Thursday May 13, 2010

Today we left our Host families in Klaipeda and headed for our first stop - LCC University in Klaipeda.  We received a brief tour of the University, an overview, and discussion with the University President.  He happens to be from Colorado so language was no problem.  LCC is rather new, has an enrollment of 600 students, 21 of whom are from different countries.  The faculty is volunteer or "borrowed" from other institutions and typically stay no more than 1 year.  This is a different concept.  Students live in dorms and cook for one another rather than go to a dining hall.  Courses are taught in english.  There is 1 classroom bldg., 1 dorm on campus and 1 off campus, and a recreation hall, with plans to build more facilities.   By coincidence we ran into a staff member and her husband who are from Lancaster Co., Pa.  They are from the same town, Manheim, as some of our Team members.  Small world!!!!
We then went a short distance to Master Foods, also known as MARS, Inc. where they make pet food.  We received a detailed overview of the history of the plant in Klaipeda, the Co. philosophy and operations.  They have been trained extensively in "Lean process" and the work of Demming, and are implementing those principles with help of people from Toyota.  We were impressed with their knowledge of process management and implementation of an open plant philosophy.  We got a tour of the plant where several varieties of the foods are made - mostly cat food.  Due to the heat, smell, and visual effects we cut our tour a bit short.
On to the Pazaislis Camaldolese Monestery just east of Kaunas.  It is a beautiful old monestery originally built by monks but now inhabited by the Sisters of St. Casimir.  We received a tour and history of the buildings and yard.  It is in the process of being restored.  See http://www.pazaislis.org/ for more details.

Next we went to a nice restaurant/conference center part way between Kaunas and Vilnius to meet the Dipolis Rotary Club for dinner and presentation.  They are a new Club, made up of very young men - probably the youngest average age anywhere in the world..  It grew out of a Rotaract Club, and is the first CLub to have done so.  Very nice dinner, good conversation, presentation and exchange of banners.  They exude an energy rare in most Rotary Clubs. They have several initiatives underway, one of which is a Leadership Project for young people. I received some written information on it and may seek cooperative relationships with them on this project when I get back home.

After dinner we left in separate cars for our host homes in and around Vilnius.  It has been a long day with alot of driving but worthwhile experiences!

Wednesday, May 5th, 2010

Saturday, May 15, 2010

District Conference Day!
We met in Vilnius to organize for the one hour drive to Kaunas and the Conference.  We arrived at Hotel Royale in time for lunch.  While the conference participants started their lunch, we quickly set up our presentation and put our favors (Snyders pretzel and snack bags) on their chairs.  We enjoyed a delicious lunch and went up for last minute instructions before our presentation.  The presentation went well and we received positive comments about it from several participants.
After the presentation, the ladies on the Team and some of our hosts went downtown to see what shops might be open.  They say some historical sights and took some great photos.  The conference was well organized and run. Many of the slides were in English so I could follow the gist of what was going on.
On to dinner at 6:00 pm with live music.  By chance, we ran into a Foreign Exchange Student from Jacksonville, Fl.  She was so excited to speak to Americans that we invited her to join us for dinner.  She'll be going home in 3 months but has had a really good experience in Lithuania.
After dinner we left for the Castle at Krakai - a beautiful old castle in the middle of a lake.  It is pictured on almost all PR materials from Lithuania.  It is beautiful!  We were even able to get a few night photos to turn out!  The mosquitoes and late hour forced us to leave for our host homes.
On to the airport tomorrow and home.  Saying goodbye will be a little sad for us.

Submitted by Warren

Wednesday May 12th

Our day started out with a tour around the city of Klaipeda.  We got to see many historic buildings and some small shops.  Pictured in the background is an old warehouse.

From there we visited the Kursiu Nerijos National Park, one of 5 parks in the country, and the Curonian Spit.  The Curonian Split is located along the Baltic Sea, half the split belongs to Lithuania and the remainder to Russia.  We visited the Great Sand Dunes, the Dunes are made up of spectacular ravines formed by strong winds and sand, grassy flora, and the old fragments of the forest soil. 

We then walked around the city of Nida (located on the Curonian Split), stopping for lunch along the way.

