Dott Antonio Amalfitano, Past President of the Rotary Club Civitavecchia, in the name of the International Fellowship of the Rotarians is awarding the Commanding Officer and the Navy crew of Nave Italia with the Paul Harris Fellow medal recognition to a form of an "award for exceptional service".
Liza and Anna give the Crest of their Russian local Rotary Clubs to the IYFR. The members of the IYFR were very helpful for the selection of the applications to the YPG8.
The teens are eager to catch up on all the news they've missed while at sea.
It's the last day and everyone is hurrying to finish all the work, cleanup and discussions so that we can have a good-bye party tonight. We finish the final document (posted on the blog entry below,) clean the ship, pack and amidst it all there is a sadness that tomorrow we will all go our separate ways. The teens realize what a unique experience this has been, and now we all feel like family. We order pizzas from a local pizzaria and eat dinner out on the midship deck enjoying the final sunset of this amazing YPG8 journey. After dinner there is a ceremony, with gifts and awards given to all the teens - on behalf of the Italian Navy, and Tender To Nave Italia. As they individually receive their awards, they give their signature to the final document. Now its time to P~A~R~T~Y!
After the award ceremony, the crew and educators hosted a dance for the group on the mid-ship deck. It was perfect weather and the sky was lit with a thousand stars. Around midnight we all went to the starboard deck and shared some final thoughts. Goodbyes are always hard, but educators Luigi, Ale and Ragga shared how they met each other over 10 years ago and live in different countries now but still get to see each other regularly.
Saturday morning was bright and clear. The Rotary Club of Civitavecchia helped us again with transporting the teens to the airport, train station, etc. The crew spent the morning cleaning and preparing to meet their next group of children in Porto Torres, Sardenia.