GSE visit from Australia

This years GSE team (Group Study Exchange) came from D-9520 in Australia and visited Aalborg in early September. Now in its 46th year the GSE program enables young proffesionals to travel abroad and develop cultural skills and study business life. The program is designed to develop professional and leadership skills among younger people to better prepare them to address the needs of their community and an increasingly global workplace.

Members of the six Rotary clubs of Aalborg and their spouses were invited to meet with team under relaxed conditions during Nørresundby Rotary Clubs weekly meeting. We listened with care to each of their presentations explaining the private, professional and cultural matters that in some aspects are quite different to Denmark. To myself the nature and wildlife descriptions made a lasting impression. Even though many travels can be made via television and internet stories told from the horses mouth has a certain personal credibility.

Pictured from left: Peter Burrows, Laura Dall'Acqua, Marian Lesnicki (leader),
Poul Risager (pres. of Nørresundby RC), Filomena Chirchiglia and Elizabeth Williams.

Marian, who teaches for a living, got everybody out of their seats when he played heads and tails with us. It is a coin game invented by the Australian privates who served in Europe during World War I. In the trenches they killed the endless hours of waiting with a this game. In more peaceful times it is excellent as a social icebreaker!
I volunteered to bounce an Australian football (AFL Footy) against the floor and grab it afterwards. Luckily, it didn't hit anybody in the room and with no instruction I would have needed hours of excercise.

The team has its own blog here: http://denmarkgse2011.wordpress.com/ with several posts from vocational visits to companies around Northern Jutland (D-1440).