Rotary GSE

We're home!!

2007-05-22T10:17:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-17T09:53:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-17T09:21:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-17T08:51:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-14T19:38:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-13T19:06:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-13T16:55:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-11T14:46:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-11T14:36:00.000-07:00

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!!

2007-05-10T18:10:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, 9th May

2007-05-09T11:36:00.000-07:00

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...

2007-05-08T16:07:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, 8th May

2007-05-08T15:10:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-08T14:49:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-08T04:46:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-06T11:48:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-04T10:52:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-03T12:36:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-02T06:59:00.001-07:00

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

2007-05-01T15:14:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-01T15:06:00.000-07:00

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.

Sunday, 29th April

2007-04-30T16:13:00.000-07:00

Start spreading the news – we went to The Big Apple today!! :-) And it was a good thing we wore walking shoes!! :-)

We left at 7am for the drive to the City and were on 'high alert' for a glimpse of the famous skyline of New York. Using the Lincoln Tunnel to go under the Hudson River to reach Manhattan, we found parking and caught a typical 'NYC Yellow Cab' to Ground Zero - the site of the tragedy that occurred on 9/11. There was a very somber atmosphere at the memorial to those who died and those who gave their lives on that day. We could not see exactly where the Twin Towers stood as major construction is under way to build 'Freedom Tower' which, once completed, will be the same height as the World Trade Center was and will stand on its foundation. After Ground Zero we walked to Wall Street to see the famous Bull!! There was a crowd of people having their pictures taken, but we managed to squeeze in for a photo or two.

Then it was time to view Lady Liberty herself!! Well, from a distance anyway! We walked to Battery Park and through Castle Clinton to reach the docks where ferries leave to visit the Statue of Liberty. We stood on the docks and took a few team photos to mark the occasion (see photo with the Statue of Liberty in the background)!

From Battery Park we made our way to Chinatown. We went to the Oriental Garden Dim Sum Restaurant – a whole experience in itself! :-) Here follows a list of the food we sampled: spring rolls, shrimp wantons, calamari, dumplings, bok choy, rice noodles with shrimp, Lotus leaf rice, baked roast pork buns and wedges and egg tart for dessert. Oh, and Chinese Green Tea to wash it all down!

We all enjoyed the food a lot (Ferdi and Jaap were so excited they spilt their food all over the tablecloth in a record-breaking 2 minutes!! ;-)) – but nobody enjoyed it as much as Jaap who loved the food so much that he ate the paper that it was wrapped in too (he claims it was by accident - he thought it was meant to be eaten)!!

After lunch, we strolled through the areas of Little Italy and Soho and walked passed New York's City Hall and Supreme Court on the way to the Empire State Building (the one where King Kong fought off the planes! :-)). After standing in line for 40 minutes we made it to the elevator which whisked us up to the open-air 86th floor Observatory in just under a minute!! There air was icy cold on top of the Empire State Building (see team photo) - but that wasn't what took our breath away - the view from the top was spectacular!! Sweeping panoramic vistas showed us a breathtaking and serene side of New York (very different from the hustle and bustle below!). I think its safe to say that in a day full of highlights - the Empire State Building took the cake!

After spending a bit more time 'on top of the world' we made our way to Rockefeller Center to see the famous gold statue of Promethues (Greek legend says he brought fire to mankind - this statue is cited as the 4th most familiar statue in the US (behind the Lincoln Memorial, Mount Rushmore and the Statue of Liberty). We then went to St. Patrick's Cathedral (where, amongst others, the funerals of Babe Ruth and Robert F. Kennedy were held) and then strolled down 5th Avenue and popped into Trump Towers on the way to Central Park. Central Park covers 843 acres (which is 6% of Manhattan) and is a beautiful oasis in the middle of this awesome city!

We went to the Carnegie Deli for dinner - where we had Dr Brown's Creme Soda and sandwiches which were so huge they have to been seen to be believed!! We all arrived hungry (after a really hard day of walking!) and no one could come close to finishing their meals!

