Plane Ride #1

I spent my last day at home hanging out with my mom. We packed & talked, ran errands, packed some more, cleaned house a bit, talked, packed & talked some more, picked up my daughter, and finished packing. The final hug was a good one.

The goodbye with my kids & husband was a little more intense. When I hugged the kids for the last time I whispered in their ears that they should go out for ice cream... with all the fixings. It's a poor bandage, but sugar and chocolate really do wonders for our hearts sometimes.

We flew over the massive storms converging on CC. But first we had to cut through them. The clouds were layered, like a club sandwich, not tall and poofy like we usually think of storm clouds. I could see pockets of rain all to the north of us, inevitably making their way to the bay.

After a bit of flying I realized I forgot the special plug adapter for my laptop. Oh dear.

By the time I reached the lovely soft bed in Houston (courtesy of my long-time friend, stage & screen actor, Julie) I realized I could order the special-fitting plug from amazon.co.uk, have it shipped for cheap-to-free to where ever I end up staying, and all will be right with the world.

If you have the lifestyle where you like to watch TV, but never find the time to sit in front of the TV when your favorite show is on, or you like watching blockbuster as well as indie movies, reading e-books, and/or shopping on amazon, I highly recommend paying for Amazon Prime. It has paid off beautifully for us so far. And I get to use our Prime amenities in the UK, too.

Eye Witness News:

• So far I have seen 3 literal rednecks. The guys were so incredibly burned it hurt a bit just to look at them, but they were directly in front of me so it was hard not to look. One didn't help out the stereotype much with his "Sir Confederate" tattooed in scroll on the back of his neck. 
• I caught a glimpse of the rare orange-skin tan.
• Kindness and support from every airline employee I've talked with so far.
• A little brother wilt, ever so slightly, under the sarcasm of his slightly older sister.
• A stranger step in and help out a family who's parents were clearly sleep deprived.
• Creepy eyes.
• A mother handle her toddler's vomit attack with grace and aplomb.
• And this...

Talking Heads and Firm Handshakes

The last Ambassadorial Scholar welcomes the first Global Grant Scholar

(RE-POST FROM September 6, 2013)

Today I gave my first Rotary talk. It was to the Rotary Club of Corpus Christi in my sponsor District 5930. This was a good event to make because I really got to see how Rotarians in my city like to do things. It wasn’t too terribly different from other luncheons I’ve been to, but then again, I’m one of those people that’s made a point of going to a lot of events & luncheons.

I find it funny that so many people feel the need to ask if I (or whoever is speaking) am nervous. I try to answer truthfully when asked, but I don’t know how many people actually believe me. The answer is usually, “Not anymore than usual.”

I’ve been public speaking since I was 11 years old. I was lucky enough to go to an unusual elementary school for 5th & 6th grade, in the Texas Hill Country. We were small and both classes were taught together with 2 teachers – maybe 20 students total. Our 6th grade teacher’s (Mr. G) philosophy on education involved hands-on learning. We had traditional classes during the day, of course. We also ran our own business, The Fifth And Sixth Grade Incorporated. We ran a snack shop after school and made our own games to sell.

For one class a week, maybe more, we would go to our work shop behind the school building, next to the playground, and build our games. One of our biggest sellers was the “Weather Rock”. The rock consisted of a Limestone rock hanging from a wire frame. We drilled a hole in each rock and built the frames (I think sometimes from discarded barbed wire, everyone had barbed wire lying around, and every kid knew how to handle it). Instructions came with the rock. I don’t remember them all, but things like
If the rock is wet, it is raining.
If you can’t see the rock, it is foggy.
If the rock is hot, it is sunny.

The humor of such a simple item from a pre-teen group of entrepreneurs was always well received.

In the 6th grade I was elected the snack shop manager. As an 11 year old, 6th grader, it was my duty to meet the Lance Snacks truck with the assistant manager (a 5th grader) for our weekly order. It was up to me to decide which snacks to sell in our shop and how much to price them. This means that at 11 years old I had to track our shop’s sales, know which items were doing well, which weren’t, and what the students (customers) were asking for. Then I had to determine how much each item cost from the distributor and determine a reasonable mark-up that would be sellable to the students, but still turn a good profit for our organization. You think I’m making this up? Not a chance. Mr. G was always there to help us through it, but he had a way of making us want to try it on our own. Every student had a job and we ran the organization like a democracy, every voice counted, and when need be, certain ideas were taken to a vote.

But what does this have to do with public speaking, you ask? In order to sell our products (and our organization) we traveled around to Rotary meetings, hospital fundraising events, town hall meetings, and the rest to talk about our organization. Sometimes we were there to donate money, sometimes to ask for money. Our public speaking training took place during occasional Social Studies classes or after school. We practiced “a firm hand shake”, eye contact, word emphasis, and the subtleties of linguistic turns.

It was the best education and I have been thankful ever since for Mr. G’s brilliance in education. Almost all of us went on to graduate in the top of our classes throughout high school and college.

The 5th & 6th Grade Incorporated

You know, I never heard of Mr. G winning an award or formal recognition. But he sure had the admiration of the community and his 20 years of students.

The Sun Sets On One Day And Rises On Another

(RE-POST FROM August 30, 2013)In two weeks I leave my home on the beaches of Gulf Coast Texas to pursue a life unknown in the country side of England. To be more precise, I’m continuing my academic pursuits at the University of Warwick in Coventry. I was offered a rare opportunity to expand my research in rational decision making with a team of fascinating people, in a newly developed discipline, nestled in a city of perplexing circumstances.

I developed this blog to share experiences and insight.

How did I get this opportunity?
Short Answer: Hard work, Little sleep, Lots of emails
Long Answer: I will let the Rotary members of District 5930 answer that.

“Megan is the first recipient of a Rotary Foundation Global Grant for District 5930, generously sponsored by the Rotary Club of Southside Corpus Christi and District 5930 with application assistance from PDG Marilyn Spencer and District Scholarship Sub-Committee Chair Tiffany Hull. The Rotary Foundation Global Grant will fund Megan’s 2013-2014 year abroad to attend graduate school at the University of Warwick in Coventry, England and earn a Master of Science degree in Behavioral Economics. She will be hosted by District 1070, located in the East Midlands of England. Part of Megan’s tenure will include conducting a unique investigation into the employment disparities in Coventry. Initial measures show some populations suffering higher unemployment rates than others, in particular young, degreed college graduates. Findings from this research have the potential to improve employment placements in other cities, as well as for other habitually under-employed populations: the disabled and elderly, for example.

“Megan grew up between Texas and Northern Mexico. She holds a dual B.A. from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Psychology (Cognition) and Philosophy (Logics) and is currently a research graduate student in the Psychology department at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.”

¡Hasta luego Texas!
Good morning England!