Would you be willing to give up four weeks' salary to travel to another country to observe how professionals and business people there practice your shared discipline?

Three Boothbay Harbor residents, Juliette Coombs, R.N. and Charge Nurse at St. Andrews Village, Evelyn Andrews, Associate Relations Manager for Hannaford, and Marty Helman of The Walter Foundation, a non-profit organization, have chosen to do just that.

An elementary school music teacher in South Portland who is also a professional singer and a woman from Newburyport, Massachusetts round out the New England team traveling to Manila/Quezon City, in the Philippines.

The vehicle that sets the process in motion is the Rotary Club's Group Study Exchange program which provides travel grants for men and women aged 25 to 40 in the business and professional world.

The purpose of the program is to broaden cultural perspectives, to create new understanding of other countries and encourage the exchange of ideas.

All five women contacted their local Rotary chapter to apply. Candidates are then interviewed and selected by a qualified group of Rotarians.

Since 1965, other countries teams of non-Rotarians have traveled to include Denmark, England, Romania, Switzerland and the Philippines. For more information on the program, visit the Web site, www.rotary.org

Coombs trains CNAs and CRMAs, and is the charge nurse at St. Andrews Village, requested access to free clinics as her focus for the trip.

"As part of our study, we spend one day a week with men and women in our professions. I will spend time with nurses at free clinics to observe their practice. Experiencing their culture is sure to have an impact on my teaching," said Coombs.

Likewise, Helman will visit non-profits and Andrews will be visiting human resource and food-related businesses.

The women will visit businesses, government offices, historical and cultural sites and Rotary Club locations. At the clubs, they will make presentations about life in Maine and Massachusetts and about their occupations.

Due to the creative backgrounds of the South Portland teacher -singer and Coombs' theatrical experience they are already dubbing the presentations the "USO Tour."

When they are not out and about, they will spend time getting to know their host families.

"In many developing nations, to be a Rotarian is to be a member of the upper class, we will be staying with the business elite and so we have been trying to prep ourselves for our stays in their homes," said Helman.

This preparation includes becoming as familiar as possible with customs, dinner etiquette, and how to live in a home where there are maids and cooks.

"We have already learned that you cannot pick up after yourself or make your bed," Coombs said. "If you do, you are taking away the maid's job or you are insinuating that she does not do it well enough."

Helman said they have heard conflicting advice on whether or not they should eat everything at meal times or leave some on the plate.

"Some sources say you should eat everything on the plate because you are in a land of want and it is interpreted as wasteful," said Helman.

Coombs said that sometimes both Drs. Alamo and Alas at the Family Care Center who are from Manila, "laugh hysterically" at her and wonder where she hears these "crazy things.

"They tell me life in the Philippines is more westernized than people think and that we should just be ourselves," said Coombs.

The group is not expecting a language barrier. While Spanish is still spoken, it is no longer the official language. English and Filipino (formerly called Tagalog) are spoken in the area they are visiting.

In addition to learning as much as they can about the customs of the culture, Coombs says she will be meeting with Alamo and Alas again before they leave on February 13.

The team is also preparing for their presentations to Rotary groups and others during their stay and is learning the national anthem, "Lupang Hinirang," in Tagalog.

Despite the uncertainty of the cultural differences, Helman said when she heard the trip was to the Philippines this year she jumped at the chance.

"I have hosted visiting members of groups in the past and I have always wanted to lead a group," said Helman. "The more I have read about the economic and cultural differences between our two countries, the more excited I became about seeing it for myself."

Another component for Helman is to be able to experience Rotary in another country. She noted that Rotary International has been at the forefront of stamping out polio worldwide.

"The worldwide polio campaign originated in the Philippines 25 years ago," said Helman. "These people clearly know about service; clearly know how to do effective long-term planning, and I am in awe. I'm not waiting for some other country - this is the one for me."

For Coombs, the trip went beyond expanding her horizons.

"I enjoy being able to help people and give gifts to people that can, in turn, keep giving back to them," Coombs said. "I'm hoping that after experiencing a different culture I will return with a new set of eyes and ideas to bring to my teaching."

Andrews, the third member of the Boothbay contingent is currently in Sofia, Bulgaria recruiting employees for Hannaford. She will meet up with the Group Study Exchange team in the Philippines on February 13 (Manila is 13 hours ahead during EST.)

To have three members of a team be from the same town is an unusual occurrence, and these women devised a way to involve the younger members of the community into the moment.

Currently, the first and fourth grades at Boothbay Region Elementary School (BRES) are participating in a pen pal project.

The idea came about because Coombs and husband, Bill's son, Thomas, is in Lisa Andrews' first grade class and Evelyn Andrews' nephew is in the fourth grade. Coombs and Helman will visit BRES the week before they depart on Wednesday, February 13 to collect the children's "mail" and explain a little about what they will be doing.

This spring, when the team from the Philippines is here, they will bring responses to the Boothbay pen pals.

The second event connecting the community to this trip is a fund-raiser happening on Saturday, February 2, which is being called "Souper" Bowl Saturday. The supper will be at the Boothbay Fire Station from 5 to 7 p.m.

This fund-raiser is being organized for Coombs by her co-workers, to help her family with finances while she is away.

The nurses and CNAs are preparing the food for the supper. Tickets are $6 for individuals and $12 for families. Each attendee will get a free raffle ticket and other tickets can be purchased (six for $5 and one for $1) at the "souper bowl" and at Body Holiday, owned by Bill Coombs.

The drawing will be held at Body Holiday on Monday, February 11. Other locations for raffle ticket purchase to be announced.