After dinner we 'marvelled' through Times Square with all of its flashing lights and its incredible vibe!! If the Empire State Building took the cake - Times Square was the cherry on top!! :-) It was the perfect end to a perfect day!! :-)

Thanks Cindy and Chris - YO!! ;-)

Saturday, 28th April

2007-04-28T11:46:00.000-07:00

We were able to sleep in again - except for Kerry-Lynn who played tennis with a few of the Fleetwood locals at 7am (thanks to Jaap and the guys for that one)!! :-) The rest of the morning and early afternoon was downtime for us and it really was great to just chill for a bit!

At 4pm we were on our way to the Peanut Bar, a 4th generation owned bar which was a very unique place with peanut shells covering the floor - which we added to with great zest! Plus there were a few peanut fights involved!! :-) Any guesses for who started them??

7pm was game time!! We attended an American Indoor Football Game at the Sovereign Center between the Reading Express Team and the Montgomery Bears. We all had excellent seats - Jack, Jaap and Kerry were just behind the Express Team area in the 2nd row and Carl and Ferdi were in the front row on the opposite side of the field. Express won 68-53 in a fast-paced, action-packed game. The game went on much longer than we expected though - we thought a period of 15 minutes would take roughly 15 minutes - but the 4th period alone was 45 minutes long!! ;-)

Friday, 27th April

2007-04-28T09:51:00.000-07:00

Friday morning was the changeover to our new hosts in Fleetwood. After meeting our hosts and having lunch at an Italian restaurant (Fiore's) we went on a tour of a mushroom factory - Giorgio's, which is a large distributor of mushrooms, not only in Pennsylvania but all over the US.

We had to wear white lab coats and hairnets to go into the factory, and because of the backpack under his white coat, Ferdi looked like (and acted like!) the Hunchback of Notre Dame!! :-)

In the evening, a reception dinner was held in our honour at one of the Rotarian's houses and, once again, we ate too much!!

Hope everyone back home had a good Freedom Day! :-)

Thursday, 26th April

2007-04-28T09:25:00.000-07:00

We were all able to sleep in and get some much needed rest!! :-)

We left at lunchtime for the Phillies game in Philadelphia - and from the time the bus left until the bus arrived back in Pottstown we ate and drank - and then ate and drank some more!! We soon found out that it's more about the 'experience' of a baseball game than the game itself! :-)

There were 40 of us that travelled down in the bus and we joined the +/- 36000 people in the stadium for the game. We had great seats and the atmosphere before the game was electric! Not so much after the game, though, as the Phillies lost to the Washington Nationals 4 to 2. After trying some Crabfries at the game (thanks Kirsten - they were good! :-)) we went back to Tony Luke's (the same place we had our Philly Cheesesteaks on Tues - thanks Dave!) but this time tried the Roast Pork Sandwiches - really, really good!! Once back in Pottstown we all went to Len and Kirsten's for more food, drink, pool and darts!

Thanks to Len and the Rotary Club of Pottstown for organising this awesome excursion for us!!

Wednesday, 25th April

2007-04-25T13:05:00.000-07:00

Live to Ride, Ride to Live!!

Today we went on 'The Great American Factory Tour' of Harley-Davidson!! We went to the Vehicle Operations Factory in York, Pennsylvania and got an in-depth look at how these amazing machines are made (plus a lot of photos!). We had an 'overly cautious' and sometimes 'distracted' tour guide who showed us around the factory where we viewed the Harley-Davidsons on the assembly line (it takes 2 hours for a Harley to be assembled) and, of course, souvenir shopping was done by all! :-)

Tuesday, 24th April

2007-04-25T12:30:00.000-07:00

6:30am and we were on our way to Philly!!! The tour of Philadelphia was one of the many highlight of the trip so far! Carl's host, Dave, was our unofficial tour guide for the day and we started the day at the Italian Market (from the famous scene in the Rocky movie when he is running through Philadelphia). After sampling some very 'interesting' food in the local shops and grabbing some great coffee we were ready for the massive undertaking of eating a Philly Cheesesteak!! A Philly Cheesesteak (although there are many variations) is a huge freshly-baked footlong breadroll with huge helpings of shredded beef steak smothered in cheese, pizza sauce and topped with fried onions! Dave took us to Tony Luke's (apparently the best place in town!) for this gastronomical experience!!

After the very tasty (and messy) Cheesesteak, we met up with Sandy and George and jumped on the 'hop-on-hop-off' tour trolley that took us around Philly. Our first stop was at the Philadelphia Museum of Art where we posed with the Rocky statue and ran the 99 steps to the top and did a victory dance!! :-) Just like in the Rocky movie!!

