Milford

Milford is a gorgeous town in Connecticut. We visited the Mayor of Milford, James Richetteli; wandered through the Duck park; lunch at Stonebridge and even a tour of Milford's fire department.

Wilton and Guilford Libraries

Wilton Library has something I have never seen in Australia - a drive through service. Drop your books and other loans off at the drive through, and even pick up reservations and pay fines. The courtyard area is a wonderful area for functions, with seating, and a fountain.





Guilford Library integrates an old building with a new almost seamlessly. I would happily work from their local studies room all day long.

Cato Corner Farm

Wednesday, April 21, 2010.

A tour of Cato Corner Farm was lots of fun and not only because we had a taste testing of all the cheeses made on the premises. I love that gold washed rind!

Well it's the end of the third week and the time has flown by so fast. I have met some wonderful people and seen some amazing places like Wolf Park in Monroe where we had a guided tour and as we came out of the woods into an opening we saw a beautiful man made lake where we were able to take our shoes off and dip our toes in the water. We have also been to district conference in Burlington, Vermont where we bonded with the South African team and sang a song together at the Saturday night function "We Are The World". So far my favourite experience has been going on my vocational days and riding along with the Fairfield Police and visiting the FBI and DEA. I have been surprised by how welcoming my host families have been and how they have made me feel like part of their family in such a short period of time. I have definately built friendships that will last a lifetime.

Boats, Cars and Sports!

We've had some very exciting days over the past couple of days. We visited the Mystic Seaport Museum on Monday morning. We were able to look through the only surviving wooden whaling boat (and yes Perri managed to climb the three flights of stairs as well as bump her head on the roof in the downstairs quarters!) After which we were able to have lunch in the oldest continuous running Inn - called the Griswolds, and no we didn't see anyone that resembled Chevy Chase. Afterwhich we were treated to a ride on the Connecticut River. It was very cold but absolutely beautiful. On Tuesday we visited the Connecticut Police Academy. Sophie was in absolute heaven! We witnessed recruits training in on the skid pad in the cars, doing some combat training and visited their shooting range. For all of those sports fans it's time to wipe that green colour off your face. We visited ESPN Studios and had a fantastic tour, with some very nice views! We even managed to get a wink from one of the NFL show presenters! And yes we saw the set where they shoot the Nascar show!

Wednesday saw us visiting the capital theatre where we had a tour, visiting the senate room and the memorial to the fallen soldiers and many more.

We were treated to a lovely dinner at Modern Pizza tonight before we will be rolling into bed for another busy day in our vocational visits tomorrow.

Along with our presentations

What is GSE all about?

Before I boarded the plane to Connecticut, USA, I thought the Group Study Exchange (GSE) was all about visiting professionals who share a common career path. A Library Manager in Australia will therefore meet up with another Library Manager in Connecticut. They will share stories, find commonalities and discuss difference. And this has certainly occurred on my GSE. The Otis Library in Norwich, Connecticut shares many similarities in terms of staffing, processes and patrons. And it was fascinating to discuss the differences between Hurstville City Library and the Otis Library.

What has surprised me, what I never expected, was how many amazing people I would meet on the GSE. And they are not just from my own profession. In one short week I've met doctors, teachers, nurses, wedding planners, web designers, IT experts....and many more. I've been overwhelmed by everyone's generosity, willingness to help, and genuine interest in the Australian GSE team and our experiences.

I feel very fortunate to be part of this exchange and I'm looking forward to the next 3 weeks of vocational visits and opportunities to meet many more incredible people.

Rebekah

Survival Systems - all part of the GSE experience!

Today we had the unusual opportunity to learn how to evacuate from a plane that has ditched, upside-down (of course) in water. The course was held at Survival Systems and Sophie had a fantastic time practicing her new skills, while photographers, Zoe and Rebekah recorded the moment for posterity.

Hello from New York

We made it!!

Here's Zoe and Sophie eating apples in the Big Apple.

We also visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art today.

Rotary Club King's Cross - dress rehearsal

The Group Study Exchange (GSE) team was invited to run through their presentation at the Rotary Club of King's Cross meeting on Monday 22 March 2010. It was the first opportunity for us to present together and a great chance to perfect the presentation before heading over to Connectcut in about 23 days (but who's counting?).

The presentation includes all 5 members of the team talking about our lives, interests and Australian history and culture. The presentation will be given at Rotary Club meetings throughout Connecticut.

While at the meeting we met Grahaeme Jones, a GSE team leader 22 years ago. It was wonderful to talk to Grahame about his own GSE experience.

Thank you to the King's Cross Rotary Club for inviting us to present on Monday.

Connecticut: quick facts

Name of State: Connecticut

Statehood: January 9, 1788 (5th state)

Nickname/Official Designation: "The Constitution State" was adopted by Act of the Legislature, 1959.

Name Origin/Indian: Quinnehtukqut -- Mohegan for "Long River Place" or "Beside the Long Tidal River"

Capitol: Hartford, the sole Capital City since 1875

Governor: M. Jodi Rell

State Motto: Qui Transtulit Sustinet -- "He Who Transplanted Still Sustains"

Population: The population of Connecticut was 3,405,565 according to the 2000 U.S. Official Census. The most recent population estimate from the Connecticut Department of Public Health is 3,409,549 as of July 1, 2000.

