Outbound Journeys

Brasov, Romania

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Our May, 2011 Exchange to Brasov, Romania

Jeanne Minorini, ED

What a welcome!  After two days’ travel from the States and meeting up with another of our group from Britain in Istanbul, this was our intro to Brasov, Romania:

And the well-fed “happy campers” after our ample lunch, as we began our week together with Friendship Force of Brasov:

We, Friendship Force Northern Illinois, had hosted the Romanian club in 2009.  We liked them and apparently they liked us because they invited us to visit them in their homes in May, 2011.

And what a beautiful country they have!  They had so much to show us….

 

Romania has a very rich historical heritage.  They showed us one of Count Vlad the Impaler’s castles (above).  Of course he is better known as Dracula.

And we visited the magnificent Peles Castle of the Romanian kings, most recently occupied by King Michael of the House of Hohenzollern until his abdication in 1947.  Breath-taking!!

And there were the museums:  the outdoor bicycle museum on the Brasov city walls and the Peasants’ Museum in Bucharest.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And fortresses:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also visited our host Azota  Popescu’s  School for the Visually Deficient.  We so admired their wonderful work to benefit the visually handicapped that we made a donation to that organization:

 

 

 

Our Joyce Schmitz of Friendship Force Northern  Illinois had hosted Azota Popescu when the Romanians came to visit us in 2009.  They became fast friends.  So when the exchange traveled to Romania, Joyce (pictured below on the left) brought 350 pairs of glasses that she had personally solicited from American Lions’ Clubs to present to Azota(right).  That duffle bag full of glasses was awfully heavy to schlep from America to Brasov, but you should have seen the look on Azota’s face!   That’s what good friends do…

 

We were awestruck by the churches by the beautiful churches and their histories:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And how well we ate!  The Romanians know how to cook….   MMMMmmmmmmm  (We really fought the Battle of the Bulge—and probably lost….)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We loved the Romanians.  They are such good-hearted folks, and they took such good care of us.  What treasured friends they have become!

 

 

Cedar Rapids/Iowa City, Iowa

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Friendship Force Mystery Exchange
Cedar Rapids/Iowa City
By Bob Weissman, ED
June 22-25, 2012

Seven members of the Northern Illinois Friendship Force traveled in two cars about 250 miles to visit the members of the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Friendship Force Club.  We left our area at about 9:30 am and arrived at about 3:00 pm at Coe College in Cedar Rapids where we met our hosts and other members of the hosting club.

After becoming acquainted with our “mystery” hosts, we proceeded to the Coe College Library where we were given a tour of the art collection housed in that building.  We saw many photos by George T. Henry and the art of Marvin Cone along with some paintings by the famous Grant Wood.

 

 

 

 

 

Having had our introductions to our hosts’ homes, we were taken to the Ellis Park Overlook Pavillion on the Cedar River where many members of our host club treated us to a sumptuous pot luck dinner.  Our club president, Joan Harrington, introduced herself and thanked the hosting members for having us.  Yours truly, Bob Weissman, the ED for this exchange, was asked to say a few words, which I did.

Saturday was a very interesting and busy day!  We traveled to a nearby town called Anamosa where we visited the Anamosa Penitentiary.  In the penitentiary museum, we were given to “low down” on the history of the prison and its workings.  We also got to try on prison garb and get an idea of what a cell felt like.

    

We made a brief photo stop at a very old restaurant called The General Store in Stone City before going into downtown Anamosa to see the Grant Wood Museum where we were given a very informative talk about the artist and his art.  Grant Wood is best known for his painting called, American Gothic.  The woman was his sister and the man was a town dentist.  We went past the Stone City quarry, but did not stop there.

From there, we traveled the back roads to West Branch, the birthplace of Herbert Hoover.  Before viewing the grounds, buildings, museum and burial area of this area, we stopped in West Branch for lunch at a small restaurant called Reid’s Beans.