We then moved on view to the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall to experience a bit of American history. After souvenir shopping, we moved on to South Street which is a street filled with very - let's call it 'unusual' - shops!! :-)

In the evening, the Team got together with the Pottstown Rotary Club for a picnic at one of the Rotarians houses. We did a second presentation (much more informal than the first) and were asked many, many questions about South Africa, the economy, education, tourism, healthcare etc. And, once again, we received many compliments about the presentation and the topics covered.

Monday, 23rd April

2007-04-25T12:11:00.000-07:00

Monday morning saw us at the Owen J. Roberts High School in Bucktown where we were given a tour of the school by one of the pricipals. The school has amazing facilites, to say the least, and we were all extremely impressed by the quality education the pupils are receiving. In the afternoon, we were taken on a tour of the local hospital.

We all spent the evening with our respective host families.

Sunday, 22nd April

2007-04-22T16:32:00.000-07:00

We all met at Ed's house to drive to Pottstown to meet our new host families. After a light lunch (in comparison to everything else we've been eating!) we went to our new families to unpack, relax and get to know our new hosts over dinner.

The time has flown by - we can't believe we've been here a week already!! A big thank you to Ed and the many Rotary Clubs that hosted us for a fantastic week! :-)

Saturday, 21st April

2007-04-21T18:47:00.000-07:00

Jaap, Jack and Kerry-Lynn went to Longwood Gardens, a 500 ha in the Brandywine Valley where all the flowers and trees were in bloom - absolutely beautiful! The gardens were owned by Mr Du Pont, chairman of the DuPont and General Motors Companies who started his empire in gunpowder. Dave and Sam were excellent hosts and provided great entertainment!!

Ferdi and Carl spent the day in Ocean City and attended the Doo Da Parade, a parade for the opening of the summer season with an Ice Princess ;-) and 500 basset hounds. Elvis, Marilyn Monroe and George Burns etc also made appearances. They cycled along a 10-mile wooden boardwalk to view the scenery.

In the evening, we all met up at the Huntingdon Valley Library for an Art Auction of 150 items ranging from $55 to $2700.

Friday, 20th April

2007-04-21T18:38:00.000-07:00

Our first Vocational Day!

Jaap went to Delaware Valley School a 250 ha agricultural school with 1600 scholars.
Ferdi went to the William Tennant High School Grade 9-12 which has 2200 pupils.
Jack went to Pennsylvania College of Optometry to investigate their curriculum and spent the afternoon with a private optometrist.
Carl went to the Sleep Inn & Suites in Bensalem, the Bucks County Tourism Information Bureau and then on to Atlantic City to the Ballys Casino and Resort Hotel, Harrah's and to the musical 'Shout!'.
Kerry-Lynn went to PennMutual, a large insurance company with branches all over the US but based in Pennsylvania, to meet with the IT department and a tour of the IT infrastructure and to a Cisco Local Academy at the Eastern Arts and Technology Centre.

Friday evening, Kerry-Lynn, Jaap and Jack went to Ed's house for pizza and beer and Ferdi and Carl went to Ocean City to their hosts beach houses.

Thursday, 19th April

2007-04-21T18:17:00.000-07:00

Thursday was D-Day - our first presentation!! We all met at the Commonwealth Country Club for a Multi-Rotary Club meeting where 120 Rotarians were in attendance. And from all the feedback we've received so far, everyone enjoyed it and thought it was an excellent presentation!!

After lunch, Gary and Marty, from the Rotary Club of Horsham, took us to the James A. Michener Museum in Doylestown and Peddler's Village, a gorgeous little shopping village. That evening we were taken to a small Italian restaurant owned by one of the Rotarian's family and had a great evening with lots (and lots!) and great food!!

Wednesday, 18th April

2007-04-21T17:57:00.000-07:00

Met at 8am to take a trip to Harrisburg, State Capital of Pennsylvania with Ed, Carolyn and Rich. On arrival in Harrisburg, we met the Montgomery County State Representative, Josh Shapiro, and were taken on a brief tour of the building. The State Capital Building was amazing!! The artwork and the architecture was awe-inspiring!! We were given passes to the House Chamber (where Abraham Lincoln laid in state after the assassination) and were meant to stay for the session - but after many, many delays we decided to take a raincheck on the House Chamber session and return to Area 7.

