Pinocchio's

Technologically challenged Nat has finally figured out how to blog!!!

What can I say.. I've spent a couple of weeks with 4 individuals.. and have discovered they're all a bunch of pinocchio's. I don't know what dictionary Matt is using.. but I don't think his definition of the truth would meet the four way test somehow!!

Had we known his capabilites.. perhaps we WOULDN'T have chosen him to be responsible for the blog! And I think its only going to get worse as the rivalry builds between him and Cathy.

Perhaps its best left to the Newsreader to fill you in on what's been happening (after all we tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but..) : 0

Anyhoooo.. we've now moved on to Fort Wayne.. and to new families. Andrew has been put to work cleaning up his host family's backyard. I think he fancies himself as the gardner out of Desperate Housewives.. (Good to see him finally pitching in!!) Cathy is still enamoured with the wildlife and spotted her first chipmunk ( secretly i think she's got a soft spot for cute fury pets). Matt has been with his family for 2 days and still has no idea where there's a toilet downstairs (perhaps we'll have to pick him up a GPS). And Steve.. well.. that loser bag is still following him around.. if you get my drift.

Anyway just a short one tonight.. after all its taken me this long to get online.. i don't want to wear myself out..

But to all following our progress.. we are all still alive.. and a little crazier.. but having a blast!!

Chat soon
Nat

The Updated Truth

I have to write tonight to let you know the truth about the latest happenings. By now you may have been unfortunate enough to have clicked on the video footage of us singing. If this is the case I feel very sorry for you and apologies for any harm that may have caused to your eardrums. I have to stress that this event didn't occur by our own free will. Cathy's story about Nat going home early is completely false. You would have seen the photo of Nat waving a dangerous firearm around in front of us, well it doesn't take much guessing to work out that we were performing at gun point with her standing just out of view of the camera. We were in fear of our lives. We stumbled over our lines and pretended to be happy because she said if we didn't act normally she would let us have it. Andrew was so scared he even wished he was back in Goulburn in front of his class. Steve didn't even attempted to take on the leadership role and save us. I thought he may have helled "run for your lives" and dived in front of the bullet but instead he begged to Nat that if she let him live he promised to drink another one of those dreadful Dog beers of Phil's. I of course was very cool under this presure and finally managed to talk Nat into putting down the gun by telling her that I would hand out our flyers at the next meeting we attended ( she obviously thought that I haven't been pulling my weight). So as another eventful week passes by we all manage to cope in our own little ways over here in the Mid West. I constantly try to think of ways to unite the team and as always will try to keep you posted.
Signing off, Matt.

Telling another tale

Well hi everyone. Now that Matt has spilled the beans its every man/woman and child for themselves. Today we all scattered to the four corners of the area and had a full day of vocational activities.

Today I got to go with the CRITTERS CONTROL looking at their traps and to see what they caught. I had only spotted a few of the local animals to this point so I was absolutely ecstatic when they trapped an opossum, ground hog, raccoon and mole. It was fascinating hearing about the problems and challenges that the native species cause. There are very few introduced species that create problems here!!!






The afternoon was spent at Merry Lee learning about how they are adapting more environmental systems including catching their rainwater and using it and trying alternative building materials. We also looked at the primary and secondary environmental centre and the restoration works being carried out on some of the wetlands.

To round the day off we had a fantastic dinner at Phil and Ellen's with everyone whiling away the time telling jokes, stories and they got better and better as the evening got later. Some exciting things also happened during the evening!!!! :O)

Look out here comes Nat

OOOHHH no I just got a MOLE with with M16!!!!

We received some beautiful gifts from Mark and the group oddly missing Nat who had made her way home before the activities and in fine voice we did our own rendition of How much is that Doggie in the Window"!!! Given the numerous dog beers which were pretty awful by all counts we didn't do half badly. Mark also gave us a book of essays and poems and we tricked him in telling us his favourite which he then had to promptly recite for us. He rose to the occasion and had us all enthralled. Sorry about the sound the first verse is GOOD!!! :O?

