There were snacks, a wine bar, and enough countries represented to have a pretty impressive sampling of the globe. The mayor and "mayoress" (mayor's wife) greeted everyone, and the mayor put on the ceremonial robes and was a great sport about letting us foreign kids take pictures of him in the regalia.
Mayor and mayoress:
You'll be so proud: I was asked to give the "token of praise" speech on behalf of the students. Usually it's a prepared baby-speech, and I only found out about it at the event, so it was perhaps a little shorter than usual. Like an infant-speech. :)
Colin Daines, the Rotarian here who helps organize speaking schedules for Rotarian scholars, graciously chauffeured me to the Towne Hall and snapped a pic of my minute of fame.
Famous!
All students who attended toured the Towne Hall with a Rotarian guide who told us all about how representation works at the town level, and we even got to sit in the mayor's chair. Sadly there is no evidence of this, so you'll just have to trust me. Jonathan, the other Rotarian scholar who's from Cananda, and I met, and I think he'll be a fun person to attend speaking events with. Mike Poole stopped by for a little while and made fun of my swollen ankle. This is not a place you come for sympathy, and it's a good thing he has Gill to balance him out. (I know you're reading this, Mike!)
After the reception, Colin (we're all strictly first names here), drove me home via MCDONALD'S! Sure, it's a a stereotype, but, let's be honest, short of Chick Fil A, which doesn't exist here, McD's has the best french fries. We had a great time with our North American food talking sports movies and families and planning Colin and his wife's future trip to the U.S. And being treated to a double cheeseburger and diet Coke was an awesome surprise!
More later!
Abby
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