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International Project of 2006/2007:
Rotaract BC Roundtrip May 11th - 21st, 2007
The Rotaract Clubs in District 5040 have come together to invite Rotaractors from all over the world to Canada's beautiful westcoast for a 10 day tour. For more details about this exciting project, please visit www.rotaractroundtrip.com.
The Tale of the BC Roundtrip by Jessica Ng
Article featured in Rotary District 5040
"Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip
That started from this" temperate port with local Rotaractors.
The organisers were scared and sure that not all will go awry.
Five delegates embarked that day for a ten day tour,
A ten day tour
"The weather started getting rough," the outdoor activities rained out,
"If not for the" zealous participants
The Roundtrip "would be lost,"
The Roundtrip "would be lost."
"The trip began on the shore" of this populated forest isle
With Naohiro,
Francis too,
Hussam and Tamara,
Maricela
And some local Rotaractors.
Here in the Lower Mainland.”
We launched the first BC Roundtrip on May 11, 2007 with the international Rotaractors: Naohiro from Japan, Tamara from Croatia, Hussam from Italy, Francis from the Philippines, and Maricela from Mexico. Here, the five delegates embarked on their adventure under the guidance of the Rotaract clubs of Richmond, Vancouver, Victoria, Tsawwassen, Langara, New Westminster, and Burnaby. Each club took the helm, steering the participants towards the best their specific city has to offer, transporting them and sheltering them through the city’s attractions and towards their next destination.
The delegates encountered the brunt of Chinese-Canadian culture in Richmond, the first stop in this whirlwind journey. Dim sum, Hong Kong-style cafes, bubble tea, gambling, and ice-skating filled the day, exposing Francis for the first time to slipping and sliding on ice. UBC took the wheel the following day as the delegates roamed the university campus, through Nitobe Garden, the Asian Centre, and the Museum of Anthropology. Serendipitously, they chanced upon a film set that planted plastic roses in the unseasonably-bloomed Rose Garden. Later, the adventurous travellers ventured onto Wreck Beach to witness the libertarian side of Vancouver.
The next day, local Rotarians whisked them away to Victoria to soak in local legislature since the sun was not available. Following the presence of the waxen Queen and Jesus Christ, the delegates attended a last supper with the Victoria Rotary Club. They eventually returned to the mainland and ascended to the peaks of Whistler, with the aid of the Tsawwassen club, where the participants braved the relatively Arctic climes as Maricela experienced snow for the first time, truly an Arctic traveller of sorts!
Descending the slopes brought the delegates into the charms of karaoke, belting their wee hearts out so it would not catch in their throats during their trek across the Capilano Suspension Bridge the following day. Led by Langara, the Rotaractors crossed onto Granville Island the day after, eventually trekking into Stanley Park with its proliferation of Canadian geese. On the final day of their journey, Burnaby and New Westminster lay siege to the delegates in a game of laser tag. Thus ends the first BC Roundtrip on the 21st of May, 2007, as international and local Rotaractors laid their weapons aside over a communal Italian dinner that even Hussam appreciated.
"So this was the tale of the" Roundtrip, the delegates stayed "for a long, long time,"
They have made the best of things, it was an uphill climb.
The organisers did "their very best,
To make the others comfortable, in the" temperate Vancouver climes.
Local calling, city lights, car pooling, such luxuries,
Like Vancouverites, as Canadian as can be.
"So join us here" next year "my friends, you’re sure to get a smile"
From five stranded delegates, here in the Lower Mainland!
Tune in Thursday, August 16th from 7:00-9:00 pm at the Anza Club for further hi jinks and misadventures with the local Rotaract's Roundtrip Fundraiser "The Rotaract Round-up!" Yeha!! Lasso some appetisers and idle away the evening with live comedic entertainment. Find out what fun and games abound as drinking and merriment is to be had partner!
All proceeds will go towards The BC Roundtrip!
-- Jessica Ng May, 2007
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