Thank You All For Being Patient

I know that our team has a reputation to manage. I am having difficulties in getting an Internet Connection to post a blog. Sometimes, organizing for the post is getting tougher. Just to keep you updated on what's happening, we have just finished our mid tour break at Laughlin, Nevada. We stayed at the Colorade Belle, a casino and a hotel on the banks of the Colorado River. It was amazing. We found time to unwind and time to plan for a few things after the break. But the time we spent together brought us more closer together. It was just like when we went to Chennai for getting our Visas.

Presently we are all set into our host families at Anthem, Peoria and Surprise and are getting ready for the next round of the GSE to begin. I am so sorry I am unable to load any photographs at this stage as I am not working on my laptop. Promise to return with more fun and serious stuff in my next post, in a couple of days of time. During the break, I had the time to jot down a few thoughts of mine and put together a few pictures. Unfortunately, I am not being successful in posting it. Having some problems with the pictures getting transferred to the blog. I am figuring it out as to how it should go. Once done, you will find more pictures and more material to think about.

My next post will be about our vocational visits and how we made use of those to suit to our needs. Await that. I am sure you will appreciate that too!!!

The Conquistadors of The Cathedral Rock of Sedona

It was 5 AM in the morning. My alarm bell rang off "ting ting ting" in the characteristic ring tone that I am not yet used to. I woke up and then said I will sleep for another five minutes and dozed off sitting. The door then went Knock Knock Knock. I wake up again and see the time is five thirty. I knew by intution that it was our Team Leader, beloved Uppi Sir. I open the door and there he was smiling.

The first thing he told me was "I slept till now today!" I was happy for him as he was not yet out of his Jet Lag and was finding it difficult to catch sleep. We had strategized the previous night that if he ate something at nine in the night just before going to sleep, he might catch some sleep and Voila!! It had worked. Then he reminded me that I have to go to Jeanette's place for the hiking trip. I knew! And I was looking forward for it. Had he not come to wake me up, I would have probably missed it!!

Jeanette and the girls were waiting for me when I reached their home. Umesh was also ready and we all set out for our trekking trip. Jeanette led the group. She drove us to the spot where the trail for trekking begins and we began the hike. Given below is the photograph that gives you a hint or two about the heights we were set to scale.

We began the hike. Initially the trail was easy and we set off at an easy pace. The approach to the rock was well laid out and the trail was clearly set off. We saw a lot of other people also coming along the trail. In Sedona, this is a great way to begin the day. Hike the rocks, take a shower and go to office and get your work done. Know what! If you get stuck you can call for a helicoptor to take you down and rescue you! Of course, that would be a very expensive hike. Jeanette, host to Namratha and Sushma was very encouraging and cheerful. We were super bowled by her enthusiasm. Here is how she was on the hiking trip. Can you believe she has a teenage daughter??!!??

After a few initial paces, we all felt that it was going to be easy and alright. We felt strong, confident, energetic and ready for the challenge. After all, GSE is about facing challenges. After all, Cathedral Rock was just another rock. If a thousand million humans have hiked along, we could do so too. After all, we were human beings. After filling our hearts with all these emotions, we decided to conquer the heights in front of us. This is how we felt at that time.

