Full Steam Ahead

John blogs ...

Breakfast of papaya with lime followed by yoghurt, 2 cups of tea (no milk) and a cup of coffee starts the day off well. Into Team Uniform for the first visit – each of us going in different directions, John meeting HR Director of Education Department, Claire to ITN TV station, Emily to Rehabilitation Centre for Disabled, Kath to Rehabilitation Centre. Jenny sadly still unwell, particularly unfortunate as she was due to visit the Forestry Department – hopefully we can re-arrange for later in the exchange – something she was really looking forward to.

Ms Pushpa Wijesooriya

John collected by Vishwa and taken to Isurupaya to meet with Ms Pushpa Wijesooriya, the Director of HR in Education Department. Fascinating conversation covering school resources, staff recruitment and retention, staff development, qualifications, leadership development, post-tsunami regeneration. Primary schools student/teacher ratio is 19:1, and secondary schools is 17:1.

Mr Yaba, Principal Of Thurston College

Vishwa managed to arrange an additional visit for John to Thurston College for Boys, one of the better state schools in Colombo. Easy conversation with the Principal Mr Nihal Yaba. Shown around computer room(15 computers), newly levelled tennis court, into classrooms with many students seated in rows at desks. Heard ‘Sealed With A Kiss’ played on solo trumpet by one of the students – they appeared very reserved. An eye-opening tour. Thanks Wishva for organising it, and the Mr Yaba for being so welcoming and open about his school and the challenges he faces.

Then to Raja Bajan ‘Food For Kings’ restaurant for lunch – typical Sri Lankan cuisine, very tasty. Hoppers with egg, curried fish or chicken, veg. Good to stop and catch up with each other – albeit briefly. Jenny still unwell but in good hands as Shabbir’s mother-in-law is taking on nursing duties.

Heacy rain over the Dutch Museum, Pettah

After lunch toured the Fort and Pettah districts with David as our guide, with a particular focus on the early Dutch settlement in Columbo. Stopped off at the Dutch Museum as it began to rain … and rain … and rain … and thunder … and lightning … like you wouldn’t believe. In the streets the drains got blocked and water levels rose ion an instant. Great photo opps but brings everything to a standstill and some grumpy faces on the local traders. Eventually managed to crawl out of Pettah and had patties and juice at Hassan’s mother’s house. Very hospitable indeed – a lovely lady.

Back to Hans’ apartment to find his long-time friend Tomas with him for drinks …a bit of theme starting to emerge.

Our first Team Presentation to the Rotary Club of Uptown held at the Cinnamon Gardens was considered a success by all. Great fellowship and a good dinner rounded off an excellent first full day here. What will tomorrow bring?


 

John's first presentation





Dr Imthiaz Ismael, D3220 District Governor

The Real Thing

John blogs ...

Quick journey from Bristol with Kath and Emily and 3 large suitcases. No hold ups on the motorways. Heathrow Terminal 4 like a small city.

Drinks at Café Rouge, Claire joined – has found a new flat to move in to for her new job – it’s all happening for5 Claire at the moment! Jenny meets us with her penguin.

A competition to see who has packed lightest – John and Jenny (?) lose with equal heaviest weight of 28.8 Kg. All suitcases labelled ‘very heavy.’ No checks made on hand luggage. Easy check-in, no queues, great. Board plane easily, John by window, Claire next, Emily, Kath and Jenny spreading themselves over adjacent 4 seats. Claire gave John quick lesson in video-editing software – seems pretty good as a basic starter software. Well done Microsoft Movie Maker. Colourful outfits of stewardesses. In-flight meal of Sri Lankan Chicken Curry and breakfast of Black Pepper Chicken Curry sets the scene. Flight occasionally a little turbulent. Jenny felt the movement more than the rest of us but having Meatloaf turned up loud on the headphones appeared to help. Short stop at Male, Maldives – a tentative feel of the warmth of 30 degrees – very nice thankyou. Completed arrival cards. Agreed to take first video sequence at the arriving at the Airport. Claire takes photos of the Maldives – much like blue pebble being bounced across a crystal blue ocean. Very beautiful. Next stop Colombo to meet with Suresh and our hosts. Want to find another word for ‘exciting’, as it seems to be appearing far too often in these blogs – but for now, ‘excited’ will do!





