District 7680’s 2009 Group Study Exchange Egypt team returned from their month's sojourn with reassurances about the state of the Arab world. "Egyptians are kind, loving, gentle people," said team leader Bill Burnham of the Mecklenburg South club. "They are concerned about our image of them, and want to overcome the fact that extremists have given many Americans a bad impression."

Burnham and five team members spent three weeks in Cairo and Alexandria, three days at the posh Red Sea resort of Hurgada for the District 2450 convention, and six days in Beirut and other parts of Lebanon, as that country was gearing up for important national elections that turned out to be fair and peaceful.

The team included Josh Griffin, a Spanish language instructor at Stanley Community College; Bryant Eckert, a bank officer at US Bank; Whitney Hodges, a town planner in Huntersville; Chris Miller, a Sergeant in the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department; and Regina Boyd, an English as a Second Language Specialist for Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools.

Team members prepared for their trip by meeting together every other Sunday since the beginning of January. They took care of administrative and logistical matters, got to know each other, and learned about the Egyptian culture, the Arabic language, and the Muslim faith.

Burnham cited the District 2450 convention, which was attended by about 2,000 people, as a highlight of the trip. The host district includes nine different nations -- Cyprus, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain, UAE, Dubai, Georgia and Armenia. Beginning the event in Olympic style, a flag bearer from each nation marched into an open air Roman coliseum-type amphitheatre waving their national flag as their national anthem played.

Team member Whitney Hodges, a town planner in Huntersville, found many familiar aspects in Egyptian life during her home stays, "There were a lot more similarities than differences. It was like being at home, except for having servants and drivers! We had a birthday party for my host dad, and their cat had kittens while I was there."

A typical day for the group included waking early and gathering at a central location or Rotary office after overnight stays with host families. They conducted vocational visits during the day. As a town planner, Hodges was interested in a new, modern city being built in the suburbs of Cairo. Named "Sixth of October," it was being developed as a "smart village" home for global corporations like Microsoft.

They attended mid-day meetings of Rotary clubs that lasted from 2-4, relaxed or visited tourist sites in the early evening, and then attended evening Rotary club meetings, that started at 8:30 PM or later, until well after midnight! "We didn't get a lot of sleep," Burnham said. In all, they had presentations with more than 20 different clubs.

They not only saw the pyramids, but rode both camels and four-wheelers through the sand around the massive icons. They met the Governors of the Egyptian states of Cairo and Alexandria, and everywhere were chauffeured by eager, young Roteract members.

While most vestiges of the 1980s civil war have been scrubbed clean in Beirut, the GSE team was fascinated to see reminders of the fighting in some bullet-pocked walls and unreconstructed buildings. During most mornings on the trip, they made vocational visits to see local Rotarians at work. In Lebanon, Hodges' host family managed a farm and a factory that produced cookware, packaging tape, and chocolate!

Hodges said the trip turned out better than she ever imagined. "It exceeded my expectations. I didn’t realize how close I would come to know and become acquaintances with so many people so quickly. It was hard to come back, knowing it would be a while before I saw my Egyptian and Lebanese friends again."

They were welcomed into mosques everywhere, participated in a field day at a school for special needs children, where honored and wore traditional galabeyas, which looked like long robes, at a delicious lamb barbecue cooked in an underground pit, and marveled that anyone got anywhere through the horrendous traffic jams and driving patterns in Cairo.

Members of the team are extending the experience by keeping in touch with host families and other Rotarians they met, as well as with members of the Egyptian team that visited our district. They are also reporting their experiences to meetings of clubs here in their home district.

Next year.s district GSE team will visit Brazil. Rotarians are invited to begin now to look for qualified non-Rotarian young professionals age 25-40 to recommend for the experience.

Please read about all their adventures at: http://2009egyptteam.blogspot.com/