Easier said than done. As we went further, things changed. The plain trail began to give way to a rocky one and the slope began increasing. The challenge now was different and it was serious. If we dont take it, we have to go back and going back is not the GSE way. At this point of time, the team work kicked in. We not only pulled ourselves to get the job done, but were also on the constant look out for team members. We took care that no one was left behind because they were slow. Jeanette was the fastest. She knew the trail of the hike and was agile. She was our path maker and we were her pace breakers. She was really sweet and understanding. She kept on encouraging us. We began running short of breath. Sushma showed us how to breathe as we went up. Jeanette showed us how to use our toes and get foot holds. Umesh learned quickly and was ready to hold hands if needed. I was at the tail end looking out for people who might slip. This was not planned. It just happened. We were able to intuitively understand the needs of the team and occupied respective positions. Take a look at this photograph and you will understand it all. We had lost some of our strength and the rocks loomed high. We had lots of energy left still, but were now aware that we had to conserve it to face the challenges of going up hill. It was then that Umesh pointed out, that more energy is needed when getting down the hill, as we wont be able to hold on to anything and might have to control our pace using our legs and hands. We listened and as it sunk into our heads, we knew we had to perform. Mentally, we all made a note of the point and began to conserve energy. Well! What does this really mean, in a practical sense. First, we began looking around before we had a new height to scale. We figured out where the footholds were and the easiest way of getting on top of the height. Second, we communicated down the line as to how we need to climb. Jeanette was usually the leader who would show us the easiest path as she was an experienced climber. Umesh and Sushma followed suit and were quickly on top. They communicated to Namratha who would then configure her climb and finally I would follow suit behind Namratha in such a way that if she slips I was right behind to stop the fall. Cool! Huh! Jeanette waited till all of us were on top and then would point out the next challenge. Sometimes the rocks were steep and sometimes they were slopy and sometimes there were narrow crevices that acted as foot holds. We scaled the entire rock till the end of the trail this way. The adjacent picture shows the trail that we took up the rocks.

Did I say, the end of the trail! Sorry!! The trail did not end, but it took a different form. Now the trail was vertical. It had only changed its direction. What do I mean? Take a look at the two pictures below and you will understand. The one on the left is the one that shows the trail and the one on the right shows how much we need to achieve. We thought it was too dangerous for us to take the vertical climb as none of us were professionally trained for the same. So! Here we were at the end of the trail, at the top of the peak of a rock formation in Sedona. What are we supposed to do now? Write a blog?

















We enjoyed ourselves. This is how we did it. We cheered and did some exciting things. Below are photographs of our fun and descent from the red rock formation called Cathedral Rock. It might be of interest to know that there is a theory about the rocks that is going on in Sedona. It is believed that Sedona has four "vortexes" which are "cosmic or spiritual energy hubs" which increase the spiritual understanding of a person. Cathedral rock is one of such vortexes. It is also interesting to note that about 4% of the visitors to Sedona area come for this reason. For a town that attracts about four million tourists in a year, 4% is a very huge number. Sedona's Chamber of commerce must give this fact a second thought.


The following points are our learnings and for you to ponder.

1. Plan ahead and see what resources you need to get your goals achieved.
2. Always have an experienced leader to show you the path.
3. Play in the team and figure out how to get your tasks achieved.
4. Stick to the team, always and for ever.
5. Give space for the each member to understand and configure how to get to the next level.
6. Know when to stop.
7. Take time to enjoy and celebrate your achievements.
8. Have a back up plan ready.

That's about the size of the fun we had two days ago. If you are thinking that all we are doing is doing presentations and having fun alone, you are utterly wrong. Wait till my next post. I will tell you how a GSE Team can touch the lives of people. Oh yeah! Some of you will think that I am bragging. You bet I am!!

More Nature Photos

Nature - Beautiful and Suave

Honored to Meet

Today, the 18th of April 2010, will remain a memorable day for all of us in the GSE Program as we met a very senior Rtn. Raymond, who was the Past District Governor of Dist 5490. He was in a health care home, suffering from some heart related problem. We took the opportunity to meet him in Prescott on our visit this day.

Raymond has been in the Navy and served for thirty years before he retired and came down to Rotary. It was nice listening to him explaining how Navy leadership was completely different from Rotary leadership. He told us that he enjoyed both the careers and his Rotary career was very satifying as he got an opportunity to meet several people from various countries and continents.

"It is interesting to participate in the process of International Peace and Harmony. Now that I have met you and spoke to you, I have met India. I am so happy that you all came and took time out of your busy schedule to see me. Have a nice trip here. Have fun!" These were the parting words of the wise Rotary Leader to our team. Above are some photos from the visit.

We met the Australian GSE Team in the morning. We also met our GSE Team Member to India Dist 3190 Matt. He was with us as we visited the Sharlott Hall Meuseum in Prescott and had lunch with us. Here are the photos that I have got on my camera of Matt and the Australian team.

It was fun meeting them and talking to them. We exchanged some great friendship during the day. Await my next post. I promise I will give you something that will make you green with J!!

