Ambassadorial Scholar Karen Lee's First Report

Karen Lee

Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, 2011-2012

Sponsor Club: Westwood Village Rotary Club, District 5280

Host Club: Rotary Valencia, District 2203

1. Provide information about your study program, including your adaptation and progress with your studies.

My master's program is called Máster en Tecnología Energética para el Desarrollo Sostenible (Master in Energy Technology for Sustainable Development) and falls under the direction of ETSII (Escuela Técnica Superor Ingenieros Industriales Valencia), one of many schools in UPV (the Polytechnic University of Valencia).

My classes run from 4-8pm Monday thru Thursday, with labs on Friday. (I think a lot of Masters classes are in the afternoon to accommodate people who work.) My Master's program has about 40 students. The first day of class, we learned that roughly 300 people applied in the first application period, and about 50 students were admitted and 35 enrolled. I had no idea that it was so competitive!

The way the Master is organized is that there are 3 options: Renewable Energy, Efficiency, and Nuclear Energy (mine is Renewables). Out of the 2 options that I didn't choose, I had to choose one as my "optativa"; from this subject I take 2 courses (I chose Efficiency). About 50% of the students are in Efficiency, 40% in Renewables, and 10% in Nuclear.

Here's what my first semester schedule looks like:
Monday, 4-6pm: Energy Markets & Regulations
Monday, 6:15-8:15pm: Intro to Energy Technology

Tuesday, 4-6pm: The Energy Problem and Sustainable Development
Tuesday, 6:15-8:15pm: Distribution Networks

Wednesday, 4-6pm: Wind Energy
Wednesday, 6:15-8:15pm: Intro to Energy Technology

Thursday, 4-6pm: Solar Energy
Thursday, 6:15-8:15pm: Energy Audits

Friday: Labs (prácticas)

Currently the workload has been extremely heavy. We have quizzes every 1-2 weeks, and exams every 1-2 weeks. In every class there's also a project, which can be a group assignment or an individual simulation. For example, for Solar Energy we're designing a solar water heating installation, and in Energy Audits we are completing an audit of any structure which may be a hotel, manufacturing facility, school, recreational park, etc. In The Energy Problem and Sustainable Development, we are investigating the current energy situation of a city, region, or country, projecting the situation to 2035, and then simulating a different situation to compare. The majority of groups chose a region in Spain (such as Catalunya, Asturias, Valencia, etc.), and the foreign students all chose their own country (my group is investigating California). Some of the courses are extremely technical, and some deal with the economics of energy markets. As for applications to the use of sustainable energy resources in developing countries, I'm learning about a wide variety of subjects, on large and small scales, that would are extremely applicable: useful in creating microgrids for rural areas that are disconnected from the main network, designing a solar or wind energy installation, and evaluating the energetic resources of a region.

Adapting to the Master's has been easier than I had imagined in some ways, yet more difficult in others. After the first week or so, I generally do not have problems with understanding the professors and the lectures. However, it is still difficult for me to understand my classmates; the young people generally speak a lot faster, and there are also students from the pueblos around Valencia who have thick accents.

The schedule was also something to get used to. I'm certainly very accustomed now to the schedule now, but at first it was very tiring to sit through four hours of lecture daily. Also, I would get very tired since the classes were so late.

Up until now, I've passed all of my exams and projects. There are still some exams and projects in January and I am on-track to complete all of my courses with passing grades.

2. Describe what steps you and your sponsor Rotarians took to prepare for your experience abroad. How did this preparation help you to meet the challenges of living and studying in your host country?

Before coming to Spain, I tried my best to familiarize myself with the language and culture (the language especially because I was extremely concerned of arriving and not being able to understand a word). My sponsor Rotarians, even if they themselves did not have many experiences with living, studying, or working abroad, did their best to put me in contact with former Ambassadorial Scholars. I was also lucky enough to benefit from an active Rotary Foundation Alumni Association in my district, and through their meetings and events I was able to meet former Scholars. This was the best preparation for my own year abroad, as the former Scholars gave me the best advice on how they adjusted to their respective host countries and their relationships with their host Rotary clubs. I learned about their universities, their living situations, and their community involvement. I also enjoyed meeting so many driven and inspired individuals who have similar goals as my own, and learning about the paths they've taken to achieve their goals.

3. How have you been involved in Rotary since you arrived in your host country? Please describe the ambassadorial activities in which you have participated.

After arriving in Spain, I´ve made contact with several local Rotary Clubs in Valencia.

