My First Official Rotary Meeting

Last night I had my first official Rotary meeting here in Texcoco with the Texcoco de Gante Club. When I was first told that their meeting started at 9:30, I thought they were joking! They weren't.

The club is the younger of the two clubs here in Texcoco and is made up of all men. Not feeling comfortable with a group of men I don't know, in a place I've never been at 9:30 at night made me a bit uptight and nervous for the first part of the gathering. Then each member kindly introduced themselves to me and each welcomed me to my new home. As the meeting went on, the server brought us beer, whiskey, vodka, tequila, soft drinks, appetizer, grilled onions and tacos...which of course I didn't mind. Little by little I began to realize that I had stepped into an informal and relaxed meeting of friends where I am welcomed and safe.

The meeting that ended at midnight went very well and I am so excited to start getting involved with the Texcoco de Gante Club which is known throughout Mexico and internationally among Rotary members for their excellent work in community service. Some of their service projects include providing wheelchairs to people in need, reforestation and conservation of important water sources, providing families with solar-powered stoves, rain water catchment systems and holding tanks (which I also worked on in Ecuador) and water purification systems. Their idea with all of these projects is to focus on building sustainable communities...right up my alley!

Tonight I have first formal meeting with the other Texcoco club, one of the oldest clubs in Mexico. I will also be stopping at the Rotaract club of Texcoco which meets Friday nights and is made up of 20-30 year olds.