Rotary doesn't distinguish itself from the other organisations just by the affordable price, but also by the presence of a symbol of the whole experience of accepting peace and diversity: the Blazer. Probably people think we are crazy collectivists when they see the enormous amount of stuff hanging on our nice jacket, but no we are not pin freaks (at least not before exchange lol). Normally each country has its own color, for example a district in Argentina has a white blazer, Canadians have a red one, the French is blue and so on.

When we wore our blazer it was like appearing on a stage and having to perform but the truth is we were always ourselves, showing our experiences through pins, flight tickets, stickers, ribbons and representing our own country.

We proudly wore our rotary blazer as by doing it we could live once more all the moments symbolised by the patches we had attached to it. It was like always having a part of our friends with us, and when a stranger pointed his finger towards us asking what it was, we answered that it is the place where our emotions are physically gathered.

It's not just a cool/weird jacket full of cheap pins and wraps of papers, it has value. It is not something you wear everyday and that's what makes it extraordinary. I remember having to add things day by day. I left Milan with only few pins, and each one of them was already extremely important, even though my journey abroad wasn't even started yet. There was one from my home district, a Colorado plate, an American flag and a souvenir from St. Moritz, the place where I met my host family (yes, I met my American parents in Europe before flying over). At the end of my exchange the whole front of the blazer was full of pins, I like to have them all in front because I want to be able to see them.

After over 1 year and a half, the other day I put it back on and it felt so weird. I ran my hand all over the stuff linked to the jacket, I closed my eyes and imagined myself back in the States representing Italy as a Rotary Ambassador.

I was really nervous when I had to present my programme to two clubs. "Everyone will look at me" I thought. "Will they be able to understand my english? Is my speech interesting?". Before I even realised I was already talking and making people laugh. Having to wear it made me feel like I was part of something special. Nowadays I still miss wearing it at conferences, events, meetings..
How many things do you have on your blazer? Which color is it? Let me know in the comments!

- Cris