The Herbert Hoover Museum is a great place to find out about all of the good and useful things which Herbert Hoover accomplished.  We should not blame him for the Depression, although he didn’t do much to alleviate the suffering of American citizens during his presidency.

Having left West Branch, our hosts had complete control of where we went.  My hosts took me to Stringtown Grocery, a busy but small supermarket run by the Amish of the town of Kalona.  There were all kinds of fruits, vegetables and handmade and hand packaged items.  I got a photo of a fellow in his buggy!

After Kalona, we went back to Cedar Rapids where we were due to go on a trolley tour of that city.  Being somewhat early, we went to a pub in Czechtown called “The Red Frog” where we had a drink and hung out until it was time to find the trolley.

Our trolley tour of Cedar Rapids lasted two hours.  Mostly we were told about various buildings in the area which had been saved, raised, or rebuilt due to the flood of the Cedar River in 2008.  That was some flood!!

With the trolley ride behind us, we went with our hosts for dinner.  I had chosen to go to a restaurant called, “The Longbranch” since I was hungry for a steak.  Dinner was very good as was the company of Jerry and Phillis Seidl.  Phillis was the incoming ED.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a wonderful experience all around!  We arrived home in the late afternoon.

Jean Wilson:

We always think:  It can’t be better than this!

Every Exchange seems to be even more fun than the last, but we know it’s just because we enjoy each new friend we meet through FFNI, and the more the merrier.

This was a domestic Exchange, meaning within the USA—it’s a great way to get know members in other states and find out more about their lives.

We had super hosts—who could ask for anything more?  Their lovely home was surrounded by a garden just as beautiful as our hosts were. We soon learned that they had traveled all over the world, but when Dianne brought out a few of her many albums, we were astonished!

Each one was a gorgeous, wonderfully detailed work of art.   We exclaimed as we marveled at each page:  “Everybody should see these albums. We think FFI and the whole world should know about them.”

The Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Friendship Force treated us to a busy, happy Exchange.  We can’t wait to plan their visit to The Friendship Force of Northern Illinois soon.

Bob Weissman:

This exchange was my first as an ED.  I think everything went very well.  It appeared that everyone had a great time.

I had a super time.  One of the reasons I had such a great time is that I got to stay with two different hosts.  When I arrived at the Seidl’s residence, I was given the opportunity to be with them all day Friday, Friday night, all day Saturday and Saturday night.  I was told that there was another member of the club who had thought he would have an Ambassador.  However, that did not work out as planned.  The Seidls ask me if I would like to spend Sunday and Sunday night with John Geigerich.  John has a friend named Trish, also a member of the club, who accompanied us all day Sunday.

Not only were both my hosts super people, but I got to see Dubuque on Sunday!  This was a wonderful addition to my experience on the Mystery Exchange.  The Dubuque Arboretum was special in that it has wonderful gardens and also had a band which played oldies for at least 1000 folks sitting on the lawn.

Being hosted by two different members has got to be the best!!

Sheila Liao:

It is my first exchange; I am very excited and looking forward for the experience.

Mr. Bob Weissman is very kind to offer the ride for us to drive to Cedar Rapids.

We left 9:30 in the morning and got there right before 2:30pm. The Cedar Rapids club members were there to welcome us. I felt so honored to be treated as VIP.

Coe College has great assets of many local artists’ art collections. Finally, I am at the home town of Grant Wood.

I was holding my breath when I got into my host family’s house. It is a nice, private, wooded area with many custom built houses. Mr. Michael and Dianne Karal have a beautiful big house which has artistic detailed decoration.  They provided me a room with a 4-pole queen size bed.  I had always wished to sleep on a 4-pole bed.

While staying with the Karal family, Dianne shared her recipes, taught me to play “progression” card game, showed us many of their trips photos and scrap books. They had done all photos, placed with great theme and art design. I encouraged Dianne to publish her travel scrap books to promote the Friendship Force organization.

To visit the local art gallery, Anamosa Penitentiary Museum, President Hoover Library, Amanas German town, and trolley tour of their downtown; this trip taught me their hard work attitude and big warm hearts of Midwestern Americans. It also taught me some of American histories.

