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Graham Shular is ready to fly out!

Graham Shular of Southampton has reason to smile.  He is one of only 10 university students from 30 countries who has been selected as part of a cultural trip to the Ukraine and will be representing North America under 'RotaryAact' .

There are several student programs within Rotary that enable students to travel throughout the world and experience different cultures.  The Rotary Student exchange is directed toward high-school students while RotaryAct is for university and college students.

More than 69 students applied for the 2011 Ukraine trip but only 30 qualified, with one student from each of Mexico, North America, Sri Lanka, Australia, Russia, Italy, Poland, Egypt, Armenia and Slovenia.

"This is a huge privilege to be selected as we didn't even know if anyone from Canada or the U.S. would qualify," says Shular.

He is flying out on the morning of June 15th and will travel from Toronto to Heathrow airport in London, England and then on to Kiev in the Ukraine for a 10-day trip through the country.

"I know this is going to be a real eye-opener," says Shular.  "I have been searching out the Ukraine on the internet because I have never travelled to Europe and it appears as though it will be very different.  It is the 'Breadbasket of Europe' and, according to reports, break plays a key role at every meal.  Also, every event is a reason for celebration ... weddings can take place for a week and guests are welcomed with unbelievable hospitality ... so, I am really looking forward to an entirely different culture."

Shular, who is a student at the University of Guelph, majoring in history and geography with a view to becoming a teacher, feels that the trip will be a perfect fit for his education.

"We will be living with five families in five cities so we'll be experiencing all kinds of local culture," says Shular,  "and I can hardly wait to see the architecture of the country!"

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Tuesday, June 14, 2011