The theme of our January 18th meeting was Destination Experiences. We heard about travel and preparation for weddings, family reunions, and Toastmasters events. Everyone at the meeting agreed that we expand our horizons at Travel Talkers Toastmasters when we share our travel experiences.
Our Destination Master, Kit Myers gave us these clues for a country:
- This is a lush tropical country known for its rainforests.
- It is located in the Southern Hemisphere.
- Portuguese is spoken here.
- It is the biggest country on the continent.
- It has a famous statue on Mt Corcovado.
If you guessed Brazil, you are correct!
The Travel Topics Master of the meeting, Vernitta Brown, asked us what we liked about traveling, how we planned our trips, and what excites us when we travel. The joy and fun of traveling is all about the experience of seeing something new. Actually crossing that bridge or climbing that mountain or visiting that park we had only read about or seen pictures of. Some of us enjoy the time spent researching the locations, restaurants, and “must see” attractions. Others like to travel as free spirits, arriving in a new city or location without a list of what to do and open to discovering what is available by reading posted flyers and talking with the locals. All of the travel experiences we shared reinforced our feeling that sharing our stories at Travel Talkers Toastmasters expands our horizons.
We had two speakers at our meeting. Samantha Jamwal entertained us with the details of a family wedding in India that she attended last year. In her speech, ”A Big Fat Indian Wedding,” she recounted all of the details of the 6 day event.
- Day 1–Ranayan Path
- Day 2–Satsang
- Day 3–Shagun ( afternoon) and Mahanadi (evening)
- Day 4/5–Haldi (morning), Barat (night), Wedding Ceremony 2:30 am
- Day 5–Village welcome and feast (afternoon)
- Day 6–Wedding reception (afternoon and evening)
The entire wedding event was a multi-day marathon of rituals. music and food. Samantha shared her photos some of the many events and rituals which made her speech vivid and engaging.
Our second speaker, Raji Bandanapudi, gave a speech about the satisfaction and joy she experienced when she worked with a team to accomplish an event. As the Program Quality Director for Toastmasters District 101, Raji was charged with organizing a Fall networking and workshop event for the 2,000 members of our Toastmasters District. She recounted that her team of 40 members on 10 committees took 3 months to create the event for 100 attendees. She particularly liked building the team and sharing her vision for the event, working with the team to organize and present the event, and celebrating the success of the event with her team. This was her “zen zone” of happiness.
Join us for our next meeting as we start our travels around the world. First stop is “North America” on Thursday, January 25th from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm Pacific (-8 UTC). Bring your friends and colleagues to join us. Be inspired to travel somewhere new. Let’s hear about your adventures at our January 25th meeting. Guests are always welcome to attend our meetings. If you would like to join the club, contact Helen Josephine for an application form.
Register for the meeting: https://tinyurl.com/TravelTalkersZoomLink
RSVP on MeetUp to let us know you are coming to the meeting. Guests are always welcome!
Looking forward to hearing your travel stories! Join us to be inspired to take your next trip.
Helen Josephine,
Travel Talkers Toastmasters
Travel Talkers Toastmasters 
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