Our first taste of Sri Lankan hospitality

  
A warm welcome – and not just the weather which was a cool 30 degrees – but it is slightly overcast, very unseasonal, something called Climate Change I believe. All bags accounted for, changed into casual team uniform, changed currency, bought new SIM phone cards and met Suresh, Sisara, Hassan, Sumith and Shaheen from the Rotary Club of Colombo Uptown. A wonderful friendly greeting that bodes very well for the coming month.




Hans at home

  First stop, the bar at Airport Hotel for a refreshing drink overlooking swimming pool and orange sunset. What a very good idea! Later dropped off at our respective host families – but some delay as Jenny was feeling decidedly under the weather. John’s host – a very personable Dane – Hans Van Svendsen was very welcoming, as were all our hosts. A beer and brief chat followed by snack of hot buttered cuttlefish at the Colombo Swimming Club with Hans. Then turning in very tired from the journey.

RI Foundation GSE Approval

John blogs ...

One of those 'thank goodness' emails came through today giving approval from RI Foundation for our GSE to go ahead. Checked again with Sri Lankan airlines for baggage allowance on economy flights - 30kg plus 7kg hand luggage on outward flight. Return is 20kg plus 7kg hand luggage, but if we check in online 48 hours ahead our hold luggage allowance can increase to 30kg. Better remember to check in online then!

We've sent intorductory emails to our host families - unfortunately many have been returned as 'undeliverable'. We'll have to get this sorted once we're in Sri Lanka. And we've agreed to wear casual team colours to meet Suresh and our hosts when we get off the plane. It's all very exciting.

Plug And Play OK - But Problems With Editing

John blogs ...

'Plug-and-play' technology is fine with new products but interfacing with earlier versions of software usually ends in a bit of a pickle. So, this blog may be a bit techy for some but if you've just bought a FlipMino camcorder, it may be of interest if you're used to editing video in Microsoft Movie Maker ...

Claire's managed to 'beg and borrow' a FlipMinoHD camcorder, and I've purchased a refurbished one - so we'll have two to use on our exchange. It's easy, take the video, plug it into a USB and hey you can view it on screen. So far, so good, but problems come when wishing to edit the video (in Windows Movie Maker), add titles etc to give it a bit of polish. Claire and I tried to sort it Friday evening but didn't get too far and our meal was calling!

So, after several hours of research, we've identified the problem and found a solution. Hooray!

The problem: my notebook runs Windows XP as its operating system and will work with Windows Media Player 2.6 which will read .AVI files. (not Windows Media Live which runs on Windows 7). The FlipMino records video as an .mp4, so we needed to find a video converter.

The solution: Downloaded Quick Media Converter onto the desktop, played a bit with it, found it did the job and could be read and edited in Windows Movie Maker and then had a glass of red! Pat on the back!

Overview
1) Take video
2) Export to Notebook
3) Save files into folder
4) Export video to Flip to Convert folder on the desktop
5) Convert from .mp4 file to.AVI file
6) Copy converted file into Windows Movie Maker
7) Edit video and upload

Step by Step

Take video with Flip
Plug Flip into USB of notebook
Open FlipShare icon on desktop (be patient! it will open, it will show recent videos taken)
Select and drag videos into appropriate folder
Select video(s) to convert
Right click and select Export to the Flip to Convert folder (on desktop).
OK (be patient!)
Open Quick Media Converter from the desktop
Select and drag video(s) from Flip to Convert folder onto software
Select 5th icon DivX, then 3rd option Avi Codec format (.avi) Custom resize
Change Width to 1280 and Height to 720
Click Convert icon at the bottom (should automatically transfer to Flip Converted folder on desktop) Be patient.
Once converted close the window
Open Windows Movie Maker
Select and drag converted video from the Flip Converted folder onto the software.
Play and edit.

Piece of Cake!!!

Critical Friends And Family

John blogs ...

Really good to meet Jenny's partner Andrew, Kath's husband Russ and Emily's partner Andy who, with my lovely wife Su, joined us to give supportive feedback on our first proper run-through of our Team Presentation. Rather nervously - and still in need of some practice - we did a great job in making the transitions smooth, in telling an engaging and informative story. Well done team, and we only over-ran by 4 minutes, so this'll get quicker with practice. :-)

Followed by a relaxed and enjoyable meal in the restaurant, it was a very pleasant evening to say thanks for everyone's involvement so far and taking a deep breath before catching our flights next Saturday. Exciting stuff.

First Press Release

Claire has created our first Press release as follows, and suggests few changes are made before contacting local papers. This should be a model for others to use.


PRESS RELEASE - FOR WEEK BEGINNING 24 Jan 2011.