Until Then, Have Fun!!

Our First Presentation!

We have come to the USA with a single mission! To build bridges of friendship. We were told that we were the cultural and vocational ambassadors of our country in the USA and in the state of Arizona. It was told to us in our orientations that we were to "Expect the Unexpected". We were given critical feedback of our presentations and were made to redo it to suit the goals of the GSE program. A large part of our discussion during our weekly meetings went on into the presentation and what should be done with it. After all this, we were at last ready to GO LIVE.

The 13th of April 2010 was the day chosen for our first presentation. The venue was Estrella Mountain Rotary Club and we were to make the presentation after lunch at the venue. The morning program on that day was a vocational visit to Macy's Operations and Logistics Center. We completed the visit and were there at Lucy's office early and we tried to rehearse the presentation within the time available to us. Everyone of us was nervous. Me and Dr. Upendra were able to rehearse our portions and while Namratha was half way through the rehearsal, we were asked to wind up as time was ticking.

We took our laptops, packed our bags and got into the van that was designated to us. Lucy and Deb were accompanying us and they were constantly pepping us up and telling us that we would do well. "Dont Worry! It will all be fine!" was what they were saying till we reached the venue. As we reached Estrella Mountain Community College, where the club was located, Namratha, Sushma and Umesh had completed looking into their parts and had rehearsed their portions in the van itself.

In no time we were in the venue. As we entered the hall where we were supposed to give the presentation, the first thing that struck me was the gigantic screen which was set up for us to give the presentation. We were introduced to Dave who was the tech guy who did the setup and he asked us to get the presentation ready on our thumb drive so that he could copy it onto the computer and we could get started. Dave also helped us setup the start and the end slides in accordance with the clubs requirements.

People began coming in and we were meeting them. The President of the club informed us that Lucy was introducing us that day and then we had the floor to ourselves. He said we could take our time to finish, but indicated that fifteen to twenty minutes would be ideal. There we were! Sitting at our tables and showing off calmness and composure, but within we were as nervous as a lost toddler. No one ate lunch even when it was offered. And then the hour came.

Lucy introduced us to the group. Then Dr. Upendra opened the presentation, followe by me, Namratha, Umesh and Sushma. Finally our Team Leader Dr. Upendra concluded the presentation.

Folks let me tell you! It was an amazing job. We executed our plans correctly and recieved a lot of appreciation. I could tell that the praise we were getting was not for the sake of courtesy. Some people walked up to us and appreciated us. They told us that we not only did our parts well, but we were amazing as a team. Lucy really liked the way we divided the portions that we wanted to talk. Many of them liked the way we handed the stage over to the next team member. They were all enquiring about how we prepared, who suggested us to do this way. When we told them that we figured that out on our own, they were surprised.

Some of the Rotarians told us that some other members who missed the presentation would join on the 15th April 2010. Our hosts were appreciative too. We created our first impression and had set the expectations of people. If there were some who thought we had just come there to spend time, they now had second thoughts. They were aware of the effort that went into the preparatory part. Many of them had told us, "It never looked like you were presenting for the first time!"

In the evening, we all met at Augie's at our reception dinner. There too people came up to us and told us that they have heard about our presentation. They said, they were planning to bring themselves and some family members to take a look at our presentation and learn from it. We were honored. All that we had done for the past three to four months time - Planning, Designing, Redesigning, Researching, Getting strong feedback from Rotarians, etc., all was fruitful that day. We all forgot completely all that pain we had undergone and basked in the glory of our effort.

There were two lessons that I had personally learnt from this. I am stating them below for you to ponder and comment upon.

1. Hard work pays. One has to have the patience till then.
2. Its the team that matters.

But then, the task ahead of us now is more difficult. We have shown people what we are capable of. And we have the responsibility to keep that image. As SpiderMan says "With great power comes great responsibility". We have shown our power, we have to now own up responsibility and deliver. We promise that we will do our best to make this trip a successful one.

And if you are thinking we are not having fun, wait till my next post!!

More Photos Of the Arizona State for You!!