What a fabulous evening and then once again we find ourselves saying goodbye to what seems like old friends and moving on to discover a new bunch of friends. Onwards we go.

Cath

Notre Dame pics

The "Touch down Jesus"

The Stadium directly opposite the picture

The Library tower

The Library at a distance

The Truth.

I just wanted to post something tonight to tell everyone the truth about what is going on over here. I believe the time is now right to tell my story. Yes it is true that I was detained by immigration for three hours while trying to enter the US. No it is not true that Osama was mentioned at any point in the interview. It is also not true that any unwanted searches took place while I was in custody. I managed to survive this ordeal with little or no support from the team. On release I found one man that had the strength to overcome adversity and wait for me, Steve our illustrious leader. He had sacrificed himself in support of me, possibly only so he could have a break from flying and inbibe some precious fluids whilst in the waiting lounge but he had waited none the less.
Talking of interviews Cathy and I were interviewed by WNDU for half an hour today about the state of Australian agriculture and Natalie our resident news anchor watched on, please explain? On a more serious note Nat was in her element, she was like a kid in a candy shop today with us visiting two TV stations. She was nearly as excited as she gets when she sights a shoe shop, which has led us to start calling her "the centerpeed".
Cathy is doing a fabulous job of keeping up our blog which is a fabulous feat as her camera batteries go flat everytime she says "full as a goog", which she says alot over here due to the amount of hospitality we have had to enjoy, attempt, conquer or endure. (it's all good but everyone feeds us so well)
Andrew is going along well. He is a little tempted to become Amish as he has some new friends that think english is his second language, we have always thought that but haven't been game to say it. I think it is because he quite fancies the idea of growing the beard and going bare foot. His photography is getting better which is good because Nat has high standards and has officially made him her personal photographer.
Steve is taking on the job of Team Leader with real dedication. He has started to call us "kids". He is definately taking on a really paternal tone, probably thinking that will bring him more respect. We all know this is not going to happen but I don't have the heart to tell him. How could I offend him when he was the one who had the guts to wait for me in San Francisco.
So you can see the team is lacking unity. I will do everything in my power to bring them togther despite the difficult situation and I will keep you posted with my progress.
Signing off for now. Matt

Canberra girl makes good - Matt & Cathy made famous

The Rotary Group Study Exchange team were hosted by the Rotary Club of Roseland today, thanks to President John and his team for an incredible day. We started in town with a coffee and overview of the Blad Farm by Eric Blad and then on to the WSBT news room where we were shown what it takes to produce TV news and commercials.

We then presented to Roseland Rotary club and enjoyed a great lunch as their guests. After that on to a tour of Notre Dame led by Uncle Ed, very famous local identity and ably supported by President John, Cliff and Al.

We finished up with a visit to television station WNDU where two new stars were created. Keep watch for the Matt & Cathy show on FARM TV, they were interviewed and will go on national TV soon.

Shown at left is Steve Shirvington of the Rotary Club of Cooma presenting Mayor of the City of Elkhart Dick Moore a copy of the history of Cooma in New South Wales. The book was signed by Cooma Mayor Roger Norton and sent to Indiana with the Rotary Group Study Exchange.

Far be it for me to suggest some of the team have succombed to the stress of 12 days non stop action in Indiana!!! I'll let the pictures speak for themselves!!! Here we have the team (less Andrew who has clearly coped well to date) posing in the RV (recreational vehicle) hall of fame in Elkhart, Indiana.

Later that day our Natalie was seen to sneak into her favourite RV and demonstrate the modern conveniences placed within, in this case a circa 1930 RV with its own ensuite.

All jokes aside, another great day in and around the City of Elkhart thanks to the Rotary Club of Concord. The Team presented at lunch time and then heard from the Indiana State Treasurer about the state of the Indiana budget. Indiana is one of the few states in this part of the US with a balanced budget, quite an achievement. Much was also said (seeing us Australians were present) about the recent 75 year lease of the Indiana Toll Road by an Australian and Spanish consortia for $3.85 billion dollars.

Thanks again to the Rotary Foundation and the District 6540 organising committee and its Rotarians for a non stop learning experience over the past twelve days.