The trip set a high standard for my future exchanges and it will be the role model to follow to be a great home host.

 

Ottawa, Canada

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The Canadian Adventured, Continued

After a two-hour flight from Winnipeg, we arrived in Ottawa, the capital city of Canada.  The city is located on the river which separates the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, creating a metropolitan area that includes both English and French communities.  Our hosts were members of FF Canadian Capital Region, a French-speaking club.

The welcome banquet was a wonderful buffet dinner, highlighted by a music and dance group who performed traditional French Canadian songs.  After watching the performers, the dancing was opened to the audience, and members from both clubs joined on the dance floor.

For our next day, we explored some of the buildings of the Canadian government, including the Governor General’s Residence and the Parliament building.

The following day we visited Ottawa City Hall, where we were greeted by the Deputy Mayor and his protocol aide.  After lunch, we visited the stables where elite members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police train for their famous riding exhibitions.

For dinner that evening, we ate at a culinary school.  The meal was prepared and served by some of the student chefs.  Everything was delicious!

Our next excursion was to the fantastic Canadian Museum of Civilizations, where we saw exhibits about Canada’s history and aboriginal peoples.  Later we drove to Gatineau Park, Quebec.  The fall colors were beautiful and the scenery was breathtaking.

On the next day we boarded a bus to take us to Papineau Manoir, a home built in the 18th century, for a guided tour.  Nearby was the Chateau Montebello, a resort where many celebrities have stayed, and world leaders have held meetings.

After lunch, we continued to Omega Park, which has habitats for many animals native to Canada.  We were able to feed them with carrots, which was a lot of fun.

Our final day in Ottawa featured another ride in the country, this time to the Cumberland Heritage Village Museum, a re-created village of buildings from the 1920’s showing rural life at that time.  We enjoyed a pot-luck picnic provided by the host club.

Our last event was the farewell dinner.  We will remember this visit and the wonderful hospitality shown by all of our Friendship Force colleagues and hosts.

Baku & Sheki, Azerbaijan

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After a delightful week with our Azeri hosts touring Baku, some of our group headed northwest into the countryside with a Friendship Force group from Virginia, USA.

Our first night in Sheki, we stayed in an ancient caravanserai used by merchants on the Silk Road. Our sleeping arrangements were dormitory style, with a small sitting room. Rooms were dimly lit with stone walls. This aged structure was simply modified to accommodate very basic needs of modern travelers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were traveling with 2 English teachers from Baku as our guides.  They took us to a local school in Sheki to participate in closing day ceremonies.  This was a big deal for everyone:  fresh uniforms for kids and finery for the adults.  Sashes denote the graduating class.  There was much singing and dancing, in which we participated.  Long speeches in Russian (?) and huge bouquets of flowers.

Visiting a small country village, we toured the markets with their colorful spices, household goods, rugs, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

Transferring to small buses, we negotiated winding mountain roads with hundreds of sheep and a sheer drop-off.  Sometimes the sheep were the winners (even though our bus driver’s horn protested), and we waited.  The shepherds rode horseback, sometimes followed by a foal.  The dogs at the end of the herd seemed to say “not our job to chase these sheep”.

We visited a synagogue and met the local rabbi, who explained that 247 years ago, the head of the local Muslim community decreed it was their job to protect the Jewish population of the community.  To this day, the two religious groups live and work together in peace.

Returning to Baku one last night, we were taken to dinner by our hosts, Isa and Sabina.  We met Isa’s Russian father and discovered we had the same reading lists!  Only through Friendship Force can you meet folks from halfway around the world, former adversaries (before glasnost), and discuss Bernard Cornwell’s Lieutenant Sharpe!!!!

“ Faces, not Places.”

Winnipeg, Canada

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Our Adventure up North

FFNI Exchange to Winnipeg and Ottawa, Canada

Our Canada exchange was full of diverse scenery, fascinating history, lots of information, and of course, many new friends.  Our group consisted of ten members of FFNI, two from FF Greater Orlando, and two from FF Cedar Rapids/Iowa City.