The Classic Pristine Skies of Arizona

I thought of posting about our first presentation and how it went on, but I am just waiting for Umesh's photograph to be downloaded to my computer. I could not click his photograph as I was helping him change the slides, as planned earlier. I got Uppi Sir's camera today, but couldnt get the photo out because his battery died down. We have to now get his battery charged and our first presentation experience has to wait. I am sure, you all want to see more of Arizona Nature. Well here are some photos that we took during the visit to Williams Family Ranch on the first day after we checked out from the Hotel.

Me and Umesh stayed with Deb Morgaina. In the past six days of our stay I should say that she has become our foster mother in the USA. The care that she took to ensure we feel comfortable is amazing. I should say I am lucky to enjoy such care in a country that is foriegn. Deb, Me and Umesh prepared and packed some breakfast for the Williams Family Ranch tour on 12th April 2010. We left home early so that we can reach the Ranch on time. The catch was that, we had to drive through several miles of what are known as "Flash Flood Areas" that are also known as "Catches" locally. Vince Evans who was our official tour guide planned the tour in such a way that in case of a shower, we do not get stuck in a catch. The picture above is Deb's home. Its huge and its simple. Its modern and its humble. Just like Deb!!

On the way to the ranch me and Umesh had a very exciting conversation with Vince about various things. We discussed right from geology, minerology, bio diversity, indian reservations or native american reservation, water projects, roads and signals, etc., etc., etc., We both bombarded Vince with questions and he was patient and kind enough to answer all our questions. Vince is a guy with great knowledge about many things. He gave Umesh at the beginning of the tour an Atlas and asked him to navigate the team to their destination. Umesh got to learn the skill of map reading and navigation with Vince's help. Another great thing I have to mention about Vince. He watched me taking lots of pictures and he went out and bought me and Umesh books on Arizona landscapes and geology and presented it to us today at Lucy's potluck. Folks, this can happen only in Rotary. We are honored to gain such friendship.

We had a fabulous panoramic view of the Arizona's desert land. Following are some of the photographs that I took on the way of the desert. Take a look and enjoy.


If you are thinking that all we did at the Ranch we clicking pictures, you are wrong. We spoke to Mr. Williams about the life at the Ranch. Its amazing how they live. They raise cattle at the Ranch. They have to ensure that the cattle gets fed properly and doesnt stray away onto other properties. The cattle has to be treatd in case of medical emergencies and also has to be protected from people who might kill and steal them away. Williams Family Ranch doesnt make any dairy products, but sells calves to meet their economic needs. We asked Mr. Williams if he made a decent amount of money!! His answer was, he was not running the ranch for money, but because of the life style that it offers him. He said he was self sufficient and can do what he wants to do. He also told us that he spends time with his grand children more than anyone else that he knows of does. You can see Mr. Williams in the adjacent pictures with the full green shirt and bluc colored jeans pant. Also visible to the naked eye is his 20mm pistol. When asked why he carried a gun, he siad it was to signal his dogs. The following is the message from Mr. Williams.

You work hard today. If you cant get all the work done, there is always a tomorrow. And if there is not tomorrow, you dont get it done anyway.

Hey Guys!

You are having fantastic time. You are lucky that you have great friends like Jeff and Lucy. I am very very glad that you are all enjoying.

GSE program itself is all about having fun while learning new things and making lots and lots of new friends. Go all out, share your views and knowledge and make everyone you meet happy as well. Nice to know that your presentations are making people interested in India. Keep it up.

Cheers

Manjunath Shetty

GSE Chair- RID 3190

How we really began?

Well! The last post didnt tell much about how we all began. We arrived in Phoenix at around 7:55 in the night on 9th of April. And as soon as we were there, Deb (Right of Dr.Upendra), David(Right of Deb) and Paul (Right of Rajesh) and Jeff (GSE Team member of USA - By the way he is taking the photograph) were there with friends to pick us up. They all stowed us into a van with a lot of food and water and took us to Residence Inn, a beautiful hotel.