Day 9 - Goshen Rotary

Well Phil was a great driver of our 12 passenger bus conversion and Ellen and Judith were our tour guides for the day. Driving around was fascinating with all 3 giving tips of the area that we were travelling through. Our first stop today was the Jayco - RV Plant Tour. Wow what a production line and slick outfit. We got driven around in the neat bus and shown how Jayco manufacture many parts of their RVs on site. One of the most fascinating bits was how they cover cushions by getting a machine to scrunch them up using plastic, they put the cover on and then release it from the machine and it bounces back and fills the cover. Would hate to try and do that any other way!!

Next stop was the Bonnyville Mill which is an old still functioning Mill. They were very good and although they were not officially open for the session yet they gave us a guided tour of the place. It was fascinating seeing how wheat would be ground and they are also trialling hydro power there again. Andrew was lucky and got to chat with an Amish school teacher who was taking his elementary class on a tour.

Essenhaus for lunch was magic. Half the team decided to go for the smorgasbord despite knowing we would have a big meal this evening. The food was delicious and the banana custard cream was to die for.

Some time to tour around the shops before we went to the MennoHof to learn more about the anabaptist (meaning to rebaptize) in this case as an adult. It went through their history and the struggles and persecution they experienced throughout the evolution of their new religion. It was a very informative and well set out place. Afterwards we had some free time to look at some shops and to my delight we got to go on a buggy ride before we headed off to dinner.

Esther Hostetler provided us a stunning example of an Amish home and home cooked food. The food was absolutely delicious which we enjoyed not only with our host families but a few other Rotarians who could make it. It was great to sit and dine together, have a great laugh and enjoy each other's companionship. We all rolled out the door as "full as Googs" and said our goodbyes until tomorrow, and on that note I shall say goodnight and Blogg again soon!

Cheers

Cathy

Day 8 - Elkhart Rotary

Doug was our tour guide today for the Elkhart area. We had an absolutely fabulous day and saw many great interests in this county.

Our first stop was a factory tour at Conn-Seimer brass band instruments. Vincent Back was the founder of this establishment and once he decided to retire he sold to the Conn-Seimer company. If you want to have a closer look see http://www.bachbrass.com/. We were shown through all the different sections of the manufacturing process from when the brass is initially presses to the final finished product and testing. It was fascinating seeing how they did checks at each phase to ensure the product was always up to standard and how the instruments gradually took shape throughout the process.

Our next stop was the Elkhart County Visitors and Conventions Bureau. Here we learnt more about the County, the Amish Country (which we get to experience first hand tomorrow) a new concept of a Quilt Gardens tour, where quilt patterns are grown in large garden beds. Very interesting idea. We were also given a lovely pack of information on the area including the book "Taste of the Midwest".

We then went and presented to a very large Elkhart Rotary crowd at the Matterhorn. We had a scrumptious smorgasbord lunch and were asked some very interesting questions. It was great after we finished as we got to place a message in books that were going to the local elementary school to encourage literacy and quite a few of the Rotarian's came up for a chat.

We then headed off to see the Wellfield Botanical Gardens which is an amazing project being developed by this local group as part of their centennial project. The planning was all completed and now the earth works were beginning and some of the plantings being done. The project will be positively amazing when it is completed in a number of years time.

Our final visit was too the historic Ruthmere Museum. This was beautiful home built in 1908 and lived in from 1910. They have restored the building back to its former glory and it is amazing in side. They had a combined piano/organ/pianola that had organ pipes piped into the library and the games room.

Doug kindly finished the day with a driving tour of some of the housing and local area in the Elkhart area before we were dropped back to our families.

Cheers for now

Cath

PS Sorry no pictures. My camera has decided to take a holiday of its own!!!

Day 7 - Rest day

What a wonderful sleep in I had today. To bed fairly early and up fairly late. I have been having great chats with Ellen and Phil my new host family discovering more about what makes America (USA) tick!


We had a lovely late breakfast and then picked up Bill and Judith, Andrew's new host family, and headed to Michiana wineries for the afternoon. We visited 4 winreries in total and sampled some lovely white & red wines. Must say I have developed a taste for white wined more so at the moment and Look what we could have driven around in !!!!!!