An adventurous Wiltshire resident is packing her bags ready for the trip of a lifetime.

Jenny Simmonds, who works for English Heritage in Swindon will be travelling to Sri Lanka at the end of this month with Rotary to learn more about the country and her own vocation.

Miss Simmonds, aged 26, works for the charity as a Records Management Assistant, and will be travelling alongside three other women who are also being sponsored by Rotary Clubs on their Group Study Exchange programme, along with a team leader who will be over-seeing the trip.

She said: "I was told about the Rotary Club Group Study Exchange programme through a family friend, who encouraged me to apply as he knew I had a Geography degree and a core interest in travel, languages and environmental matters.

"The interview process felt quite rigorous, and friends were surprised at the commitment that had to be given before invitations to take part were made. I felt that if I was not lucky enough to be awarded a place, the research that I put together on Sri Lanka and Rotary in preparation would not be wasted time; the topics were of interest to me, and the pre-work did pay off in the end."

The exchange is designed to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for young business and professional people to learn something about how their own vocation works in another country. Through it, Rotary hopes that new practices can be observed, shared solutions could be found, greater awareness and understanding of how the world works can increase empathy and tolerance and benefit the peoples of the world.

Miss Simmonds, who lives in Malmesbury, will be travelling with group members whose jobs involve working within the health service and in the media. They will be travelling around the country and staying with Rotary members, along with having tea with the High Commissioner, meeting Mayors and also giving presentations to many Rotary Clubs in Sri Lanka about the jobs they do and the areas of the country they live.

She said: "When we are out in Sri Lanka I am particularly interested in finding out about how their government departments operate; especially those working within the historic environment, in order to compare my experiences working for English Heritage in the UK. My main interest lies in forestry and environmental management, and I am especially excited about our planned visit to the Sri Lankan Department of Forestry. "

John Mills, GSE team leader and also member of the Rotary Club Of Thornbury said they were all looking forward to the trip.

"I am proud and delighted to be leading the GSE team to Sri Lanka. I'm excited about the prospect of making new friends, gaining new understandings of another culture, and being able to explore possibilities for providing help in some way to Sri Lankan communities that may be suffering at the moment from the dreadful floods that have recently affected the country.

Miss Simmonds, who is being sponsored by the Rotary Cluib of Swindon Old Town added: "I am truly overawed at having been chosen for this trip; I've never travelled outside of Europe before and can't wait to jet off to a foreign land to learn about new cultures and customs, meet and work with different people and of course enjoy the sunshine away from home. "

The team will be reguarly updating their blog pages on http://.d1100gse2011.blogspot.com/, along with their twitter account @SLDiaries, Facebook page called The Sri Lankan Diaries and also hope to make videos of their experiences along the way.

NOTE TO EDITORS:

For more information about the exchange, please ring/email Jenny or John on XXXXX

Minutes of Team Meeting 6

John blogs ...

1) Helpful conversation with Chris Fairhead – D1100 District Governor. Showed us the ‘Straw Into Gold’ book which he was given by the District 3220 DG during their conference in the US last year. An amazing project for one District to raise funds and project manage the building of 20 brand new schools! Chris also gave valuable feedback on our presentation which is becoming slicker but still needs some refining. Thanks Chris.


2) Ran through our revised presentations:
• John intro to District; then Emily, Claire, Jenny, Kath
• John takeover from Kath; thanks to District 3220

3) We had hoped to discuss the revised itinerary but didn’t receive it until the meeting had nearly ended. John has now circulated it. Looks great, needs a few adjustments for more individual vocational activities. (This is still being pursued. JM)

4) Discussed our kit list (as on one of our blog pages) and commented how long it seems to be getting. Emily agreed to take charge of our ‘team kitty’ whilst we’re in Sri Lanka

5) Discussion of transfers – all to arrive at 6.30pm at Terminal 4 to check in together. Flight details were distributed. Baggage allowance is up to 30 kg in one bag/suitcase but we’re mindful that we’ve a lot of moving between different accommodation so try and keep it down. However, also noted that with all our ‘gifts’ we’ll probably need all the weight allowance. Hand luggage up to 7kg in weight can include clothing in a suit-bag.

6) We discussed publicity for the local press. Thanks Claire for progressing this. All agreed we would write our own piece along the structure given to us and contact our local papers.

