By Lisa Hochgraf
Back in 1996, my husband Clark and I went to Spain to visit friends I'd made as a Rotary Youth Exchange student to Valencia in 1987. During the last dinner together as a group before we left, Clark spent a lot of time with the dictionary. When dinner ended, he said, aptly, "Amiguitas antiguas, nuevas otra vez"--literally, "dear old friends, new again."
The amiguitas (from left): Carmen, Lisa, Lola, Inma. The cow mat was a parting gift for this girl from Wisconsin.
This June Clark and I will be heading back to Valencia (with our eight-year-old son in tow) to reconnect with the "amiguitas" and meet their children. Now it has been 25 years since my first visit and, I must say, the idea of reconnecting with these people who have had a significant impact on my personal and professional life is very appealing.
I expect going back will charge me up with new ideas about the value of having an international network, and give me the great satisfaction of seeing new friendships formed as the children get to know each other. Maybe I'll even look up the sources I interviewed during the 1996 trip, when I wrote a story about Spanish credit cooperatives, largely tied to Valencia's great agricultural economy.
This year, CUES is celebrating its 50-year milestone. Charter members, long-time members and new members alike are getting a chance to write in and reflect on what they have found valuable about being part of the network. Join them in making your dear old friendship with CUES new again! 
Email me or put your thoughts in the comments. And be sure to join us at at CEO/Executive Team Network in November, where the significance of the anniversary (and the retirement of long-time CUES President/CEO Fred Johnson), will be marked in person. We look forward to hearing from you and seeing you.
Lisa Hochgraf is a CUES editor.