We had a lovely early dinner at Hannahs in New Buffalo. I had nachos and although it was an appertiser you certainly would not have wanted to have ordered more food as it was HUGE!!!!! We also had some really nice fried onion rings which were very tasty and I have never seen them in Australia. We came bakc past the big farmers market that Ralph pointed out as we went past yesterday. Certainly is a big building.


We have a full agenda tomorrow so I'll sign off for now!
Cath

Day 6 - on the road again

Today we said goodbye to our lovely host families of Chesterton-Porter Rotary Club. Ralph and Mary drove us across to Goshen to meet our next host families for the up and coming week. We had a lovely meet and greet and lunch at Doug and Sharon house.

The rest of the afternoon for me has been kicking back and relaxing having a chat with Phil and Ellen my new host family. We are about to have a lovely dinner and then go out and look at some sights. Tomorrow we will have a little tour of some local wineries and small little towns.

Til next time
Cath

Day - 5 Chesterton Rotary

We had an absolutely fantastic breakfast at the Sand Creek Golf Course. The team went their separate ways today with Matt and I pairing up with Steve to have a vocational day for us. Steve drove us around the grounds and houses which were amazing with very large houses and grounds and security gates to enter.

After this we met Kris and headed out to Penny Purdue farm to have a look at their facilities and cropping techniques. It was quite interesting to here about their native animals eg gophers which are a problem to their planting crops especially vegetables. They follow along the lines and eat the seeds.

Our next stop was the Bison Ranch with Bud, Judy and Wally. There is at least one ranch per state in the US and we were able to get very close to them in the safety of a trailer on the back of a tractor. They are highly sensitive to overhandling and can get very stressed. It was great as there were two little calves on the ground. After looking at the herd we were treated to a Bison burger lunch. It was very tasty. Very similar to beef, a lot leaner though so it is cooked at a lower heat for less time.

After this off to the Indiana Dunes National Park to hear about problems with deer and their management program. It is a very interesting use of hunters in the area and their monitoring and triggers for control were very well thought out. The Park is beautiful and we got to see squirrels, a groundhog, numerous birds including the woodpecker and two baby water snakes basking in the afternoon sun. Steve and Kris said this was unusual to see especially the woodpecker as it was quite rare. We saw 4 and 2 were doing spring displays of mating so we were very fortunate!!!!!. Lastly we went down to the beach on Lake Michigan and chilled out for a little bit before Steve dropped us back at Val's Pizzeria for a team meeting and dinner.

The evening finished up experiencing the local pub scene going to Hooligans and Leroy's a biker bar. Very interesting clientele and they still have smoking in bars!!!

Signing off
Cath

Day 4 - Michigan City Rotary Club

Well another day and again what a wonderful time. We got to see the Indiana Dunes Park area and Mount Baldy, which is a highly active dune that is steadily moving toward the highway. Dan gave us a great background of the ecology of the area as he used to be a park ranger there. Pat and Dale kindly drove us around the area and took us to have a look at the lakeside and the old lighthouse. The battering of the area has caused quite a problem with sand build up so they have to dredge sections of the lake and jetty and redeposit the sand over near the base of the dune as it is now starved of sand.

We then went and presented to the Michigan City Rotary Club. They are an absolutely lovely bunch of people. they listened with great interest to our presentation and then asked lots of interesting questions. Pat had to call a close to the questions as it was time to go. We then had a chance to look at the Museum in the venue where we ate. Lots of wheeled memorabilia.

Afterwards we went and meet the Mayor of the City who very kindly gave us the key to the City. Wow free pass to everywhere he he!!!

We then had another interesting tour at the local establishment and then while the others went shopping Pat and Dennis kindly took me around to have a closer look at the City highlights. We all ended up where we were having dinner and had a great time with members of the club who were able to come to dinner.

Til next time.

