Club Rotario de Aragon

I enjoyed visiting with the small Club Rotario de Aragon on October 27th.  I met several of the members at the Quarterly District Breakfast Meeting in September.  The all-men club was very welcoming and reminded me of the Haedo Club I visited in Argentina, because of the nice atmosphere and intimate group of friendly faces.  I actually met two Rotarians, John and Tony, who have lived in the Dallas-Ft Worth area.  I hope to return in the future with Jeremy.

Club Rotario Aragon: Oscar, Tony, myself, Raquel, and Javier.

Club Rotario Aragon Oct 27th

I will take the Women and Children Only Metro Train Car from now on...

On Wednesday, I had a frightening moment while taking the Metro to a Rotary club meeting downtown.  It was during rush hour and I was exiting the train car, when a group of men rushed the doors, trying to get in before everyone had exited.  I was caught in between the door and the mob of men.  I literally thought I would be afixiated any moment.  I was being pushed and crushed between several large, forceful men, when Thank God, some nice men in front of me pulled me out.  I almost lost my bag in the process, but they got it for me.  I cannot believe how crazy the people got just to get into the train car.  I am grateful that I am not hurt and, from now on, will take the Women and Children Only train cars at the front of each train!  I think the important lesson is that all experiences teach us something and should help us grow, rather than create fear or paralysis.  I will continue to take the metro, but will be more cautious and take the Women's car. 

Learning and Adapting -- Keys to Leadership Success

How perfect!  Today in my Leadership and Change Management Class, we learned that based on extensive research, **The ability to LEARN and ADAPT is one of the most important competencies for leadership success.**  This means that not only is it healthy and helpful to learn new concepts and skills, but learning from mistakes teaches you to take appropriate risks and to change and adapt more easily.  Of course, living in another country, conducting oneself in another language and adapting to a new culture --- are all key facets of the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship program.

Source:  "Leadership in Organzations" by Gary Yukl.  Class taught by Dr. Jose Luis Rivas.

Mixing Germans and Mexicans

On Tuesday, October 12th, I enjoyed attending a concert hosted by the Club Rotario Polanco.  The musicians consited of a group of very talented 14-20 year-olds from Germany.  They played Phantom of the Opera and music from Forrest Gump, and ended the evening with Mexican National Anthem.  Following the concert, we had the opportunity to mingle with other Rotarians and guests, and I had the distinct pleasure of meeting the German Ambassador to Mexico and the Director of Hospital Angeles Lomas, where the concert was held.  The concert was very far from where I live, in a beautiful hilly area of the city.  I rode with my Host Rotary Counselor, Susy, and with traffic it took us about 2 hours to get there!  Fortunately on the return trip (at midnight), it only took us an hour.  This city is extremely large and spread out.

Life is always better with family

I was fortunate to have a last-minute visit from my mom this weekend.  I gave her a tour of the campus and we hung out in the cute colonia of Coyoacan.  We visited a local market, had coffee at a local cafe and enjoyed the sights of the main plaza.  Come back soon, Mama!

Vale la Pena

"Vale la pena"  is to say "it's worth it."  After a 15 min. car ride, a 40 min bus ride and a half hour car ride, we made it to the Rotary Club of Ecatepec.  It was definitely worth the trip.  This club serves a very needy community to the north east of the Federal District.  We were told that this area has a lot of poverty, including many young people sniffing glue on the streets (sadly, it reminds me of Kampala, Uganda) and mothers giving birth prematurely and to babies who are deficient in nutrients.  I hope to return to the club during one of their service days at the local clinic.

The former club president, Juan Carlos, and his wife, Lupita, organized the visit and were great hosts. 

Featuring...the Ambassadorial Scholars of Mexico City!

This past Saturday, all four of the Mexico City Ambassadorial Scholars attended the District's Seminar on the Activities of the Rotary Foundation.  We learned about local fundraising goals, District projects around Polio Plus, how to apply for matching grants, among other interesting things.  We each had the opportunity to present ourselves to the group of about 150.  I am happy to report that I easily and enthusiatically presented in Spanish. I wasn't nervous or at a loss for words.  I felt good about my connection with the group. 

We also had the distinct honor of being there with two Past-Rotary International Presidents, Luis Vincente Giay of Argentina (who obviously quickly became my Argentine buddy) and Frank Devlyn of our very own Mexico City.

Here are some pics!

Ernesto Ibarra (Chair, Amb Scholars Committee), Billy Blaustein (Scholar from San Fran), Yours Truly, Jose Luis Martinez Larios (District Governor), Rebecca Watts (Scholar from North Carolina), Luis Vicente Giay (1996-97 Rotary International President), Manolo Herrero (Regional Foundation Chair)

So excited - I now have an official Host Counselor, Susy de Leon of the Jardines de Pedregal Club. She is fantastic.  I had lunch with her and her son, Augostine on Saturday after the seminar.

Frank Devlyn (2000-01 RI President), little ol' me, Billy, Robert (from Kentucky...love the bow tie!), Rebecca and Luis Vicente Giay (Past RI Pres)

Los Becarios del DF! 

Vanessa with her new Porteno buddy, RI Past President Luis Vicente Giay

Hey yall!  We got the 2011 Super Bowl in Arlington!  You can crash at my place.