No tarantulas in Norway

One week to go. I spent part of the weekend beginning to pack, and I suspect my other team members were doing the same. No easy task to pack for a month. I also tried to recover from a nasty virus, thankful that it hit me this weekend instead of next.

I was also thankful on Friday when I attended the Franklin (KY) Rotary Club and heard from a recent GSE alum whose team visited the Dominican Republic last year. She regaled us with stories of water hoses used for showers and killing a tarantula as she went to bed one night. "It was so big, its legs were still sticking out from around my foot where I stepped on it!" she said. "I was convinced I had killed someone's pet, but my host family explained that, no, it wasn't a pet, just an everyday pest."

I felt pretty good about Norway just then, its hot showers and lack of tarantulas. They don't have tarantulas in Norway, right?

The Adventure Begins

Our Rotary Group Study Exchange experience in Norway commences in just twelve days. At the moment, we are busy packing and making arrangements to spend the whole month of March visiting and sharing with Rotarians and their families of District 2300 in the East Central region of Norway.

Our team represents District 6710, making up the central and western regions of Kentucky, USA. Members include Jayme, a paralegal from Paducah; Cara, a university librarian from Louisville; Sara (from Lexington), a victim's advocate with the state attorney general's office; and I am a school district administrator from Bowling Green. Our team leader is Bill, a retired university administrator and development director. We are proud to represent our sponsoring Rotary clubs, and our respective professions and communities.

We'll use this space to document our journeys and experiences, and express appreciation to our hospitable Norwegian hosts. Thanks for sharing our travels!