When I was in first year high school at Meriden in Strathfield in 1965 we had an enthusiastic AFS student from America. She impressed me greatly. When I was at Campbell High in Canberra I had the opportunity to apply for this scholarship. Fortunately I was successful and flew to America in August 1970.
122 students were selected from Australia and we collected more students from New Zealand on our flight to San Francisco. A 20 hour flight with 200 students was partytime. In those days you could move freely around the cabin and even chat to the pilot in the cockpit.
Our orientation was at Stanford University, a very impressive campus.
Then we were all distributed around the US.
Then we were all distributed around the US.
I was put on a flight to Pensacola, Florida.
My host family was from Foley, Alabama, 45 minutes from Pensacola. The Engels had four girls - Nancy (my age), Patsy, Sherry and Susie. Bob, the father, was a farmer - hogs and corn. His farm adjoined several other farms owned by his brothers.
They were wonderfully supportive and welcomed me into their family, providing me with every experience possible.
At this time in US history schools in the southern states had just been integrated, George Wallace a very conservative governor of Alabama, pro-segregation, was in office. Most white families had black maids, just as depicted in the movie, The Help.
Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew were the Presidencial duo in their first term before their respective falls from grace with the Watergate and corruption scandals.
Foley was a typical southern farming town. 15,000 inhabitants with a lot of community involvement through the local (Foley) School, a range of churches (the Engels attended St Paul’s Lutheran church) and community services groups, like Rotary.
The main meeting point was the bowling alley car park - very typical small town America. Very TV’s Happy Days era.
Most popular meals
Fried chicken and shrimp and grits
Some surprises
Cars were huge compared to Australian models. Most students had car licences at 16 and drove large Chevrolets or being a farming community, pick up trucks. Colour TV was a complete novelty and the large fast food chains were new to me as well.
Foley High School was the classic American high school. The year was focussed on the baseball and football seasons and the social events surrounding them - Homecoming, for example.
There was total support of the school teams - school marching bands, cheerleaders and booster squads. Several times a year there were parades through the town with much enthusiasm for the preparation of floats.
There was a stream of social events - homecoming, Christmas dances and the Prom. The theme for the 1971 prom was the Carpenters’ We’ve only just begun.
There was a stream of social events - homecoming, Christmas dances and the Prom. The theme for the 1971 prom was the Carpenters’ We’ve only just begun.
All functions meticulously planned and orchestrated, as they had been for decades.
St Paul’s Lutheran Church Christmas concert
A small, supportive country school was the perfect place to spend a year. I learnt typing and Spanish .. among other new skills. School was a daily fashion parade (all hand-made) - unlike our functional school uniforms (and make-up and jewellery punishable by detention) in Australia - there was pressure to keep up with fashion, make up, handbags and coiffed hair.
Formal afternoon teas were the norm for get togethers and community welcomes.
My homeroom teacher, Mrs Fulbright wrote this poem for my farewell.
As part of my responsibility I was required to speak about Australia to community groups, which I did very willingly as I met so many interesting people throughout the year.
During the year there were opportunities to meet with other AFS students from so many different countries.
I also had the opportunity for a short term exchange in Jacksonville Florida with the Bullard family. It was an exciting week attending the large local high school, learning to water ski at their house on a lake and spending a night in Tallahassee at Florida State University in the Kappa Alpha Omega sorority house with the oldest daughter, Clea.
Schoolies week at Gulf Shores, the beautiful coast only 30 minutes away from town.
The Gulf is well-known for its displays of phosphorescence.
At the end of the academic year, all the AFS students from around the US were put in bus groups for a tour through the country.
Our group from the southern states had a fabulous itinerary- Atlanta, Chattanooga, Washington, Cincinnati and Jamestown NY.
Generous hosts, beautiful stately homes, a work program in Washington, a Burt Bacharach/ Dionne Warwick open air concert, a trip to Niagara Falls and lots of fun time in each city stay.
A fabulous group of students with so many different backgrounds. A wonderful ending to a very enlightening year - for a very grateful Aussie girl!
But the fun was not over yet! Just before our departure from San Francisco we were billeted with more families. I was lucky to stay with the Macdonnell family in Palo
Alto.
A most interesting year.
M&M
Several Australian students in this year group went on to do law at ANU and became federal and NSW politicians, Nick Minchin and Andrew Tink.
After 50+ years I still have contact with the Engel family and we regularly share news and memories.
M
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