Our GSE Experience

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Our GSE Experience Sweden 2000
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Slide 1 of 327 In May and June of 2000, the Group
Study Exchange team from District 5580
repre- senting Canada and the United States
visited District 2390 in southern Sweden. In
order to have a complete discussion of the Group
Study Exchange program, one must first define
Exchange According to dictionary.com, there
are ten different accep- table meanings for the
word. 1. To give in return for something
received. 2. To give and receive equally,
reciprocal. 3. To give up for a substitute.
But before exchange comes group. Group is
defined as An assemblage of peoples or objects
gathered or located together. On Sunday, May 7,
2000, the team boarded a plane for Sweden. On
our first day, the 8th of May, after being
greeted by district GSE representatives, we drove
up to Helsingborg to meet with our first week
host families. On our second day in Sweden, the
9th of May, we had our first vocational day. On
the third day of our GSE trip, which was May 10,
we visited the police and customs center in
Helsingborg. We also presented our program for
the first time at the Helsingborg-Sofiero Rotary
Club. We also toured the district court and
toured Helsingor, Denmark. The next day,
on Thursday, May 11, we met with the Mayor of
Helsingborg and visited the Kemira Hydrogen
Peroxide plant. The team was very interested in
the eel farm that was integrated into the warm
waters left over after producing the chemicals.
In the afternoon, we toured Sofiero. On Friday,
May 12, we toured the primary and
second- aray/gymnasium schools. The young
students of Hoganas area were eager to
practice their English with us. At lunchtime, we
shared our program with the Hoganas/Kullen Rotary
Club. After lunch we spent the afternoon with
the Mayor of Hoganas, discus- sing their
governmental system. Saturday, May 13 was the
first day of the 2390 district conference. We
did our presentation in Helsingborg in front of
250 people. On Sunday, May 14, after an
adventurous morning around Hoganas, we
departed for our next stop, Hollviken. We met
our new host families and settled in.
Monday, May 15 was a very busy and informative
day for the team. We visited the World Maritime
Museum, The Rotary Doctors Bank, a newspaper
publisher and a television Recording studio.
Tuesday, May 16 was a vocational day ending with
an evening with our host families. Wednesday, we
toured Svedala Industries, where we were intro-
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2000 Group Study Exchange District 5580
District 2390
Sweden
United States / Canada
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Gary Johnson Bemidji, Minnesota, USA
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Rotary 13 Rotary meetings 1 District
Conference 14 Presentations Hundreds of great,
great people Many new Rotary friends
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A beautiful place
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Wonderful people
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New friends
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GSE introduced me to what Rotary is all
about. Beyond just a service club. More than
simply a weekly meeting, paying dues, and eating
lunch. Rotary to me is now about.
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Rotary is about
International Compassion
Our clubs international water projects
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Rotary is about
Enthusiasm
Community service projects and programs
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Rotary is about
Global Friendships
GSE and Youth Exchange
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It is all about
Rotary!
And now as a committed Rotarian, Club
President-Elect, GSE Coordinator, Youth Exchange
Counselor, Website Manager, and District
Foundation Alumni Co-Chair. thanks to
GSE, Rotary is the one thing I can say for sure
I will be doing the rest of my life.
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Jill Zachary Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
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For 40 years the GSE experience has shaped and
changed lives. Since 1965 more than 11,000 GSE
Teams have traveled involving over 50,000 Team
Members!
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The Group Study Exchange Program coordinated by
Sweden Rotary District 2390 far exceeded our
every expectation.
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GSE provided an incredible 5 week journey that
introduced me to a new culture
and provided the opportunity to meet amazing
people
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GSE is one of the best recruitment tools to
attract young professionals to Rotary
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What makes the GSE experience so profound is the
cumulative effects of many small but
meaningful individual Rotary moments
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As the result of our experience each member
of our team has developed a deep commitment to
Rotary. 3 of 4 of the members have become
Rotarians
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Frequently reunions provide opportunity to
celebrate the ongoing successes of the team
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Rotary focused reunions occur at annual District
Conferences
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World Expo 2005 Nagoya, Japan. Rotary
International Friendship Centre.
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Master of Social Work Degree-2004...
Fort William Rotary Club
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Continuing GSE opportunities.
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District 5580 Foundation Alumni
Committee Co-Chairs for 2006/07 - Jill, Chris
Gary
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Continued Foundation support for the Group
Study Exchange Program is simply ESSENTIAL!
Thank you for the 'opportunity of a lifetime'.
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Steven Houghton Superior, Wisconsin, USA
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Chris Carlson Fargo, North Dakota, USA
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If only you knew how many of these things Ive
done seldom with much improvement, but equally
fun each one.
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Other hobbies may be equally peculiar, but are
likely harder to explain
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But easy to translate
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Amazingly, raising money for the Rotary
Foundation is easy as pie. In fact, one neednt
even know how to dance!
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From me, from us, from them Thank you Rotary,
thank you Rotary Foundation. Through you,
amazing things are given, and amazing things are
produced.
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Mark Erickson, Team Leader Duluth, Minnesota, USA
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GSE trip website www.paulbunyan.net/gse2000