4th of July and an Honorary Rotarian

Last week my host Rotary Club meeting fell on the fourth of July. (the USA's National Holiday) In honor of my home country's birthday, I baked a cake, which is shown above along with President Bryan Metz. (If you look closely it looks like a little American Flag) I also made some cookies and brought my American wand for Bryan to wave whenever he liked. Along with my nation's birthday it was also the birthday of two of the club's members, Alf Hannett and Dorothy Harper. So naturally, we celebrated in the best way we knew how....with desert, food, and wine. At the meeting I was very surprised to be asked to become an honorary member of the club! The new district governor, Malcolm Eaton, was there to witness the event and I was very proud to be pinned by past president Celia Leach with the Rotary Wheel. It was a truly wonderful evening and one I will never forget. I cannot believe how fast time is flying! I will miss everyone so much when I leave in one month! But let's not think about that! For now, I am off to another meeting this evening, and this morning a Rotarian from the Whickam Clavering club invited me to attend a tour at the BBC. Another great day!

The Abseil off the Baltic Art Museum (100 ft)

On Sunday June 24, Barbara Connors-Fowler and I abseiled (repelled, for you Americans) down the Baltic Contemporary Art Center to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care. Barbara and I decided to raise the money in honor of her friend, Mellisa Banks. The photos throughout this post are of the event and, I can tell you, I was a little nervous. To begin abseiling, you have to sit leaning over the building in order to gain confidence in the rope which will be supporting your weight. I don't know what I was thinking, but I felt the need to look over the edge of the building before I did this maneuver, which probably wasn't the best idea. But it was great fun, especially when I reached the ground. Luckily, Barbara and I were able to go at the same time and talk each other through it. We certainly laughed a lot on the way down and it took about 7 minutes to get down the whole thing. It was really high up there and most of the way down I was thinking I had to be closer to the ground then I was. But, I am quite proud that I stood on the M of the building where it says the Baltic Flour Mill. Now every time I pass the Baltic, I look up at the M and I am shocked that I actually stood on it. In fact, I consider it my M now. =) I want to thank each and everyone of you for supporting Barbara's and my abseil for Marie Curie Cancer Care. We have raised an amazing 1,052 pounds! (about 2,100 dollars) So thank you so much for your support. We are still raising money, in case you want to help! But enjoy the photos....my mom can't look at them..haha! But it was truly a great time, though I don't know if I will do it again! =)

I'm engaged!!

Hello Everyone! I just wanted to share the good news! My boyfriend of 4 years took me on a surprise trip to Italy where he asked me to marry him!! It was perfect! He asked at sunrise overlooking the Italian hills with Assisi in the distance! It was so cute! And I am incredibly happy and so are both of our families! We won't be planning the wedding right away, so we have time to figure some things out. So most likely you will all be invited to a wedding in 2009! But I will definitely keep you all updated. On a side note: this Sunday I will be abseiling off the BALTIC, to raise money for the Marie Curie Cancer Care Charity. If you are free, come watch me repel of the building at 10 am!! If you would like to support the charity, I have a website for making donations: http://www.justgiving.com/katiedonovan It should be a good time! I will take lots of pictures!

Houghton-le-Spring

This past Wednesday was another wonderful Rotary night spent with the Rotary Club of Houghton-le-Spring. (The photo to the left is of the President, George Bennison, Misa and myself exchanging banners) Phil Hopps and his wife, Joan, kindly picked Misa and myself up from my accommodation and drove us to the club. I had a wonderful time visiting and speaking to the club and it was great to spend the evening with Mr. and Mrs. Hopps and Misa as well. We had a delicious meal and everyone was so friendly. Misa gave the first presentation, which was just wonderful. Japan looks beautiful in her pictures, I hope I will get to visit someday. I spoke second and following the speeches we exchanged banners. Houghton-le-Spring has a really unique banner in the shape of an upside-down triangle. It was a great night and we spent quite a bit of time chatting and meeting everyone after the meeting had ended. It was an absolutely wonderful night and I hope I will cross paths with all of the wonderful members sometime in my future!~ (the photo to the right, from left to right, features, Phil Hopps, Myself, President, George Bennison (he is holding my USA wand), Misa, and Foundation Chairman,
Bob Hodgon.)

Rotary Presentations

This past week has been a busy one for Rotary Presentations. I began by visiting and speaking to the Rotary Club of Whickham Clavering. It was a fun evening. I had met many of the members of this club at the 1030 District Conference in Leeds and I have many fond memories of spending a lot of time with them out on the dance floor dancing to the Scissor Sisters. I think I even have some quality photos of that as well! But no, I would never use blackmail! =) But the evening was really lovely and I had a wonderful time! The following day, Thursday, I spoke at the Washington Rotary Club. They happen to have their meetings in the ancestral home of George Washington! (Above is a photo of me in front of the home) Before the meeting Bob Chilton took me on a tour of the building and we were able to walk around the grounds a bit. It was a great afternoon. After the meeting Bob and I went over to the Washington Pub and had a drink while talking with many of the members of the town. I also saw the tree that President Jimmy Carter planted when he visited! (his tree is pictured to the left) It was a great afternoon and everyone was so friendly!

Bowling Night with Monkseaton

Hello Everyone! On May 3, I played on my host Rotary club's bowling team in the district 10-pin bowling tournament. It was a fun evening and our team even won a few awards!! Unfortunately, however, despite the fact that it was "American" style bowling, I did little to help my team in their victory....In fact, I had one of the lowest scores! But having fun is the most important part. (In the future I think I should do a little practicing before the next tournament!) =) The Monkseaton Centenary members in the above photo are as follows from left to right, back row and then front row: John, Steve, David, Tina, Celia, Barbara, Me, Mary.