7) Thanks to Wiltshire cricket for tee-shirts, bags and drinking flasks, to Worcestershire Cricket for a signed team shirt, to Bristol City Council for information and colourful books about Bristol. We’ve 6 Club pennants from Thornbury, 4 from Bristol and 6 from Worcestershire. Jenny is trying to get some from Swindon Old Town, and hope their memories are improving! John gave everyone their team badges and all agreed they looked very special.

8) Team Tee-shirts were distributed amongst much excitement and trying them out. (John will have to try and get used to this). Receipts for team uniform were given to John to reclaim.

9) Agreed that the main form of public communication about our exchange is through the blog. A 'use of Facebook/Twitter' discussion followed and both Jenny and Claire are going to do some more work on this before we leave.

10) We’ve agreed to meet at 7.00pm on Friday with spouses/partners to go through the presentation (to a friendly and appreciative audience) followed by a meal in the restaurant by way of saying thanks to The Whitminster Inn for hosting our meetings.

11) Agreed date for our Post GSE meeting – March 8th for preparation/arrangements for District 1100 Conference including our GSE presentation.

Can't believe we're so close to going now!

Devastating Floods in Sri Lanka

Our thoughts are with the many thousands of Sri Lankan families who have been affected by the recent devastating floods. We'll be ready to lend a hand if we can once we're there.

Last Minute Requests and Queries

John emailed Suresh and nadira with the following last minute requests and queries:
Even at this late stage is it possible to consider including the following cultural opportunities without fundamentally changing activities already organised?
1) Enjoying the elephants at Navam Full Moon Poya Day celebrations on Feb 1st
2) Experiencing something of National Day celebrations on Feb 4th
3) Brief visit to Dambulla Rock Caves (perhaps on the way to Sigirya on Feb 14th)
4) Exploring the possibility of a full day excursion (with driver/guide) from Wariyapola to Anuradhapura on Feb 20th
5) Maha Sivarathri Day celebrations on Feb 23rd

Am I correct in thinking the following?

1) We can only buy currency inside Sri Lanka - at the Airport is as good a place as any to get some
2) We can get entry visas at the airport
3) We'll need plug adaptors from UK 3 square pin to Sri Lanka 3 round pin
4) It will probably be best for us to purchase International Phone Cards on our arrival
5) Credit/debit cards are generally accepted in most towns

Regarding the meetings/presentations with Rotary Clubs and the Conference:

1) We will need a data projector with remote controller for our presentations at each Club we visit. Also, some local technical support in case of emergency
2) Approximately how long should our presentation to Clubs and at Conference be? (We are currently working on a 25 minute presentation but can easily reduce this if necessary)
3) I anticipate we'll be developing 3 different presentations as the exchange progresses
     a) For Clubs we visit before the Conference (Presentation about our District and Ourselves)
     b) For Conference itself - knowing that some Clubs will already have met us (Very brief intro of our District and ourselves, and our first 2 weeks in Sri Lanka
     c) For Clubs we visit after the Conference - knowing that some Clubs will have met us at Conference (Brief intro of District and ourselves, Conference itself and our ongoing experiences/reflections in Sri Lanka)
How does that sound to you?
4) What do you think will be the expectation - if any - for exchanging Club banners?

Making Friends With A Climbing Wall

John blogs ...

Congratulations to the four novice climbers who joined our team expert Claire at the Warehouse Climbing Centre in Gloucester for living to tell the tale. No broken bones from falling, no pulled muscles from stretching, no broken nails and plenty of smiles and chatter all round. With our 'taster-guide' Magik (from Poland) safely harnessed at our side, I think we all exceeded our own expectations. Clambering up Sigirya in Sri Lanka will be a doddle after this.

We each managed 3 roped climbs - must have been all of 40 feet - in a rather crowded gallery ranging from beginners (us) to experts managing to overcome overhangs and outcrops. Followed by a short spell of bouldering which is basically climbing without ropes then falling off onto a very thick cushion once you get tired! I've decided it's a good spectator sport. And we've found out that in spite of some fears of the unknown it's possible to push ourselves farther than we might have originally thought. Well done, Team. Will add photos soon.

Money, Money, Money!

John blogs ...



D1100 GSE 6pp Brochure Cover - thanks Andy

 

An entry mainly for GSE Team Leaders and District GSE Chair. I'll do a more precise costing once the exchange is over, but this is worth a blog entry as it's on my mind!

It's probably a good idea to get budget and expenditures clear from the beginning so that everyone can be clear about costs associated with a GSE exchange. One is mindful, of course, that any budget available from District comes from members contributions to Foundation and needs to be used wisely with value-for-money at the forefront.

For this exchange District has allocated £900 for its budget. Thanks, District 1100.