On September 26, I attended the meeting of RC Valencia where I met my host counselor Carlos Cases, the assistant governor Isidoro Ales, as well as other members of the club. They meet on Mondays at 9pm, and after the one hour meeting they eat dinner together in the hotel. The club has in total about 35 members, and 16 were present at the meeting. After they read a summary of last week´s meeting and mentioned the bimonthly Rotary brochure that was distributed, I introduced myself and then there was a very interesting discussion about their role in the community and what it means to be a Rotarian. A member brought up that, as a club, they should pursue small projects in which the Rotary name gets lost but rather focus on projects of a grander scale that have a big impact. A couple Rotarians were against this idea, saying that small things still make a difference and that large projects are often not feasible for a club of their size. It´s very difficult to collaborate with the 6 other Rotary Clubs in Valencia to contribute something large. After this, the oldest Rotarian in the district, Ignacio, spoke about his experience with Rotary and the history of Rotary in Valencia. He has been a member since 1980 and has held virtually all of the district positions except District Governor. He mentioned that friendship is the most important part of Rotary, and that eating together, socializing, and getting to know one another´s families should not be overlooked. For this reason, clubs that are too large lose some of Rotary, because the members don´t know each other. Ignacio also spoke about the type of people who are Rotarians, and the way Rotary is viewed (''Rotary is often thought to be elitist, and I agree- we are elitists in that we look for individuals who have the right qualities and want to contribute to the community.'') Anyways, he had some great insights that allowed me to see how the Rotarian spirit is very well alive in Valencia. I met my mentor/host counselor, Carlos Cases, who is a Civil Engineering professor at UPV as well as the President and other members. All of the members were extremely welcoming and told me to ask for help whenever I needed it.

On September 30, I attended the meeting of RC Rey Don Jaime. One aspect I enjoyed was the presence of family which made the club very personable; even though only 7 members were present at the meeting, the son of one member was the chef at the restaurant and came by before our meal to chat about the menu and Elias' daughter stopped by during lunch to say hi.

On October 19, I attended the meeting of Valencia Cid. Furthermore, on November 4th, they invited me to attend the "Cena y desfile a beneficio de LORCA," a benefit/fundraiser for Lorca, which included a dinner and fashion show. In May 2011 the city of Lorca (which is located in the Comunitat Valenciana) suffered a 5.1 magnitude earthquake, which damaged many public buildings, homes, and the historic center. The event was organized by Rotary Club Valencia but members from all of the Rotary Clubs, as well as their friends, attended the event to support the cause. At the event, we ate dinner and then there was a "fashion show" of winter coats (all of very high quality I'm sure but a bit disturbing to me as an American to see so much animal fur). All in all, it was a very pleasant evening and it was very nice to see the Rotarians very active and supportive of a local cause. Also at this dinner, I met a few members of Rotaract Valencia and was able to make contact with them. I hope soon to be able to attend their meetings and participate in their service activities.

In a trip I made to Morocco during my Christmas holiday, I contacted several Rotary clubs to see if I could be a guest at their meetings; I was able to meet with Rotarians in both Casablanca and Tangier. Although they were not having a regular meeting because of the holiday, Anouar Zyne and Najat Buchmann Kamal of the Casablanca Al Manar club offered to meet with my mom and me during our stay in Casablanca. There are about 15 clubs in Casablanca, and Al Manar (which means lighthouse in Arabic) is the newest club, just having been accepted in December 2011. Al Manar seems to be a much more modern club than what I (and others) have experienced in the past; about half of the members are women and most of the Rotarians are middle-aged, under 50 years old. I could definitely sense an enthusiasm that Anouar and Najat exuded for the first year of their club. Even though Rotary almost always operates in French in Morocco, Anouar and Najat were kind enough to do their best with communicating in English.

Later in the trip, I attended a Rotary Tangier Detroit meeting. This club is one of two in the city of Tangier, and true to the unique history of Tangier was diverse in the nationality of the members as there were members present from Morocco, Britain, France, and the U.S. In total there were 11 members present (out of around 25 total members). The entire meeting was conducted in French, but several of the English-speaking members provided some translation for me. President Azeddine Bousfiha first provided a summary of the projects in 2011 that Rotary Tangier Detroit funded, which included a kitchen that serves thousands (a partnership with the Ceuta club), raincoat donations to children who walk in the rain to attend primary school, a deaf society's sign language conference that provided resources and training to both deaf people and their families, and an association for single mothers in Morocco to help them find jobs and keep their babies. Then I gave my presentation (also with translation into French provided by an American member) and presented Azeddine with the Westwood Village banner. After this, the meeting proceeded with discussion about the creation of a Rotaract club in Tangier, and the upcoming District Conference.