Easter Holiday!

Before I could fully enjoy my Easter holiday, I had to first complete a major assignment for my degree program. I had to research and then present to a faculty board how the core cultural values and beliefs of a community are manifested in the communication behaviors of the individual. My specific focus was on Italian non-verbal communication specifically when using gesture. Although I spent many late nights working hard to complete this project, my work paid off and I received the mark of distinction! So once that project was out of the way I took a bit of time to travel some of the various parts of Europe. I began my trip by traveling with my best friend from the USA to Paris, Nice and Cannes. We had a wonderful time and I think I took a million photos of the Eiffel Tower. (One of which is pictured above.) We then stopped over in Monaco before spending some time in London. After my friend went back to the USA, I met up with my parents in London where I continued my travels. We saw so many wonderful things including Grenich (pictured above is me standing on the Prime Meridian...very cool, one foot is on the east and one on the west!) Westminster Abbey, Tower of London, Windsor Castle, Hampton Court, Stone Henge, and Bath (just to name a few). We also took in a few musicals and had an absolute fabulous time. When the three of us returned to Newcastle, my parents attended my host Rotary Club and my dad was the guest speaker of the evening. (We are all pictured above with President Celia) My parents were very excited to meet the members of the club who have been so kind towards me during my stay here in Newcastle. During the meeting the president of the club,Celia, invited everyone to her house the following Friday for a further get together with my parents. It was a wonderful night and her cheese and wine party turned into a full feast! She has such a kind heart! Following the wonderful Friday night festivities, my parents and I got on a plane and flew to Ireland where we spent the remaining 8 days of my holiday. We traveled all over the country with our rental car and I admire my dad for driving on the most narrow streets I have ever seen! But Ireland is so beautiful. (pictured above is a section on the Dingle Peninsula) I had a wonderful time!

Rotary Games Night and St. Patty's Spectacular

I sadly do not have any pictures of the Rotary Inter-club Game Night. I accidentally left my camera in my room. But it was a great night. I had only played one of the games before, which was darts, and it was the first time I ever shot a riffle. (And you would all be so proud, I managed to make the bullseye every time...in fact I have my bullseye sheet hanging on my wall in my room.) I can't say that my great teammate, Barbara, and I had the best winning record, but we sure did have a wonderful time. Our opponents were members of the Rotary Club of Washington and they have invited me to speak in May. They also happen to meet in the ancestral home of George Washington, so I am very excited to visit! Following the games night I decided that with my Irish heritage, there was no better place to celebrate the feast of St. Patrick's Day then in Ireland. I spent a few days in Dublin and had a wonderful time. I saw the St. Patrick's Day parade which had more American school marching bands than anything else, but it was still a fun time. (St. Patrick himself, shown in the picture, actually participated in the parade as well!)

1030 District Conference

In February, I was invited to participate and speak at the district 1030 Rotary Conference in Leeds. It was a wonderful opportunity and it wouldn't have been made possible if Phil Hopps (District 1030 Rotary Foundation Committee Ambassadorial Scholar Coordinator) had not so graciously volunteered to drive Misa (ambassadorial scholar from Japan) and myself down to the conference and likewise look after us all weekend. The conference was very well organized and we heard from an amazing speaker during the Saturday afternoon session. Misa and I also presented during the Saturday session, but luckily we had already finished before he began his speech, so we were no longer nervous and could really enjoy it. I think everyone wanted to buy his book when he was finished. Everything about the conference was great. The food was delicious and I think Misa and I tried every desert that was offered. :-) The city hall which held the conference was beautiful and we were also able to meet the traveling GSE team from Idaho! I was very honored to be invited to participate in the conference and Misa and I enjoyed ourselves and were able to meet many wonderful Rotarians. (We even danced with several at the Saturday night dinner dance) Thank you district 1030! (For reference to the photos in this post, the first picture is of Misa and myself with 1030 District Governor George Craig and his lovely wife. The second is of RIBI President Peter Offer and the third of Phil Hopps, our wonderful host for the weekend!)

A Way Behind Recap

I am first and foremost sorry for the delay in my updates. I went back to the USA for Christmas, and although I thought I would have tons of time, it went way too quickly!! The picture to the right is of two of my cousins and me after we pulled open our British Christmas Crackers. We also had some Christmas pudding and some spiced mead courtesy of my host Rotarians at Monkseaton Centenary. I returned for New Year's Eve in London...which was absolutely spectacular! I was able to get a spot in the front row on the Victoria Embankment directly across from the London Eye. It was one of the coolest fireworks displays I have ever seen. They even had fireworks going off speedboats in the water...very fun and really cool to watch. The London Eye also turned about every color in the rainbow! I returned to Newcastle on January 3. I spent most of the month working incredibly fast on my final exam assignments. I had four major papers due every Friday of the month, and although my ambition was to work on them over Christmas, the reality was spending the entire month of January locked in my room to get everything finished on time! I did get out a little, however. I spoke at three different Rotary Clubs here in district 1030, and also spent some time at my host club, Monkseaton Centenary. I really enjoyed my time at the clubs and I got to see a lot of the area around each location. Now that it is February, I will not only be able to update my blog more often, but I also will be doing some pretty neat things. Next week I will be going to a Rotary sponsored Casino Night and a few weeks after that I will be speaking at the 1030 District Conference. I am also trying to plan a short trip to Sweden. (But we will see) I hope everything with you guys is going well and that the New Year has started wonderfully!