Congratulations, you are an
Outbound Rotary Friendship Exchange Team Member.
Expectations of you while on the Outbound.
You are participating in a future RFE. Congratulations, but be aware RFE is unlike a typical “vacation” experience.
Imagine the RFE coming to your town. You plan 3 days in your town. You line up details, volunteers, families, tickets, etc. A typical day may be :
9 AM meet after host provide breakfast at Inner Harbour for walking tour.
11 AM – go to museum.
Noon: Lunch at Rotarians home.
2 PM: Drive to local tourist attraction.
4 PM: Rest, maybe, at host home
6 PM : Rotary weekly meeting.
9 PM home for bed, finally!
Repeat next day.
The same thing will happen when you are there in THEIR country. The difference between this and a regular holiday is: You don’t really get “asked”, you are “told” what is happening next. The tours and schedules are not “optional”. You are not expected to say “I don’t feel like it” or “That doesn’t interest me”. In fact – some may consider it as being less than an ideal guest if you back out of planned events without good reason such as illness. Same with departing the tour early. Book flights so you can attend the ENTIRE RFE.
"A few years ago in Australia, towards the end of an RFE, the host said “Tomorrow we are going to an apple orchard and a sheep shearing farm”. I was tired and grumpy. “Ugh” I thought. But I sucked it up and attended of course. Well, both were damned terrific. Thank goodness I went – it was wonderful. " Kevin Hilgers.
As they say – We can rest when we get home.
It’s like being a Rotary Youth Exchange student. Some experiences are wonderful, some you may question.. some host families you will love, some you will be happy to never see again.. but looking back at the experience – it is priceless.
Further fun ideas for items to take:
- Country pins (from your local politician) are fun to hand out as well as maps of your region. Shop for regional souvenirs, flags, etc. after Canada Day or July 1 celebrations when these items are clearance priced. Depending on the destination small items are fun give aways for kids.
- Many clubs budget for RFE to help make the visit memorable. If your club budgets say $500 it could defray costs, hire local entertainment all Rotarians could enjoy in your community, etc. Plan an event to honour the incoming guests, invite the whole club(s) in your area. Make it an event.
- Rotarians love to swap Rotary banners. Make sure you take some.
- Rotary business cards are highly recommended.
- Gifts go a long way to not only hosts but others who contribute to the RFE. Take extras along with thank you cards.
- Getting monies from an ATM may sound easy but sometimes it's slow, and hard to find. Be prepared to take some money with you if possible. It’s not much fun wasting half a day trying to find an ATM that works for you - if you need cash. Do your homework ahead of time. For instance some banks have ATM partnerships with banks abroad for free withdrawals.
Current Chair: Linda Krahn
Rotary Club of Campbell River
LindakrahnRFEd5020@gmail.com or 250-203-5476
Effective July 1, 2019:
Chair: PDG Kevin Hilgers
Rotary Club of Victoria-Harbourside
kev@gowave.ca call or text 780-518-5672
Fax toll free 1-866-793-0952
Back to our main page: www.rotary5020.org/rfe
