The Alumni Association of Rotary District 1210
GSE South Carolina
Mike Summerfield, Team Leader
It is impossible to record all the experiences gained on this memorable exchange. Suffice to say for a period of 6 weeks we were accepted into the hearts and homes of so many South Carolinians, many of whom were Rotarians who were delighted to share with us how they lived, worked and played.
We started our exchange by visiting our first of 6 towns namely Charleston, the uncrowned capital of South Carolina, they will have you believe. It was here that the war of independance was started by outwitting the "Brits" , in which they took great glee in telling us. Charleston also played a leading part in the civil war of the "war of northern aggression" as they descirbe it. Whilst here we saw a number of examples of plantations where the slaves were regarded as trusted retainers rather than slaves, although you could not help notice the disparity between the type of accommodation occupied by the slaves and the slave owners.
We made a considerable number of visits to see Carolina at work including a Tobacco farm, Honda All Terrain vehicles factory. The team dressed for going round a factory that produces syringes. We visited TV Studios, watched Soldiers preparing for war and met the State Governor.
We made over 25 presentations to Rotary Clubs including the District Conference and by the end of 6 weeks even the most nervous of us could speak at the drop of a hat.
It was not all work however, we undertook a number of recreational activities and we were welcomed by so many clubs to social events that were arranged for us. At some of these events we were introduced to new dishes, particulary Frogmore Stew, a concoction of shrimps, potatoes and sausages all bolied up in a tea urn and eaten with the fingers together with roasted oysters and Grits, they look & taste like porridge with egg and bacon shovelled in.
The 6 weeks in Carolina were almost timeless, where we were so privileged to see part of America that we would never have seen and experienced had we been on a normal tour or holiday. A truely lfe changing experience and some 8 years later I am still in contact with many new friends we met on this exchange.
We started our exchange by visiting our first of 6 towns namely Charleston, the uncrowned capital of South Carolina, they will have you believe. It was here that the war of independance was started by outwitting the "Brits" , in which they took great glee in telling us. Charleston also played a leading part in the civil war of the "war of northern aggression" as they descirbe it. Whilst here we saw a number of examples of plantations where the slaves were regarded as trusted retainers rather than slaves, although you could not help notice the disparity between the type of accommodation occupied by the slaves and the slave owners.
We made a considerable number of visits to see Carolina at work including a Tobacco farm, Honda All Terrain vehicles factory. The team dressed for going round a factory that produces syringes. We visited TV Studios, watched Soldiers preparing for war and met the State Governor.
We made over 25 presentations to Rotary Clubs including the District Conference and by the end of 6 weeks even the most nervous of us could speak at the drop of a hat.
It was not all work however, we undertook a number of recreational activities and we were welcomed by so many clubs to social events that were arranged for us. At some of these events we were introduced to new dishes, particulary Frogmore Stew, a concoction of shrimps, potatoes and sausages all bolied up in a tea urn and eaten with the fingers together with roasted oysters and Grits, they look & taste like porridge with egg and bacon shovelled in.
The 6 weeks in Carolina were almost timeless, where we were so privileged to see part of America that we would never have seen and experienced had we been on a normal tour or holiday. A truely lfe changing experience and some 8 years later I am still in contact with many new friends we met on this exchange.
