Surely, each of us recalls times when we were children and riding in the car with our parents, and being impatient to arrive at our destination, incessantly asked the burning question, "Are we THERE yet?" Well, anyone embarking on a trip to India might well ask the same question, since our flight from Newark's Liberty Airport takes between 15 and 16 hours! Add to that the time from when we actually board the aircraft and the time we disembark, we are looking at close to 18 hours!!! Are we THERE yet?
With all of the last minute details that each member of our team is checking, and double-checking and then re-checking, it is likely that each member of our ROTARY DREAM TEAM will be totally exhausted by the time we board in Newark later this evening, and hopefully, each of us will get sufficient sleep, so we arrive bright-eyed and bushy-tailed! Again, as they say here in Maine, "T'ain't LIKELY!" After all, isn't this why God made pharmaceuticals?
In a few hours, I will attend my regular Rotary Club meeting, come home and pick up my baggage and then drive to meet one of the other team members, and together we will drive to Boston for the next leg of our trip - actually getting to Newark. Here, we will meet other team members of ROTARY DREAM TEAM at a wonderful place - Gallagher's Steakhouse. We will all dig into our last "close to home-cooked meal" before then walking to our gate to await boarding instructions. Each of us will be wearing our snappy bright purple team shirts, so at least on the plane, we will be able to locate other team members en route.
Fast forward (PLEASE!) to our arrival in Delhi's new airport, and we will be met by Mr. Bani and Mr. Diwan Singh of Hi Points Expeditions, and guided to our motor coach for a two-hour ride to our hotel. There most likely will be other folks there to greet us - members of the Rotary Club of Delhi-Megapolis, with whom we have joined forces in past years - this year no exception. After an exhausting introduction into the Indian culture (flights getting to Newark, flight from Newark, bus rides, etc.) we can settle down for a few hours in our hotel rooms and then have breakfast in the morning, and then travel to Mewat district in Haryana State to meet with town officials and those from the World Health Organization (WHO) that will be coordinating the pre-NID activities. Most likely, we will be marching through the streets and alleys of the various villages, led by a team of drummers, in order to raise the awareness of the following day's National Immunization Day (NID), encouraging all the while, parents and children to bring all children under the age of five years to receive their polio vaccine.
Due to the Herculean efforts of many, including WHO and UNICEF and government officials, but most especially because of ROTARY INTERNATIONAL, India can now boast of not having even one new case of polio in the past 13 months! Together, we will END POLIO NOW!!!
With all of the last minute details that each member of our team is checking, and double-checking and then re-checking, it is likely that each member of our ROTARY DREAM TEAM will be totally exhausted by the time we board in Newark later this evening, and hopefully, each of us will get sufficient sleep, so we arrive bright-eyed and bushy-tailed! Again, as they say here in Maine, "T'ain't LIKELY!" After all, isn't this why God made pharmaceuticals?
Fast forward (PLEASE!) to our arrival in Delhi's new airport, and we will be met by Mr. Bani and Mr. Diwan Singh of Hi Points Expeditions, and guided to our motor coach for a two-hour ride to our hotel. There most likely will be other folks there to greet us - members of the Rotary Club of Delhi-Megapolis, with whom we have joined forces in past years - this year no exception. After an exhausting introduction into the Indian culture (flights getting to Newark, flight from Newark, bus rides, etc.) we can settle down for a few hours in our hotel rooms and then have breakfast in the morning, and then travel to Mewat district in Haryana State to meet with town officials and those from the World Health Organization (WHO) that will be coordinating the pre-NID activities. Most likely, we will be marching through the streets and alleys of the various villages, led by a team of drummers, in order to raise the awareness of the following day's National Immunization Day (NID), encouraging all the while, parents and children to bring all children under the age of five years to receive their polio vaccine.
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