Cities with largest population (2000):

Bridgeport 139,529
New Haven 123,626
Hartford 121,578
Stamford 117,083
Waterbury 107,271
See the 1990/2000 Census population for all Connecticut towns

Area: 5,018 square miles

Counties: 8

Towns: 169

Cities: 21

Boroughs: 9

Famous For: Inventors (Charles Goodyear, Elias Howe, Eli Whitney, Eli Terry), Inventions, Watchmaking, Typewriters, Insurance, Submarines

Source: Official State of Connecticut Website

Howard Davy

PP Howard Davy was born and educated in South Africa; attended the South African College Schools - the country's oldest and went onto the University of Cape Town, majoring in Sociology. He entered the life insurance industry at age 22, as the first broker sales manager ever to be appointed by the Norwich Union - Cape Town and by age 52, he was General Manager of Lumley Life - Australia.
Howard pioneered the sales and servicing of life insurance products to independent insurance intermediaries firstly in South Africa and from 1986 in Australia. From 1988 he excelled at promoting the fastest growing sector namely; critical illness insurance. He travelled extensively with the 'architect' Dr Marius Barnard in Asia, Australia, Canada and USA.
In 1981 he was invited to join the Rotary Club of Pietermaritzburg & Kloof - South Africa, then after immigrating to Australia continued membership at the Rotary Clubs of Mulgrave, Thornleigh, Sydney Cove and now Kings Cross - holding offices in every avenue of service and fellowship over 28 years.

Rebekah Schulz

Rebekah Schulz is the Manager of Hurstville City Council’s Library Museum & Gallery (LMG) service. She supervises a team of 55 staff who work across three locations within the local government area of Hurstville, NSW. The LMG provides services and programs that educate, inspire and engage the community. Since Rebekah commenced as Manager, the service has received numerous awards including a Prime Minister’s Achievement Award and a NSW Local Government Cultural Award.

Rebekah is married and has a four year old daughter named Ella. She gained a Master of Arts in Egyptology and a Master of Letters in Museum Studies. In her spare time she conducts classes on how to read ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. Rebekah is passionate about volunteering. She was President of Museums Australia NSW and convened the 2005 Museums Australia national conference which included 500 delegates from around Australia and abroad.

Zoe Terpening

Dr Zoe Terpening is a Clinical Neuropsychologist with the Royal Prince Alfred and Sydney Adventist Hospitals and The Brain & Mind Research Institute in Sydney. Her role entails the provision of clinical neuropsychological services across a wide range of neurological and ageing populations including dementia, stroke, psychiatry, capacity assessments and general neurology. Her area of interest and expertise is neurodegenerative disease, particularly rare disorders which pertain to the progressive loss of vision.
Zoe has completed a Doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology and Clinical Neuropsychology, along with a research Masters degree in Clinical Neuropsychology. Zoe is a Past President of the Como-Jannali Rotaract Club. After hours Zoe is a devoted wife and daughter, aspiring amateur chef, competitive sportswoman and dedicated trainer to her wayward hand-raised baby Cockatiels, Moet & Chikka.

Sophie Hunter

Sophie Hunter is a Police Officer in the New South Wales Police Force. She is a Constable attached to Kings Cross Police Station and has been stationed there for 4 years. For the past 12 months, she has been based out of Woolloomooloo Police Station which is a sub-station of Kings Cross. Her role comprises of general duties policing, proactive policing which involves the running of operations targeting the supply of prohibited drugs and operations utilising drug detection dogs, plain clothes policing and high visibility policing.

On her days off, Sophie enjoys spending time with her friends and family, going to the beach, volunteering at the children’s hospital, playing Oztag and watching her favourite rugby league team, the Parramatta Eels. Sophie hopes to have a long career in the police force and wants to try her hand in a variety of roles including becoming a Detective in the Gangs Squad and Homicide Squad.

Perri Calderwood

Perri Calderwood is an Assistant Principal (Special Education) at a local primary school. The school is a mainstream primary school but also contains 4 specialist support classes for children with special needs. Perri’s role incorporates teaching a class of 10 children with moderate intellectual disabilities ranging from 5-12 years old. She also supervises 3 other teachers and classes within the support unit setting. Perri has been working in a variety of special education settings over the past 14 years.
Perri lives in the southern suburbs of Sydney. She has recently become a first time aunty to her nephew, Ty, who is now 3 months old. She enjoys playing sports such as netball and oztag with friends. She has also tried her hand at Salsa dancing and bellydancing over the past couple of years.

District 9750

District 9750 incorporates the Sydney CBD, Eastern Suburbs, Inner West and southern metropolitan areas, southwest to Camden and Picton in the Macarthur region; and south through Wollongong to Kiama in the Illawarra region; and comprises 54 clubs.

Founded in 1905 in Chicago, Rotary International became a major supporter of community initiatives to improve world health through the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF and is the world’s greatest promoter of international student exchange and student scholarships.

Rotary International has a membership of some 1.2 million in 33,000 clubs in 200 countries, including 1,202 clubs with 37,000 members in Australia. Rotary International is non-sectarian and non-political and open to all cultures, races and creeds.