The rainy weather here in Indiana has kept us indoors for a day or so–kind of reminds us of Mackay! Ha, kidding, my Mackay friends!!

I thought I would share this last video with you. We had put it together for our presentation at the Rotary District Conference in Yeppoon. It was kind of a behind the scenes of our travels. We thought it would be interesting for people to see us in this light, as most of the time when we were publicly presenting, we were in our formal wear, etc.

Enjoy and take care!

Cheers,
Marc

To all the Host families- Thank you for the bed, shower, meals, laundry and most of all you friendship.  Words can’t express my gratitude.

To the Rotarians at every stop- thank you for the open arms, smiles, and interest in our GSE team.  Thank you for sharing your cities with us.  I enjoyed each and every stop.

To Ken Self- WOW!  You gave us the start of what has been the best trip ever.  You educated us more than you can image.  The faith you had to be able to take on 5 random americans was incredible.  Thank you for your friendship and love of Australia.  And remember GO THE HOOSIERS!!

To Brian and Sally Jesset- Thank you for all of your coordination before, during, and after our trip.  We couldn’t have made it through without you.  You coordinated an amazing trip for us.  I will forever be grateful.

To Judith & Craig Henderson- Thank you for agree to make the exchange with District 6580.  I will never ever forget this opportunity.  My life is better for having been able to experience Queensland.  You have an amazing District.  Thank you for everything you did for us over the past 30 days.

To everyone that crossed our paths-  If you are ever in Indiana, you always have a warm bed, meal, and shower…..just let me know.

THANK YOU AUSTRALIA for an amazing experience.

Cheers,

Jenise

We boarded the Barge to travel across the deep blue sea for a two day adventure in Fraser

Island.  Richard, Jane, Jo, Liz, John and Jeff all agreed (they may be regretting it now) to

Lake McKenzie from underneath an umbrella

 

Tea at Jo Pearce's Fraser Island home

escort the team.  Once to t

he Island is what 4 wheel driving all the way.  Bumps, hills, roots, ruts, mud, and slop what and adventure. And no I didn’t toss my cookies, thought I might though.  We got to see, what we are told,

Proper eating of a Meat Pie

View from Indian head

Maheno Ship wreck

and exquisitely blue glorious lake. But as you can from the photo we saw it from underneath an umbrella. L

We stopped for meat pies for lunch.  Yummy. However, we were informed

that we eat meat pies incorrectly.  We all eat them as if they were Pot Pies from home, with a fork in the tin.  Aussie prefer to pick them up and eat them with their hands as demonstrated by Jane.

Fraser Island was an amazing adventure of Wildlife (don’t feed the Dingos), beach, sun and high tide surf.  Thank you Jo for allowing us to stay at your beach house on Fraser.  I had a wonderful time and enjoyed the experience.

What ever you do DO NOT feed the Dingos!!

Once again we had our frequent wish of wanting to stay longer or needing another day in Hervey Bay.  Thank you so much Rex and June for taking me in.

Traveling to Yeppoon led us to the District 9570 Conference.  This was such a wonderful feeling to walk into the conference and be welcomed by lots of the families that we had met throughout our trip.  The snuggles and warm feelings is so hard to express, but I loved it.  We started off with the welcome dinner.  The dinner was good but the mossies about carried us away.   We then spent the evening catching up with the Bundy crew over a few drinks!!!

Saturday morning we kicked off the day with a wonderful Aussie breaky.  Then the day was ours.  After checking emails, I enjoyed several hours by the pool.  Vitamin D treatment was exactly what the doctor ordered.  Prior to the District Governor’s Dinner we were told that they wanted to participate in Karaoke. In true Indiana GSE fashion we created a slideshow to go along with the song “Happy Together”.  The attempt to distract from our “lovely” singing worked!  The Governor’s Beach  Party was a wonderful and exciting treat.  Everyone really seemed to be enjoying themselves and having a good time.  The Karaoke turned out to be a huge hit.  Thanks Judith for a wonderful conference.

Brian and Mavis Johnston were the gracious hosts that took me in while in Yeppoon.  This was such a wonderful stay and I greatly appreciate their hospitality.

It’s almost 1:30 a.m. Indiana time, which means it’s almost 3:30 p.m. in Queensland…I’m getting ready to force myself to sleep to try and alleviate some of the jet lag effect tomorrow. I’m sure we will all post more later, but we wanted you all to know that we made it safely!

Cheers,
Marc

We just got back to the Hervey Bay area and have about an hour before we need to head back out for our final presentation and farewell dinner. We hear our good friend Ken Self is even going to be there! Tomorrow morning, we head for the airport around 5 a.m. and begin the long, but welcome, journey back home!!

Tot, a former law partner in a local firm, has spent the past 20 years as an entrepreneur. His company owns several small vessels that provide mooring services, supply runs, staff shift changes, etc. for the large ships that dock at the harbor in Gladstone.

In Gladstone, I was very fortunate to have been hosted by Neil “Tot”, Sue and Bel Moran. In the 1980′s Tot participated in a Group Study Exchange program to Wisconsin and Minnesota in the States so he and I had much to discuss about the program and the experience. Tot’s wife Sue is a “kindie” (kindergarten) teacher so our conversations gave me the opportunity to brag about Eli. Bel is 17, one of 5 of the Moran children, and is taking some time to live at home to save some money before

enrolling in “uni” (university).  Bel has a twin sister, twin older brothers, and an older sister.  I imagine while her brief stay at home she is enjoying the opportunity to have Tot and Sue’s undivided attention.

Bel is thoughtful, engaging and curious about the world. Our conversations revolved around how youth can be active, grassroots leaders improving the lives of those in need. My conversations with Bel gave me goosebumps – at such a young age she radiates enthusiasm for how she might be of service to others. Bel, I sincerely wis

h you the best of luck in choosing your program of study at uni and if I can ever be of assistance, please contact me.

I think Tot and Sue are the bravest people I know. (Did I mention they have 5 children?) I think they are brave because they support and encourage the dreams and goals of their children who are now all  living far from home. Their oldest daughter serves as a social worker and lives on a closed indigenous community, one son is an entrepreneur store owner in Brisbane and the other is a talented artist trying to make a living on his own terms. Bel’s twin siste

r is currently a Rotary Exchange Student and living in Brazil for a year.

When Eli chooses a path for his future, my default will probably be to hope he will choose to live and work within a 5-30 mile radius of my house in Madison.  However, when that time comes,  I plan to reflect on the time I spent with Tot, Sue and Bel. I want to remember how Tot and Sue have encouraged their children to be open to new experiences, even

Tot & Sue

 though these career or educational paths have taken them far from home. I will reflect on my conversations with Bel and how much possibility I see in her, at just the young age of 17.

When Eli is old enough to chart his own course, I want to be brave, just like my friends the Morans.