En route back home we passed through Lancaster County and the towns of Paradise, Intercourse, Blue Balls and Bird-in-Hand (which Jaap mistook as Cock-in-Hand which raised a few eyebrows at our dinner that evening!) and stopped in at an Amish Farmers Market and did some shopping.

That evening we were hosted by the Rotary Club of Hatboro for a BBQ. We had a fantastic evening of snooker, foozeball, chatting and drinking and met some really good people.

Tuesday, 17th April

2007-04-17T18:14:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 17th April. The team met for a tour of Byer's Choice, maker of collectors dolls who donate 20% of their annual profit to charity. After that we went to the 'New Britain Inn' in Doylestown for lunch. In the afternoon we went to a planetarium at McDonald's Elementary School (not the fast food!) :-)

We were welcomed by a string quartet (all 5th graders) and taken on a short tour by a few 2nd graders (born tour guides!!) :-) We watched a few of the presentations the school gives to the children at the planetarium and we were amazed at the advanced topics covered. After the planetarium we were introduced to a 4th grade class who had been collecting books to donate to children in Africa. We answered a number of questions from the kids and Ferdi (who was in his element!) taught the class about the Big 5!

We made it!!

2007-04-17T16:41:00.000-07:00

Sunday evening 15th April (after everyone had arrived) - we met with the District Governor of 7430, Ron Smith and a few Rotarians from the District for a shortened welcome and orientation (due to us being delayed). They took us to a local German pub, Otto's Brau, were we had a delicious buffet with many German specialities (there is a fairly big German influence in Pennsylvania).

Monday morning brought snow to the area of Pennsylvania where we are staying. This is apparently very unusual for this time of the year and the Rotarians are blaming us for the weather! :-) Because of the snow, our plans for the day were delayed. We spent the morning with our hosts and in the afternoon we were taken to the Schofield Ford Bridge, one of the few covered bridges left in the area (see photo). That evening we were taken out for dinner by the Warrington Rotary Club.

Things have definitely improved from the first part of our trip!! :-)

...or maybe not!!

2007-04-17T16:30:00.000-07:00

We were supposed to fly out on Friday the 13th - but due to a broken fuel line on a previous flight, all flights that day were delayed. This meant that we only flew out of Joburg at 5am on Saturday morning apparently arriving in Atlanta at 7:30pm US time (2am SA time)! We were not impressed!! But - it gets worse!! After 9 hours of flying we landed in Dakar for a crew change (which they told us wouldn't take more than an hour at most!). But because of mandatory flight crew rest periods we were delayed by 4 hours in Dakar!! This meant we arrived in Atlanta at 10:10pm on Saturday evening and missed our connection to Philadelphia. To say we were frustrated and tired is an understatement! After 3 hours of sleep we went to check in early the next morning to secure our place on the 7:05am flight to Philly, but were told that only Carl, Jack and Kerry-Lynn were on standby for that flight. Jaap and Ferdi were booked on a flight later that day. To cut a long story short though, we all arrived safely (but with very little sleep) in Philadelphia and were taken in by our hosts.

And so it begins!!!

2007-04-13T02:41:00.000-07:00

The excitement is building - we fly out tonight!!

We had our final 'dress rehearsal' at the Rotary Club of Viljoenskroon last night! The presentation went great and we managed to field a few tough questions from the audience.

After sleeping late (well most of us - Jaap and Ferdi were up at 5!) and after enjoying a sumptious breakfast we are spending the day relaxing on the farm - it's so peaceful! As Kim says - its the calm before the storm!

First Team Meeting

2007-03-23T03:23:00.000-07:00

The first Team Meeting of the GSE Team to Pennsylvania was held in Port Alfred over the weekend of 19-21 January.

We were graciously hosted by Carl at the Halyards Hotel and this contributed towards an excellent weekend where a lot was accomplished and we got to know each other better. Still plenty of work to go though!

Special thanks to Billy and Karen for guiding us and providing constructive critism where needed - and to Kim, for being the best secretary ever! Also a big thank you to DG Ethne for attending and sharing part of the weekend with us!

All in all, a very successful weekend and we are all very excited about the trip!