We began in Winnipeg, the capital of the province of Manitoba.  After being welcomed at the airport and settling in to our hosts’ homes, we had a wonderful welcome banquet, complete with a very challenging trivia game.

The next day included a walking tour of the old business district of Winnipeg, including many interesting buildings and tales of the old days.  We had lunch at a restaurant which featured Native Canadian foods, and then visited the wonderful Manitoba Museum.

Our next day included a guided tour of the Manitoba provincial Legislature building, followed by a walk along the river.  We were able to see the building of the new Canadian Human Rights Museum.  The museum is not yet open, but we were able to have an outdoor tour to see the architecture and hear about the plans for this unique institution, dedicated to the struggle for human rights in all nations throughout history.

Our weekend was free of scheduled activities.  Many of the hosts took our ambassadors on excursions outside of the city, while others participated in the hosts’ family events.  It was very nice to have the time to get to know each other better.  We also enjoyed small dinner parties at the homes of other FF Winnipeg members.

On Monday we began with a sumptuous breakfast at a French Canadian restaurant, followed by a walk to Winnipeg’s French area, called St. Boniface.  There was a docent-led tour of the St. Boniface Museum, and a stop at the original St. Boniface Cathedral alongside its very modern replacement.

Our final activity in Winnipeg was a visit to the Fort Whyte Nature Centre, a wonderful area of woods, grasslands, and other habitats, with many native animals to see.

The Farewell banquet was our last chance to meet the Winnipeg group – a great potluck dinner.  The guest of honor was a veteran Mountie, who told great stories of his career in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Taichung, Taiwan Exchange

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Taichung, Taiwan Exchange (October 23 – 30, 2012)

The exchange to Taichung, Taiwan started October 23, 2012 after a week-long tour around Taiwan. The visiting group consisted of many FF clubs, with the majority of us coming from FF of Northern Illinois (FFNI) of the United States. Many of us have even traveled together before. But some of us were also new to Friendship Force and were traveling for the first time in the FF way! We were a merry bunch taking the high-speed train to Taichung!

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Sunshine Coast, Australia

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Our Week With The Sunshine Coast of Australia

Marlene DiBrito, Exchange Director

The Aussies came, they saw, and we conquered!

Our week exchange with the Sunshine Coast was educational, engaging, and enjoyable. The weather cooperated ironically with an Indian summer as we visited the Native American Museum to learn about our original inhabitants.

The Discovery Museum video highlighted the birth of our Northern Lake County and displayed live exhibits and artifacts showing the outgrowth connecting Chicago. After we viewed the dazzling cars at the Volo Auto Museum where our 16 ambassadors dreamed about owning and driving one of those antique American beauties, we toured the Volo Bog with a naturalist who explained the thousands of years of glacial melting and its effects on the surrounding area.

The Chicago History Museum gave our guests a virtual ride on the “L”, traced the cause and route of the Chicago Fire and all of the Chicago events following the rebuilding of it. We enjoyed lunch at a wonderful Asian restaurant; drove up Sheridan Road and viewed Evanston’s Northwestern University, Baha’i Temple and Glencoe’s Botanic Garden.

We wound up the week competing in teams playing Bocce Ball after enjoying a sumptuous Sunday Brunch and then all 35 of us experienced the musical “Dream Girls”.

During this exchange we traded experiences and cultures with our Sunshine Coast guests and got to know each other’s lives one on one across the dinner tables. We realized that no matter where we live and who we meet, we share the same joys and sorrows in our everyday lives and that Friendship Force gives us the opportunity to experience that friendship with many different worlds and know that through it all we are all the same.

