The Taipei Elite Club Auction
Hey everybody, welcome to post number 3 of the postathon 2010. I figure I should give my diehard readers (hi mom) something to read while they wait for the snow to melt enough to leave the house.
I was fortunate enough to have been invited to attend another meeting of my host Rotary Club here in Taipei, the Taipei Elite Club. I felt that perhaps my previous experiences with the club had not left much of an impression on them, so I decided to bring along several bags of Pittsburgh presents, featuring several elements of the Steel City. We will get to that a little later though.
The meeting was conducted much like any other Rotary meeting, with the recital 4 Way Test and by bringing the club to order. The club song was something new to me, as my previous experiences with this particular club were held not in a hotel conference room, but rather in a restaurant owned by one of the Rotarians. Once the meeting was started, the standard procedure followed. Recognition of guests, discussion of upcoming events and arrangements, and the introduction of the guest speaker, an engineer that I believe teaches at a local university.
After the speech had concluded, I presented my gifts to the club: four bags of genuine Pittsburgh paraphernalia. A Steelers reusable shopping bag, the year’s game schedule, Sam McCool’s Pittsburghese Dictionary, several postcards showing off the city’s high points, and their very own Terrible Towel. I am well aware that there is more to the area than the Stillers, but as far as recognizable merchandise is concerned, the Steeler’s stuff is a good gift.
They auctioned off the items, with the money spent to be given to a charity to be determined later. I was honored to be the one to show off the material in each gift bag, allowing me to practice my Chinese as well. Several of the Rotarians informed me afterwards that the amount of progress I have made is impressive. Nothing quite like a little ego boost to brighten someone’s day, right?
In any case, it was a lot of fun and, with luck on my side, I will be able to attend one more meeting before I leave to head home in March.
I think I can do one more post before I call it a night, so lets try.
Alex
Also please forgive the quality of the pictures, my camera seems to be giving up the ghost, so I need to wait on the club to send me the new pictures.
