The last official day of GSE tour of Colorado 2009

Emma says: A momentous day for the GSE team today as we finished our last day of official duties for the GSE trip. Our only real obligations today were to the Redlands Rotary Club for lunch, where we enjoyed our last presentation and some fabulous company.

Outside of that, we had the day to spend as we wish, which meant shopping in the morning followed by a bit of R&R in the form of bowling this afternoon, dinner at a local brew pub called Rockslide for dinner and then attending the Colorado Pro-Rodeo Association Finals this tonight.

So this is the end of our Colorado experience... We’ve driven across, alongside and through the Rocky Mountains, and we’ve rafted the Colorado River. We’ve travelled by planes, trains, and loads of automobiles. We’ve eaten the best that Colorado has to offer in fabulous Palisade peaches and Rocky Ford melons, and the worst in Rocky Mountain oysters. And we’ve eaten A LOT of Mexican food! We sampled many of the wonderful brews made in Colorado and some of the wine.

We mingled with celebrities in Telluride and then became self-proclaimed celebrities, gracing the front pages of many local newspapers and even appearing on a local radio station! Between us we’ve seen a bear, a skunk, some coyotes, and loads of deer and prairie dogs. We attended a film festival, 2 rodeos, and celebrity fly fishing tournament. We’ve fished (badly) and bowled (badly – for the most part). We made friendships within the team and within Colorado that I hope will last longer than the extra kilos I am carrying home!

I can’t speak for the team but this trip has definitely impacted on my life already. There is no doubt the vocational visits I’ve had here will influence my future career, and I have met some wonderful people and seen some amazing things in a place I may have not otherwise visited. The GSE program is truly a jewel in Rotary’s crown, and we are all very lucky to have been a part of this trip.

Words can’t express our gratitude to those we have met during our time in Colorado. Our host families, vocational counterparts, and everyone else who have taken time out to make our stay memorable, have all been brilliant. I have been constantly amazed at the lengths to which people would go to help us out and make things happen.

So as the GSE team head our own separate ways, we say a big thank you to Colorado and District 5470 for hosting us on this amazing experience. As Mandy says in her presentation, we believe we live in the best address on the planet, but after the experiences of the past 5 weeks, Colorado definitely ranks a close second!