Compared to the Casablanca Al Manar club, Tangier Detroit was much more traditional; although women members are allowed, they do not currently have any. The other Tangier Rotary club apparently still does not allow women, nor are they at all interested in changing this policy. A controversial topic that has surfaced is the creation of a third Rotary club in Tangier that would be limited to females. On one hand, Moroccan women may not be entirely comfortable in a male-dominated club especially as the stereotype of Rotary as an all-male smoking club persists, but on the other hand this stereotype needs to be changed as it affects the perception of Rotary worldwide, and it will never be changed if there remain clubs separated by gender.

4. What are your first impressions of your host country and the people in your community? Please describe culturally significant locations you have visited and opportunities you have had to share your culture.

The different way of life was certainly noticed in my first days in Spain. Sunday is a day of rest and is very quiet; generally the streets are quite empty on Sunday. Stores are all closed, except for some small convenience stores or vegetable markets. The daily schedule is also quite different, both on a personal and commercial level. Banks, government offices, etc. all close during the ‘siesta’ time which is generally between 2pm and 4:30pm. Depending on the day, they will reopen again at 4:30pm.

Some of the culturally significant locations of Valencia that I´ve visited include the old city center, and the City of Arts and Sciences, an architecturally stunning center that houses museums, exhibits, an aquarium, and a sports arena. It was very interesting to learn the opinions of the local people of the City of Arts and Sciences, which was built very recently. It has become a symbol of Valencia and increased touristic activities; however, according to the people to whom I´ve spoken, the city spent exorbitant amounts of money that would have been better spent elsewhere. I attended a Rice Exhibition at the City of Arts and Sciences, which is very culturally significant since Valencia is considered the birthplace of paella and takes its rice and paella very seriously. There is even a hot paella rivalry with the neighboring region, Alicante.

A spontaneous cultural interaction I had with local Valencians occurred when I attempted to attend a gastronomic fair with a friend but ended up in a paella competition held by fallas. Fallas are groups of friends that participate in various social activities together; however, fallas are established and you can´t just start up a ´falla´ with your own group of friends. This is related to the big festival in March that is held in Valencia, called Las Fallas, in which each falla creates a float that is paraded in the city and is later burnt in a grand bonfire. Each float has some cultural and social significance and often caricature political figures or events. At this event we were able to observe some local culture and see a bit of the process of making paella.

Sharing my culture is an important part of the Ambassadorial Scholarship that is a daily interaction. Because I am of Chinese origin (my parents were born in China but I was born in the U.S.), I receive plenty of questions about my background. I try to take this as an opportunity to teach the Spanish a bit about the U.S. Since the majority of political figures (as well as American celebrities) happen to be Caucasian, there really is no reason for the U.S. to be recognized as a multicultural country. Redefining these opinions and stereotypes has been a constant occurrence for me.

Being at UPV, I have benefited from the multicultural nature of the campus. Through my master's program and campus activities, I've made friends with students from all over the world, especially Latin America (including Colombia, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Peru), Europe (such as the Czech Republic, Germany, and the Netherlands), and Africa. This has been a great chance to meet people from countries that are familiar (such as Mexico or Costa Rica) and foreign (such as the Congo), allowing me to learn much about their ways of life and attitudes toward other cultures and of course share my own culture.

In my trip to Tangier, I had the opportunity to visit a very significant location in U.S. history: the American Legation Museum or as it’s now known, the Tangier American Legation Institute for Moroccan Studies (TALIM). This is the only U.S. National Historic Landmark outside of the U.S., and will probably remain so. A Rotarian from Tangier Detroit, Jerry Loftus, is the director of TALIM and provided me a tour of TALIM. This was a very educational experience that I will try to share with as many people as possible, especially Americans. The relationship with Morocco was very significant in the U.S. independence movement, as the Sultan of Morocco was the first to recognize the U.S. as an independent country in 1777. If things are put in historical context, in 1777 the U.S. was still in the midst of the Revolutionary War and the very question of U.S. independence was still undecided. Moroccan-American relations are marked by the first Legation to be sent overseas to establish diplomatic relations (which was sent to Tangier) as well as the longest unbroken treaty in American history, the Moroccan-American Treaty of Friendship. After learning all of this, and much more, I think it is very important that other Americans appreciate this relationship and are aware of the significance of this landmark.

5. Please submit quality photographs portraying your experiences in ambassadorial or academic situations, if available.

1. Flag exchange with Rotary Valencia Rey Don Jaime

Description: Valencia Rey Don Jaime.JPG