Last week our four RYLA nominees reported back to the Club on their attendance at RYLA. The nominees were introduced by Kevin Beltrame. They are:
- Clare Mullen
- Jessica Rossiter
- Santino Bol Wek and
- Kristyna Wowk.The attendees spent one week at RYLA. They said it was a life changing experience. They expect to be life-long friends with some of the people they met. They have had a number of reunions already.
They advised us of some of the activities they took part in which included abseiling and rock climbing.
We were advised that during the week a Rotary dinner was held which President Kevin and Paul White attended.The program included guest speakers on topics such as:
- Motivation
- Public speaking
- Finances
- Managing people and
- Mental healthSome time was spent on overcoming personal fears which may limit what can be achieved.
Jessica told us that she was requested to tell her “personal story” in front of the group. Whilst she found this difficult she was able to open up in front of the group.
Santino told us that he found the rock climbing to be the most difficult. With the support of the group he was eventually able to do something he had not done before.
We were informed that the schedule is hectic with activities running from 9-00 am to 6-00 pm and also after dinner.
All attendees found the program to be beneficial and thanked the Club for nominating them.
Part B "Travelling Rotarian: Paolo Giammarco" byPP Rod McDougall (reporter)
Our own Paolo Giammarco treated us to a "Tour De Europe" last week. Confronted with a quiet time on the business front, due to the global financial crisis, as well as an unfulfilled desire to conquer the French Alps - he set off in August last year for a grand tour of Europe.
This encompassed the Chamonix Alps, Rome, Sulmona (where Paolo was born), Brescia and Rodez (where he met with exchange student Laura Fleurquin and her family), Paris and London.
It was not an auspicious start and after falling ill on the flight to London due to aircraft air conditioning problems, he almost returned to Sydney.
Using Heathrow as his base, he travelled to France and his encounter with the alps - a system with deep retreating glacier valleys stretching from Austria in the East to the west of Europe taking in Switzerland, Italy, and Germany.
With complete disrespect for his knees (which did not quite last the distance), and despite the thin air, he tackled Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the group, on the border between France and Italy. The climb consisted of 177 kilometre walking trip over thirteen days going from 1,000 metres to 2,500 metres. There were 12 members of the group and a Scottish guide. Paolo's memories are of stunning scenery, French, Italian and Swiss hospitalities, unforgettable mountain views (where he insists you can truly hear "the sound of music"), perfect skiing conditions and tourists from all over the world.
Declaring that the descent was more difficult than the climb, Paolo nevertheless has fond recollections of reaching the many mountain refuges/huts where he could enjoy thick European style hot chocolate drinks and local mountain berry pie. Despite this, he reported that the descent cost him a number of waistline centimetres and that in order to replace lost calories, the local red Bordeaux became "essential rather than casual". Many cyclists were spotted on the trek; suggestions by Paolo that your correspondent was among them are unfounded. And despite the terrain, a spectacular golf course was seen near Chamonix.
Paolo presented an impressive slideshow which, in addition to images of spectacular alpine scenery, included his photos of the mountain summit and glaciers taken from the Mont Blanc cableway. Also shown were photos of the Mont Blanc tunnel, built in the 1960s, between Italy and Western Europe. He described the engineering of the cableway and the tunnel as eye opening – especially given the altitude and surrounding terrain.
Unfortunately, with so much to share, time ran out and Paolo had to complete his talk quickly, including the description of his visit to his home town, and the stay with Laura and her family.
He has offered to share Part II at another meeting.