We were checked into the hotel and we knew we had to spend a day and a half there before we met our hosts. This was time for rest. We all went to our rooms, unpacked a few essentials, ate what food was given us and went to bed. The next day morning was beautiful. I got up early and went on a photo walk. Some of the pictures can be found in the previous post. The morning was beautiful and refreshing. We had seen the previous night that the hotel was managed by Mr. Kalpesh Patel an Indian. We met Mr. Kalpesh and his beautiful wife Bhavana at breakfast and had a pleasant chat with them. We found them very interesting and lively. They had other chores for the day and therefore left. We didnt meet them till the next day! Such is the nature of their work.

Jeff came to meet us and take us to the base ball game. Base ball is very famous in America as Cricket is in India. Jeff met us at the hotel and took us to the base ball game. But before that, we had to do some shopping for electronic items and some books, so he took us to Wal Mart and from there took as to A J Foods, which specializes in variety of food. We had our lunch there and started towards the Stadium. A word here about Jeff is not out of place. If any person in the world can be given credit for the energy that he possesses, its Jeff. Very helpful, very modest, and a very nice person to be with. He spoke to us with great enthusiasm and helped us understand various parts of the game. He was with us in the stadium throughout, then took us out to Macayo's (A Mexican Restaurant) for dinner and helped us back to the hotel. All the while he was so enthusiastic and had never had a drop in his energy level. That is Jeff for you. Thank you Jeff, for being there with us! We look forward for a long association with you.

After the lunch, we all went to the base ball stadium called the Ballpark. It was a great stadium and a great game. Initially we had difficulty in understanding it, but finally we got the hang of it. We cheered and jeered with the crowd and had a ball. We also met the Australian Team and said hello to each other. The game was between Diamond Backs and Pirates and the D Backs are the favorites as they are the Arizona team. We are going to witness a second match during our stay and all of us are looking forward to it. As Sushma says "Lets Go Diamond Backs Lets Go". Hope they win the game atleast next time (which obviously means that they lost the one we saw)!!
As rajinikant says "Kannaaa!! Its all in the game!"

We came back to the hotel and had a refreshing sleep for the night. The next day morning also was a very pleasant one. We all went out for a walk and had fun. We clicked some good photographs of the nature and each other and planned for the day and week ahead. We had received copies of the latest itenerary from Don and were looking forward for a great time ahead. We discussed a lot of things during our walk. Presentation strategies, general behavior, general state of affairs in the usa, comaprison with india and other known asian countries, etc., and finally decided that India should dominate the world. We tried to figure out a few world domination strategies, but kept them for later as more important things need to be finalized for the day.

Bhavana and Kalpesh met us and gave us some compliments as we stayed in their hotel. They also made us meett their crew, and helped us understand the process of satisfaction of customers.The couple are very warm and invited us repeatedly to stay longer. They also offered to cook some Indian food for breakfast, when we said no. We met their wonderful crew while they were training them to be customer centric. The crew was not only well trained I.

Deb came and picked us up and took us to another restaurant for lunch. After lunch we met with a lot of rotarians and planned for the next day. So! This is all about the whole thing.

Nature is lovely everywhere!

I took a photo walk on the early morning of 10.04.2010 (USA) and took the above photos. Nature charmed me as always. I have tried to explore a few of my photography skills.

Check them out. Comment on them. Download them for wall papers. Your wish. My pleasure.

The Real Work Begins Now!!

Everyone did their best. We met atleast fifteen times in the last five months or so for various reasons. Sometimes amidst the complaints of loved ones that we are not spending time with them on weekends and sometimes with their approval of what is going on is important enough to spend that kind of time. We haggled with time and got our say with it. We grappled with our jobs and our bosses and negotiated all that we can. What a time all this was!!

Well! The effort was worthwhile. We didnt enjoy some of it, but we did learn a lot from the whole. But, the experience has just begun. The real execution of the whole remains to be in the future. To realize all that we had done was Plan and Prepare is a bit painful, though that is exactly what the reality is. For me, I have to get used to the fact that a large part remains to be seen and experienced yet.

Packing for the travel, knowing that it is unlike what I have already undergone, getting excited sometimes that you are going to the USA, getting depressed a while because leaving loved ones behind for a while. All new experiences. Had to find new ways of handling both the ends of the spectrum.

Looking forward to rock at the US with the TEAM.