Cath

Day 3 - Chesterton-Porter

We travelled to Lafayette today and spent the day touring and talking with students and teachers at Purdure University. It was an interesting and very rewarding day. I was able to speak with Judy Loven State Director of Wildlife Services at Purdue. We had great discussions regarding wildlife nuisance animals and other pest animals and public perceptions on the different control techniques that are or are not accepted.

The trip up and back was also interesting seeing the different landscapes and the large cropping enterprises along the road. It was interesting to note that although there is much water laying around that later in the year centre pivot irrigation may still be required.

We also got time to have a look around some of the shops especially the Purdue gift shop and I got to look at an Antique store whilst the others had an afternoon drink in one of the local establishments.

After returning from our day trip Joyce took me to "Red Lobster" where I had a fabulous feed of a mixture of lobster, shrimp, and other seafood treats. It was scrumptious and I would recommend it to anyone.

Cheerio for now.

Cath

Day 2 - Chesterton-Porter Rotary Club

Today we had a lovely breakfast at District Governor Jim Jeseinick and Mary Kay's house. It was a sumptuous feed that we all thoroughly enjoyed. This put us in good stead to go watch Steve Barker and his crew undertake a controlled environmental burn at Coffee Creek Watershed. It was great to see the care they took in protecting the man-made structures, to ensure minimal smoke and maximise the burn to reduce the weed burden of the area and enhance native vegetation growth.

Afterwards we were treated to the Bass Pro Shop which has to be the biggest single shop I have ever seen. They had just about everything you could think of including fishing equipment, clothing, camping, clothing and a massive selection of guns and bows. The store also had an amazing restaurant where we had lunch .

The day was rounded off by a fantastic evening with the Chesterton-Porter Rotary group and spouses. We had a lovely dinner and a great number of questions after our presentations. We all felt right at home.

Cath

Day 1 - La Porte Rotary Club

What a fantastic day. We all meet up at the La Porte County Museum. This is an amazing museum with all original and donated items from families within the district. The quality of the exhibits were amazing. We would all definitely recommend you going and seeing it.

We had a scrumptious lunch with the La Porte Rotary Club and gave our first presentation of the trip. It was great to spend time with the rotary members and see and participate in the camaraderie of the group.

We had a lovely informative time whilst being shown around the La Lumiere School by both a senior student and the head of the school. It was eye opening to see the care and nurturing environment that this school develops and the well rounded students that it produces.

Ed and Deb Arnold kindly opened their house to us to relax and unwind before we had a beautiful dinner at Portofinos. We even were given a ride in a Cadillac, Matt and Steve particularly enjoyed this.

Can't wait for tomorrow.

Cath

We're HERE!!!!

Well we have all made it safe and well to Indiana and our host families. We had a lovely send off at the Canberra airport and a short while later landed in Sydney to clear skies. We are already experiencing the amazing world of rotary as at the airport we had some lovely conversations with several rotary members who recognised the emblem on our shirts. Even on the flight we met several American GSE travellers returning from an exchange in Tasmania. It is a small world.

Matt had an interesting time with immigration - I will let him tell that story.

The weather at the moment is quite cold and landing in Chicago was to drizzle and sleet.

Tomorrow we start in earnest to a fabulously varied and interesting program. The weather will be on the improve with barmy days later on in the week.

Will blog soon. Cath

Two days to go

G'day to everyone in D6540 Indiana. We have only two days until we jump on the aircraft and make our way to your great state. Our team board's on Saturday 12 April at 11:30 am (20:30 on 11 April Indiana time) at Canberra airport, transfer in Sydney to a UA flight to San Francisco, change again and arrive at O'Hare International at 19:37 on 12 April Indiana time, a full 24 hours after departure (if all flights are on time).
Our greeting party will be able to spot us very easily, five people asleep on their feet are hard to miss!!!

The picture above is of our fourth and final presentation rehearsal at the Rotary Club of Cooma. We are pictured with Geoff Bowland (left) who gave the vote of thanks and presented the team with certificates of appreciation.

The team is now well rehearsed and confident that we'll provide D6540 clubs with an informative overview of who we are, what we do and what we would like to gain from our Group Study Exchange.

We are looking forward to seeing you all very soon.