A Toastmaster’s Travels...in Israel
Recently, my wife and I decided to celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary by touring a country neither of us had visited before: Israel. There were no official plans to make it a Toastmasters-related trip, but as president of an active club in Pasadena, California, I could feel a speech-in-the-making long before we left. So I prepared by packing a notebook, camera and the latest issue of the Toastmaster magazine.
The 12 days we spent in the beautiful country of Israel were amazing. To feel the deep layers of history under our feet was an incredible experience. This country has such a unique mixture of cultures, you feel like you are on several different vacations all at once.
Israel has no lack of public speakers. We enjoyed the opportunity to hear several people speak at key locations around the country. Outside the Holocaust Museum, for example, a rabbi told us an incredible personal story of a family member who escaped death in Poland during the Nazi regime. I found it very moving. What a story...and speaker!
While traveling throughout the land, people all over asked me about the Toastmaster magazine I was carrying. It gave me multiple opportunities to share how Toastmasters works and how it has helped me in my life.
Upon returning home to America, I gave a speech about our trip to my club – the Kaiser Toastmasters, in Pasadena, California – and it was a huge hit. They commented on how well-prepared I was to bring along a copy of the Toastmaster and then take pictures with it at key sites. Later, I was asked by several members who had been absent that day if I could give the speech again. They’d heard positive comments from others and didn’t want to miss hearing about my remarkable journey.
With all the pleasures of visiting another land, one memory really stands out: My wife and I enjoyed an early-morning dip in the Dead Sea. I took along my favorite magazine and my wife brought our camera to snap a photo of me reading...while floating. Wouldn’t you expect to hear a word or two from other people while bobbing around reading? It was so early, however, that the Dead Sea was literally “dead” and there were no people around to make any comments!
Michael J. Miller is the president of Kaiser Toastmasters club, in Pasadena, California.