Friday, March 19 - DISCON Day 1

The District Convention in 3830, usually referred to as DISCON, started today.  In this district and maybe in the Philippines in general, the DISCON is a different sort of event that what I have seen in our District.  This is the glitz and glamour of Rotary with cameras on the speaker projected onto 3 large screens.  We had Mardi Gras dancers and singing of all the national anthems by Rotarians; speeches with plenty of visual aides; loud noise makers, some of which shot confetti into the air.  There was a general atmosphere of gaiety and friendship.  When they started on some business items our team disappeared to our room.  We had to practice for tomorrow when our team gets to make its 4 minute presentation.  We were told before we left NJ that we should have a song and/or dance.  Of course as Americans, we thought this was silly and gave it very little thought.  The first thing that we were asked when we met with the District Governor was did we have a song.  As time went on we realized that this was a big thing. So we put our heads together and we found some music that I, for some strange reason, had on my computer, and worked on our presentation. 

After rehearsal (15 minutes) it was time for cocktails. Out on the lawn of the hotel overlooking Manila Bay, we enjoyed great company and watched as the sun set over the bay and Mount Bataan in the distance.  What a place. 

And now for the climax.  Back into the ballroom for dinner, which was great, as usual for food in Manila.  All the Rotary Clubs were divided into 5 groups.  Each group had to come up with a singing and dancing routine for the entertainment.  This year each group was given two decades of Rotary as their theme and had to depict that era in song and dance.  This was very entertaining.  I was routing for the 2nd Makati group which included my first host’s club and her friends in Makati Desmarinas.  They had the late forties and fifties.  Each group also had to include a little about the history of Rotary during their presentation.  Very interesting and informative as well.

As the evening ended we hoped that are short presentation would go over well tomorrow.