May 2012

Saturday the 26th

This post will cover the entire month of May (so hard to believe it is almost June!), since I have been working nearly every day to wrap up my research project and finally have some spare time to provide updates. On the first Tuesday in May, I gave my 32nd Rotary presentation to the Hamilton Club, which is in a suburb of Brisbane. Several of the members had been to the U.S., so I enjoyed hearing about their travels and perspectives on differences between Australia and America. The major fundraiser organized by this club along with a few others is the Brisbane Rotary Art Spectacular, which features Australian artists and raises money through art sales and admission to see the display. $130,000 of artwork was sold this year, and nearly $70,000 was raised for Rotary service projects. This art show demonstrates how Rotary clubs can successfully fundraise through non-traditional means, unlike sausage sizzles and raffle ticket selling.

The following week, I presented to the Rotaract Club of South Brisbane (not to be confused with my dear Rotaract of South-West Brisbane). I had met several members of the South Brisbane club through social and Rotary-related events, so they thought it would be good for me to do a formal presentation. The South Brisbane Rotaractors had also organized the fundraiser dinner and trivia night I attended in April. That week, I also scheduled several speaking engagements in Pittsburgh so that I can share highlights from my scholarship period after returning home.

On the weekend of 18 May, I joined six of my friends from Rotaract for another camping trip. This time, we traveled about 2.5 hours northeast to Inskip Point (just across from Fraser Island) and set up our camp on the beach, which was a first for me. The seaside weather and crashing waves were refreshingly pleasant and set a relaxed mood for the weekend. That evening, we caught up with each other and sat around our campfire; we also made s’mores with marshmallows and graham crackers sent over from the U.S. (my thoughtful mom mailed marshmallows). You may ask, why from the U.S.? First, Australian marshmallows are small, too sweet, covered in too much powder (I guess powdered sugar), and come in some strange flavors. Second, there is not a substitute here for graham crackers. On Saturday, we went for a drive on the beach to the end of Inskip Point to look across the water and see Fraser Island. In addition to mandating that all beaches are public and free, many of Australia’s beaches are also open to 4WD vehicles.

We then drove a bit south, through some rainforest, and out to Double Island Point, where we walked up a track to an outlook area and then to the lighthouse.

Afterwards, I went swimming because the ocean water was still reasonably warm even though the air temperate in Southeast Queensland had been gradually cooling down; the Queenslanders thought the water was too cold. We also had a nice lunch on the beach and then drove on Rainbow Beach, which is named for the array of impressive colored sands that abut the ocean.

Sand dunes in the distance Close-up of colored sand dunes

That night, we made damper in a cast iron pot and roasted potatoes on hot coals from the fire to accompany the rest of our meal. I’m so pleased that we could all arrange this trip before I ran out of time and hope to camp with these friends when I visit Australia again.

During this month, my abstract was accepted by the Australian Society of Medical Research, so I prepared a research poster for the conference on 30 May. In doing so, I reviewed all of my data and organized my work and conclusions into a presentation for my lab group as well as a final research report for Penn State Medical School. This report will allow me satisfy certain requirements that the School has for its graduates. I have also been preparing my final Rotary report, which covers some of my experiences and observations and answers seven key questions developed by the Rotary Foundation. I will make sure to post this report to this website once it is complete (see the June page); you can also send me an email so I can send it to you directly. In the section of my report where I discuss differences between Australia and the U.S., I address the topic of student loans because the U.S. Congress is currently debating whether to double interest rates on Stafford loans (federal student loans). Doubled interest rates would make repayment even more arduous and likely prevent capable students from pursuing higher education. The forgiving student loan system in Australia is vastly different and can be summed up in three points: 1) student loans are interest-free; 2) loan repayment is not required until a graduate earns more than approximately $47,000; 3) if a graduate pays back the loan sooner than requested, the total amount due is decreased.

This past week, I had the exceptional opportunity to attend a dinner in Brisbane for Rotary International President, Kalyan Banerjee,who is from India. The dinner was held at the Woolloongabba Stadium (aka The Gabba), where cricket and Australian rules football are played.

Kalyan was in Australia for just a few days after the Rotary International Conference in Bangkok and has several close acquaintances in the area, so the local Rotary districts (including my host district 9600) put on a dinner with several speeches and entertainment. In addition to catching up with Rotarians whom I have met through many visits to various D9600 clubs, two other notable guests at the dinner were Past Rotary International Presidents Glen Kinross and Sir Clem Renouf, who initiated the campaign to eradicate polio; this campaign is presently called End Polio Now and is co-funded by the World Health Organization, UNICEF, CDC, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

I personally met Kalyan and had a short chat with him about my experiences during the scholarship period and future goals. In response, he commended my accomplishments and goals but importantly emphasized the need to launch more Rotaract clubs and encourage more young people to join the organization so that Rotary objectives can be maintained through invigorating new programs that will adjust to global events and promote peace.

Kalyan’s after-dinner speech was a treat to hear and focused on his theme for the year, “reach within to embrace humanity,” by emphasizing how Rotary projects prevent conflict and build peace by providing basic living needs, like housing, food, clean water, education, critical medical procedures, and vaccinations. He told several stories related to polio, which was especially fitting because India was declared to be polio free for 12 months this past February, and India previously had one of the highest incidences of polio in the world. Kalyan also described meetings with the Afghani and Pakistani presidents to discuss how Rotary can help citizens of those countries and how providing aid can cut across both past and current conflicts. Since Rotarians are a trusted group of knowledgeable people who are respected in their local communities, Rotary is the best conduit for building peace through service projects as well as goodwill through new acquaintances.