We got there just in time to find the main hall where the opening session would take place. This place is hard to describe! Its 3.9 MILLION square feet on 4 levels! One walks for miles and takes multiple escalators. We finally got into the main session room. There are so many Rotarians here (40,000?) that they do the opening ceremony twice. We attended the first session. The room is so big that you can't see the podium, its so far away it disappears below the curvature of the earth! But no problem, there are TWENTY big screens and an excellent sound system. So, even though you're a mile from the front, you can see and hear perfectly from almost anywhere.
One of the traditional opening events is the Presentation of the Flags, more than 200 countries that have Rotary clubs. Its was an interesting geography lesson - there were countries I have never heard of! Based on the cheers, it seems the biggest contingent of Rotarians, besides the USA, was Philippines, Nigeria and Taiwan.
We had an Indian lunch of a hallal which was quite good. We were seated with a woman from Australia who was in charge of her district's Youth Exchange program and a couple from Utah. At various other times during the day, we had lengthy conversations with people from Ireland, New Zealand, Canada and Kansas. (They all spoke English!)
After lunch we hiked back up to the registration to get Linda's badge fixed. Oneonta? We left there 20 years ago and have been affiliated with four Rotary clubs since! Where did they get that from?
One of the features of the Rotary International Convention is what they call the"Friendship House". It the biggest trade show you can imagine. There are hundreds of booths. Some represent a variety of Rotary groups and causes, other are just vendors peddling their wares (all good stuff!) There's an entertainment stage with live music too! And various food options around the perimeter. I had the opportunity to visit with my friends from ClubRunner ( that's the software we use for club and district websites, bulletins, and club administration). We also checked in with Kenton Lee and his "Shoes that Grow", from Nampa, Idaho.
Its fun to just watch the people. Lots of the "foreigners" wear their native garb, some of which is spectacular.
By 4:00 we had walked enough. When we got outside to get our shuttlebus back to the hotel, we discover that its sunny, 90 degrees and humid! Yuck! We had planned to go to Trader Vic's (remember them?) at the hotel, but we learned that the two hotel restaurants are closed on Sundays! What?
Dinner tonight in the hotel restaurant "Southern Elements". Crawfish Rolls!
Bill Gates speaks tomorrow morning. The we'll continue our tour of the booths - we didn't get close to seeing them all!
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