Ambassadors with hosts at bus station

 

 

 

 

Northern Illinois meets Sunshine Coast

 

Volo Bog and Auto Museum

Native American Museum and Chicago History Museum

Entertainment at the Farewell Dinner: “Christmas in Australia”

Host Comments:

John Balazs:
Sunshine Coast travelers visited the Botanic Garden by John Balazs
Our two visitors from the Sunshine Coast of Australia, Tony and Patricia, enjoyed viewing the flowers and trees of our area, especially the roses and the fruit trees. Both are rarely seen in Australia. It seemed like all of the Aussies enjoyed the Garden and had a great time there.

They were impressed by our rivers and ponds throughout Illinois and smiled at the Botanic Garden waterways. Tony and Patricia said that their country has mainly black swans, when they saw the white swans of the Garden.
I also was told that although our trees lose their leaves, their huge Gum Trees lose many limbs (branches) during their lifetime.

Joan Harrington:
The Native American museum in Evanston was one of the highlights of this exchange for both our ambassadors and the hosts. The museum is well lighted, well organized and artifacts are beautifully displayed. Our docent was superb. He became interested in Native American art when his junior high school teacher gave them a project to create a Native American mask and to present its history. He said that he was hooked on Native American and Indian art from that time on. In addition to an explanation of the artifacts and art work our docent gave us the background of the migration of Indians all over the world.

This was a first class tour and I highly recommend it.

Mary Lou Balazs:
Tony Barry was very interested in seeing the coal mine in Chicago that he had heard so much about from friends. So on our free day, we took Tony & Patricia to the Museum of Science & Industry to spend the day. Tony very much enjoyed the simulated coal mine experience and asked a lot of questions from our guide.

He was equally impressed with the great World War II exhibit, showcasing the captured German U2 Submarine. They could not believe that the entire sub was enclosed in the museum and they were able to board it for a tour. The wonderful explanatory pictures and stories of the war leading up to the captured sub were especially important to both Tony and Patricia. Both were born in England during the war and had heard many stories from family. After extensive bombing, Tony’s mother, a nurse, was trapped in a hospital for 3 days before being rescued. And Patricia was born in a bomb shelter. Both had family members serving in the war and they appreciated reading all the old news articles from the London papers.

Another surprise at the museum was the life-size replica of the Mars rover, Curiosity. A museum guide was there to point out the various aspects of the space vehicle and showed actual pictures currently being sent back to Earth from its camera. Of course, the farm, trains and body exhibits were a big hit too. It was a full day, but one which they truly enjoyed.

On our second free day, we took Tony, Patricia and our 3 year old grandson to the Apple Holler Orchard in Wisconsin. They enjoyed seeing the children feed the goats, play on the hay stacks, pick out pumpkins and walk through the corn maze. In addition, they got to experience the changing color of our trees.

 

Santiago and La Serena, Chile

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On November 15, nine Ambassadors from FF Northern Illinois along with five from Florida, North Carolina, New Jersey and Iowa returned from a 2-week exchange with FF clubs in Santiago and La Serena, Chile.  Ten Ambassadors also participated in an optional 7-night pre-exchange tour of Buenos Aires and Iguazu Falls, Argentina.

Map of South America

Click here to see photos of the Argentina tour.

November is springtime in Chile and arrival day in Santiago was beautifully sunny and warm.  E.D. Maria Beatriz Bravo Ureta hosted a welcome party at the home of her mother “Kika” Bravo.  Well into her eighties, Kika is a 30+ year charter member of the Friendship Force of Santiago.  Arriving guests were greeted with empanadas, chilled pisco sours and creamy glasses of whipped cherimoya, made from the white flesh of a delicious Chilean fruit.  A lavish outdoor lunch combined with live entertainment followed.  The thoroughly charmed guests were reluctant to depart.

Ambassadors were treated to city tours of Santiago, Valparaiso and Viña del Mar.  Also included were visits to the Metropolitan Cathedral, the Ralli Art Museum, the Museum of Pablo Neruda (the Nobel Prize winning Chilean poet) and numerous other places of interest.  We climbed Cerro Santa Lucia and Cerro San Cristobal both built on hilltops with spectacular views of Santiago.  The ceremonial changing of the guard at La Moneda Palace was particularly memorable since it was enhanced for review by a visiting military delegation from Ecuador.  Shop ‘til you drop was the order of the day several times as was our introduction to several of the fine restaurants Santiago is known for.