Expenditure will include:

• Interview costs for Team Leader and Members (hire of room(s); refreshments; use of equipment - approx £150)
• Cost of meeting rooms if required (Whitminster Inn were very generous in not charging us for our meetings. Thanks)
• Contributions to Team Uniforms (Smart outfits essential for giving presentations to Clubs and at Conference) and for informal team tee/polo shirts - we agreed an allowance of up to £120 each member.
• Team name badges (Designed online a http://www.mybadgebuilder.co.uk/) cost £30. I am happy to bear the cost of these.
• Business cards - could be up to £75 for 5 sets of personalised business cards. We have opted for more useful Information Flier. We'll get 500 of these printed for use in Sri Lanka and also at home and at Conference. The printing costs are likely to be in excess of £200. Andrew's done a great deal for the design work at £75. Thanks, Andrew. (http://www.andrewhussey.co.uk/) I am happy to bear most of the cost of these.
• Medical checkup costs (between £20-£80 each depending on medical practice)
• Insurance costs (between £20-£30 depending on insurance company)
• Vaccinations (variable but could be in excess of £100)
• Malaria tablets (between £25 and £40 - see earlier blog)
• Travel costs between member's homes and the Airport.
• Gifts for host families (and from our DG to host DG?)

As a team, we understood from early on that there would be a personal financial commitment required from each of us to a greater or lesser degree. We've chosen to go a bit 'over-the-top' in some areas but know it will reap rewards for us in the end.

n.b. Not part of this GSE expenditure but nonetheless important to bear in mind are the costs associated with having the Team attend the District 1100 Conference in April.

Thank you Wiltshire Cricket

Jenny Blogs....

I have just got home from picking up some cricket memorabilia that Wiltshire Cricket have very kindly donated to us, to take as gifts to Sri Lanka. We have 20 t-shirts (youth), 20 water bottles and 20 bags. Perhaps we can all take a few to give while we are there? I will bring them to our next meeting so the team can see what there is. Thanks!

Team Meeting 5 Actions

Kath blogs the actions from our Team Meeting 5 ...

Present: Garth, Jill, John, Emily, Claire, Jenny, Kath.


Our First Team Photo

The meeting mainly covered:

 Feedback on the draft GSE itinerary

 Presentation of Foundation Ulumni badges and individual/team photos

 Individual team members presentations

The following actions were agreed:

1. Garth agreed to contact Suresh to feedback on the itinerary and specifically ask for more individual based vocational visits including journalism for Claire and drug treatment/crime reduction opportunities for Kath. Further details on accommodation and travel arrangements are also required.

2. Emily is going to speak to her nurse and will let the team know which further vaccinations are needed based on the itinerary that includes travelling to Trincomalee

3. Jill to provide John with the details of ‘Focus on the Crocus’ outcomes to feed into presentation.

4. All to take on board the feedback received on each presentation and work on reducing each element to 4 minutes for a full run through at the meeting on 18th January.

5. Claire will send John the individual/team photos in high resolution.

6. John will work directly with Emily and Andy (thanks!) to sign off the team leaflet and business cards.

7. Team members will provide suitable gifts for host families.

8. Further discussion after the meeting – it was suggested we should review whether we need a Facebook group and how we intend to use it as this is not clear to some team members. For discussion when we next meet.

Buzz, Buzz, Buzz, Splat!

Info from Emily about Malaria as we're travelling to Trincomolee Area and advice received suggests we get protected. Here are the options for malaria protection ...
1) Malarone - These tablets can only be prescribed by your doctor/nurse. These need to be taken 1 day before we go to the affected area (Trincomalee), then the 3 days we are in Trincomalee and then 7 days afterwards. Total = 11 tablets. These cost approx £2.50 each (£27.50) and approx £13 fee to the surgery.
Total = £40 (ish)

2) Chloroquine with proguanil - These tablets are taken 7 days before you visit the affected area (Trincomalee), during the stay (3 days) and then for 28 days afterwards. Total = 38 tablets. These can be bought over the counter from Boots for £18.99.

There is another tablet you can take, but it includes the surgery cost of £13 again and you have to take them 7 days before you get to the area and 4 weeks afterwards (so in that case you may as well take the one from Boots that's cheaper).

Happy New Year!

Jenny blogs.....

Happy New Year to one and all!

Very much looking forward to our meeting tonight, finding out about everyone's Chrsitmas and moving on with our plans, the 29th Jan will be coming around pretty quickly now!