Big Five with centrepieces, chocolates, serviettes and African blessings (and Jaap was finally able to use his 'illegal' porcupine quills!) :-)

Our traditional African outfits drew a lot of attention and we began to feel like we were being hunted by the paparazzi!! We met a lot of new people and the evening turned out to be a great success - Kerry-Lynn became an 'international model' for the evening for the Rotary Millionaire's Game!

After the International Evening it was back to (where else?!) the Pottstown Hospitality Suite for the remainder of the evening (and early hours of the morning!)!! :-)

Thursday, 3rd May

Jack and Kerry-Lynn attended the Rotary Club of Bethlehem Morning Star's meeting at 7:30am and shared a bit about what the Team has been doing on the trip.

Then it was on to another Vocational Day for the GSE Team from South Africa!

Jaap went to Klein Farms, a Dairy and Creamery, and spent the morning sampling cheeses and touring the facilities. The Farm makes their own cheeses, yoghurts and cookies to sell to the public.

Kerry-Lynn visited DBSi (Database Solutions International) where she was given a 'behind-the-scenes' tour of the company that deals with Disaster Recovery, Business Continuance and secure Managed Hosting services.

Ferdi spent the morning at Nazareth Area High School teaching Accounting and Economics to the Grade 12's. He had a very interactive class of students and in future the two schools will continue to exchange information.

Carl spent the morning at Great Wolf Lodge, a family-style resort, which has its own indoor Water Park and stacks of entertainment for the kids, including a Treasure Hunt with interactive 'wands' that record their scores as they find the treasure.

Jack visited the Bethlehem Eye Care Associates, where he participated in consultations and studied their invoicing application and product classifications.

Wednesday, 2nd May

We did our third presentation at Moselem Springs Inn for various Rotary Clubs in District 7430 Area 3. The presentation went extremely well, and we received a STANDING OVATION!! We were extremely chuffed with that!! :-)

We went back to our host families to pack and then made the changeover to our new hosts from the Rotary Clubs of Bethlehem Morning Star and Nazareth.

After unloading our ever-increasing luggage, we caught a movie - Hot Fuzz - at the Carmike Cinema Complex near the Lehigh Valley Mall.

The evening was spent with our host families.

Tuesday, 1st May

Shopping Day!! :-)

We started the day at the Vanity Fair (VF) Outlet Village in Reading - which has shops like Reebok, Timberland, Tommy Hilfiger, Jansport and Nike (to name a few!) where everything is discounted! The Team did a lot of shopping (Ferdi even outshopped Kerry today!) and extra luggage was bought for the trip home!! ;-)

After lunch at Viva's, we shopped at Cabela's - a gigantic store in Hamburg which specialises in hunting, fishing and outdoor gear.

On the way home, after a good, solid day of shopping, we discovered that we are famous in Fleetwood!! :-) See the photo! Not to worry - we'll hand out autographs when we get home!! ;-)

Monday, 30th April

Today was another Vocational Day for us.

Jaap spent his morning at Schuler Dairy Farm and went to Weaver's Nursery in the afternoon.

Carl was hosted by the Revenue Manager of LiHigh Hotels and went to the Hilton Suites and Marriot Courtyard and then on to Lancaster County Tourism and farmlands.

Ferdi went to Fleetwood High School in the morning and visited the Early Learning Center at Kutztown University and Alvernia College in the afternoon.

Kerry-Lynn went to Kutztown University for the day and was given a tour of the Library and AV Center, the newly-built Academic Forum, as well as the Computer Science and IT Departments.

Jack visited Drs Lori and John Smith (both optometrists) at the Family Eye Care Center in Hamburg.