In lieu of a gift to their club, FFNI offered to donate gift funds to a charity chosen by our hosts.  The Santiago club selected Hogar Mi Familia, a local orphanage.  This facility receives and temporarily cares for children from 0 to 3 years old placed there by the courts.  Ambassadors were brought to the orphanage for presentation of this gift.  Staffed mostly by volunteers, the obvious outpouring of love and affection for the children was emotionally overwhelming, turning the visit into a memorable highlight of the exchange.

Click here for photos of the Santiago exchange.

After 7-nights in Santiago, Ambassadors boarded an airplane for the one hour flight to La Serena.  Hosts greeted their Ambassadors at the airport and transported them to their temporary homes for lunch and unpacking.  Later that evening, Ambassadors were treated to a welcome party at a local seaside restaurant complete with musical entertainment and dancing.

La Serena and the adjoining city of Coquimbo are Pacific Ocean beach communities with a combined population of 430,000 people.  Visitors from Chile and western Argentina stream into the area during the December – March peak season.  High rise condominium buildings under construction along the shoreline are reminiscent of the Miami Beach of 40 years ago.

In addition to city tours of La Serena and Coquimbo, the program included a bus trip to Vicuña City, Bauer Tower and nighttime observation of the heavens at Mamalluca Observatory.   Another trip took Ambassadors by boat to the Damas Island reserve for viewing of protected sea lions, penguins and other species of sea birds.  One of the home hosts, Nancy Iriate, is a renowned artist and art educator with particular expertise in pre-Columbian indigenous art and petroglyphs.  Several lucky Ambassadors were treated to a private showing of her recent paintings, narrated by the artist herself.

As a gift to the host club and a memorial of the exchange, FFNI provided funds to purchase and plant a Friendship Tree in La Serena’s Japanese Park.  A photo and article about the ceremonial planting appeared the following day in the daily newspaper of La Serena.

Click here for photos of the La Serena exchange.

Brian Harrington, ED

Our Adventure up North

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FFNI Exchange to Winnipeg and Ottawa, Canada Our Canada exchange was full of diverse scenery, fascinating history, lots of information, and of course, many new friends. Our group consisted of ten members of FFNI, two from FF Greater Orlando, and two from FF Cedar Rapids/Iowa City. We began in Winnipeg, the capital of the province of Manitoba. After being welcomed at the airport and settling in to our hosts’ homes, we had a wonderful welcome banquet, complete with a very challenging trivia game. The next day included a walking tour of the old business district of Winnipeg, including
many interesting buildings and tales of the old days. We had lunch at a restaurant which featured Native Canadian foods, and then visited the wonderful Manitoba Museum.

Our next day included a guided tour of the Manitoba provincial Legislature building, followed by a walk along the river. We were able to see the building of the new Canadian Human Rights Museum. The museum is not yet open, but we were able to have an outdoor tour to see the architecture and hear about the plans for this unique institution, dedicated to the struggle for human rights in all nations throughout history. Our weekend was free of scheduled activities. Many of the hosts took our ambassadors on excursions outside of the city, while others participated in the hosts’ family events. It was very nice to have the time to get to know each other better. We also enjoyed small
dinner parties at the homes of other FF Winnipeg members.

On Monday we began with a sumptuous breakfast at a French Canadian restaurant, followed by a walk to Winnipeg’s French area, called St. Boniface. There was a docent-led tour of the St. Boniface Museum, and a stop at the original St. Boniface Cathedral alongside its very modern replacement. Our final activity in Winnipeg was a visit to the Fort Whyte Nature Centre, a wonderful area of woods, grasslands, and other habitats, with many native animals to see.

The Farewell banquet was our last chance to meet the Winnipeg group – a great potluck dinner. The guest of honor was a veteran Mountie, who told great stories of his career in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.