Our final destination was the Beach, which according to some is the second most beautiful beach in the world.  Here we enjoyed walking in the Baltic water and looking for small pieces of Amber. 

-Krystal-

Tuesday May 11, 2010

Our second day in Lithuania!  It will be hard to top last night's dinner and water park. 
After breakfast with our host families we went to a place called Grutas Park near Druskininkai.  The park ws created by a private individual to tell the story of the Soviet occupation of Lithuania.  Statues and various artifacts from all over Lithuania were brought here to help describe this tragic time in Lithuanian history.  We took a self-guided tour using an audio device that explained what was involved in each display.  There were statues of Marx, Lenin, Stalin and many Soviet leaders who dramatically affected the lives of so many Lithuanians for years to come.  The various displays told about the period leading to the occupation, life under Soviet rule, indoctrination of the Lithuanian people, deportation of thousands to Siberian work and re-education camps, and the killing of hundreds of thousands of people who did not bend to Soviet rule.
The museum was criticized by a few people, but is the most widely visited museum in Lithuania.  It is intended to factually tell the story of that period of history, and it left a dramatic impression on all of us.  We learned alot about life in Lithuania during those times.

  Our Interpreter who spent a day and a half with us.  She is a 12th year student who is studying for her final exams.

                           

We said goodbye to our host families and after lunch took off on a very luxurious bus to the city of Klaipida on the Baltic Sea.  It is a beautiful seaside city of about 200,000 people.  We arrived at the Rotary Club meeting place just in time for dinner.  Three area Rotary Clubs were represented as well as the Rotaract Club.  One of the Rotary Clubs here is made up of women only and the other two are men only.  They are cooperating on several projects now which demonstrates true Rotary spirit.  We gave our presentation with the aid of an interpreter, exchanged banners and gifts and enjoyed yet another delicious dinner.

Guess who is in this picture!

We met our host families and went off to get acquainted and ready for a great day at the beach tomorrow.

Submitted by Warren

Monday May 10th

It is off to Lithuania and time to begin our last week of our GSE adventure.  We have learned alot about Denmark, it's culture and people in the short time we've been here and have enjoyed it thoroughly.

After a relatively uneventful (though Megan wouldn't necessarily agree as her checked luggage was a wee bit too heavy - Darn where is that scale??) train ride and flight we arrived in Vilnius, capital of Lithuania.  We were met by the Rotary Club members led by Simonas Petrulis and a bus was waiting to take us to our first city - Druskininkai.  It took about an hour and a half to get there.  We discovered that this city was established as a spa area many years ago due to the mineral water found there.  It was believed to have medicinal powers and thus was sought after by many european people.  We enjoyed a delicious meal of beef or fish and the great company of our Rotary Club hosts.

We were then treated to a visit to the indoor water park and spa located there.  It is an amazing multi-level complex of pools, slides, tubes, wave pools, steam rooms, saunas, spas, etc, etc, etc.  A true aqua playground for kids and adults alike.  A year-round ski area is in the process of being built so this is fast becoming a major resort for all of Europe.  We certainly enjoyed our time there!

submitted by Warren

Sunday May 9th

Today was another day that we did individaul activities.  In Denmark, many shops and activities are closed on Sunday except those open primarily for tourists.  You could find some shops and cafes and restaurants that we serving customers.

We met as a Team for breakfast to discuss plans for taking the train to the airport the next morning, getting our flight, last minute baggage weight checks, etc.  (Someone carried their hand scale all the way from home then went to share it with the group and discovered it was left in our last host home!!!  Gee Warren, I wonder who did that??!!)

Some of the Team went to Tivoli after hearing about it from their Teammates who went yesterday.  At least one person spent the day reading and resting and getting some individual time.  Another pair traveled around sightseeing in different areas.

After arranging our seats for tomorrow's flight, I grabbed the camera and headed to the Kastellette - Fortress nearby.  Then on to the dock area and saw the Royal Yacht with the Danish flag flying indicating that the Royal family was aboard.  Finding your way Copenhagen is easy by foot, or bike and there are beautiful old buildings to photograph.  Also, as other Team members discovered, there are lovely parks like the botanical gardens and Kings Garden to discover.  It is easy to see why people like living in and visiting Copenhagen.

Submitted by Warren