Aloha & Bienvenidos!

2005 was a busy year. In addition to completing a master's thesis, starting a new job, and having the most amazing (and complicated) wedding I could have imagined, I was also awarded a 2006 Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship to study Geography at the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo in Mendoza, Argentina. Now that I am am starting to get my bearings here in the southern hemisphere, I have started a little blog to keep you updated on my experiences during my year as an Ambassadorial Scholar.

The Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship Program started as a vision of Rotary's founder, Paul Harris. He dreamed of a program that sponsored graduate students to study in foreign nations, acting as ambassadors between their home and host countries, promoting international understanding and friendly relations. His vision became a reality, and the Ambassadorial Scholarship Program is currently the largest privately funded scholarship program in the world. Since 1947, approximately 37,000 men and women have studied in more than 70 different countries as Rotary Ambassadorial scholars.

This year, there are over 850 ambassadorial scholars studying around the world, 89 scholars in Latin America, and 13 in Argentina. I certainly feel lucky to be one of them. There are a number of scholars in Buenos Aires, but so far, I have been alone here in Mendoza. However, starting in July, I will have a bit of company as another scholar will be coming to Mendoza all the way from Japan. And I thought I came a long way!