 |
| Left to Right: Alina Kochling, Moez Yahia Bacha, Ozmara Santoyo, Aritra Ray, Yanet Rodriguez, Gabby Brand, Chiew Ee Kwong, Artem Axenov and Katharina Storck beside the Desert Road in National Park with Mt Ruapehu in the background |
Now, this may sound like
Greek to most people, so we'll give a brief explanation. A Roundtrip is
a trip organised by Rotaractors of a host country for international
Rotaractors. The focus
of these trips is to foster global Rotaract ties, do community service
and provide an authentic experience of the host country while
facilitating international friendships.
After
more than a year of planning and preparation, including hours of
gruelling Skype meetings, on December 4, 2015, New Zealand Rotaract was
ready to go! Our Rotaract delegates from Mexico,
Malaysia, Germany, France and Australia arrived in Auckland, and we all
embarked on a whirlwind journey through both the North and South
Islands of New Zealand.
We
spent the next 16 days travelling along 3,000 km of scenic New Zealand
roads, creating unforgettable memories, making lifelong friends, and at
the end of it forming our own international
Rotaract family. Over the course of the trip, we stayed in 10 cities*,
did community projects in Wellington and Dunedin, and met dozens of
amazing Rotarians. If we said the going was all easy, we would be lying,
but that’s what kept it interesting!
Before
anyone saw it coming, the trip was coming to a close. It was an
emotional day for everyone when our little Rotaract family had to go our
separate ways from Nelson. The past 16 days
had kept us so busy in the present that no one had realised it would
have to end at some point, and that we would have to say goodbye. Thus
with tears in our eyes, we boarded our flights to Auckland and
Wellington to begin the journey home.
We
went home with unforgettable memories, thousands of photographs, and
lifelong friendships and connections - the true impact of which will
resonate throughout all our individual Rotaract
circles.
Rotaract
New Zealand is ecstatic with the result of the inaugural Roundtrip, and
we have already started planning our next one, tentatively for early
2017. For further details, contact Artem
Axenov via artem.axenov1@gmail.com or +64 204 003 0372.
So what are you waiting for? Come, jump into the Rotaract-wagon …
·
Footnote:
The Rotaract NZ Roundtrip included Auckland, Tauranga, Taupo,
Wellington, Kaikoura, Christchurch, Dunedin, Queenstown, Greymouth and
Nelson.
Words: Aritra Ray and Artem Axenov, Past District Rotaract Representatives, Districts 9920 and 9940 respectively
