A table at O’Brien’s Irish Pub & Grill, in Plant City, was filled with chatter May 24. If a nearby diner picked up on some of the conversation, he or she might have thought it sounded foreign.
It was.
Six career professionals from Taiwan were visiting Florida as part of a Rotary program called the Group Study Exchange. They spoke with their Plant City host families in English and Mandarin.
The visitors are not Rotarians. Instead, they are selected by their district’s Rotary Club to represent their professions and the club.
In April, Plant City resident Sophia Hyde was selected as part of the GSE Team that sent Americans to Taiwan. Hyde enthusiastically talked to the visitors, which had jobs ranging from a police officer to a musician and composer. She met them previously during her stay in Taiwan and was curious to hear about their experiences.
“They participated in quite a few of the events we did (in Taiwan),” Hyde said. “I picked up on my own differences between the two cultures, but it was so interesting to see how they noticed different things from their perspective.”
Arriving on May 18, in Tampa, the group stayed with host families in Sun City Center for the first half of their trip. There, they visited a retirement community, Freedom Plaza. To Grace Liu, Jinny Chen and Synia Su, the cultural differences on family dynamics was very apparent.
“We were so touched,” Su said. “What we’re taught is that we should take care of our parents through their whole life, and not send them away.”
“But we saw them very happy,” Liu said.
Chen also noticed the difference in lifestyles between the two countries.
“Here is more easier,” Chen said. “The lifestyle is different here. It’s more spontaneous.
“We treat everything like a very big deal (in Taiwan),” she said. “Everything.”
The GSE students then transferred May 24, to their Plant City host families in Plant City. Dennis and Delores Digamon hosted Su and Liu. Ed Bozeman hosted Louie Chen. David Miller hosted Phillip Hsieh. George and Cassandra Banning hosted Jinny Chen and team leader Vincent Kuan.
“As far as preparation, Fred Oeters and myself were asked to handle the team’s visit to Plant City,” George Banning said. “Having been involved in the GSE program for years and hosting over 19 teams, I pretty much knew the drill.”
George Banning contacted other Rotarians who had hosted families in the past. He also contacted Hyde to see what the groups interests were to better arrange tours. Hyde had helped arrange a tour to Parkesdale Farm Market.
“We had a very good time there,” Kuan said. “We saw lots of ice cream, plants, flowers and strawberry-related items.”
What Kuan loved most about Parkesdale was the story behind its owner.
“It’s motivating and inspiring,” Kuan said. “The second and third generation continued it.”
Kuan has been to the United States before with his job. He has visited Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach along with Tampa. As much as Kuan has toured Florida, he was looking forward to visiting the Kennedy Space Center. He hasn’t had a chance to tour it yet.
“It’s a great opportunity for me,” Kuan said.
The team will leave June 15, for home.
“I have personally learned a great deal about Taiwan also known as Formosa,” George Banning said. “It is amazing what you learn by spending time with people one on one that you can never know by listening to the news and even ready about in history books.”
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.