Fun with photos

The clock is ticking, and within less than a month, we'll be bidding the frozen shores of Massachusetts goodbye for the sunny isles of the Philippines. Time is running out, but have no fear, because the GSE Philippines Team has everything well in hand.

On Saturday we went to the home of Skip Doyle, a Rotarian from Northborough. Within his incredible studio, Skip took some first-rate shots of each team member, as well as some group photos. We all agreed that Jon's the most photogenic of the five (it was no contest), and that viewing the photos from the right angle can make all the difference. After the photos were taken, we had a brief viewing session where we selected the best ones for the trip brochure. There were some laughs as we gauged the best smiles and whether to use the casual group shot or the more formal picture (we went with casual).

All the needed paperwork has been taken care of (except for Max's passport, for which he has reprimanded himself harshly for), and we're fine-tuning our presentations on the different aspects of American culture, industry, and history to present to the Philippines Rotary. It's no easy thing, compressing decades of history and pages upon pages upon pages upon pages (that's no typo, folks; we've been doing a lot of research) of information into a three-minute presentation, but in the end, we'll make it happen.

There was a definite air of anticipation as we handed in our visa applications and perused the article about Shelley in the local newspaper. Everything is really coming together nicely. I'm definitely looking forward to this trip and the experience it can offer me. Just a few more weeks...

Max B.