Charleston, Kingsly, Hunting Island/Beaufort!

The entire TLO experience has been both fascinating and educational. I have learned so much about the Gullah/Geechee, and being able to connect the reading in the classroom setting, to actual people, has been an awesome learning experience!

The Charleston trip was long and packed with so much information that when I came back, I was so exhausted and my brain hurt! We were fortunate enough, to get a Gullah tour through Charleston and getting a glimpse into their culture from someone that actually is apart of the community was very informative. My favorite portion of the tour was seeing all of Philip Simmons gates, and iron work. I am just so amazed that even though he has passed his little workshop in the middle of an area where police cars were lining the streets still exists and we were able to see it! I had never heard about him, but I'm definitely a fan of his work, my camping group even incorporated his work into our Team name and Motto! The Middleton Plantation Tour was also interesting, hearing from a different perspective, however more time to explore the plantation would have been nice.

Kingsly was a quaint little place. I didn't get as much as out of this trip as I did the others, it was pretty much a summary of everything I had already learned, but still helped to create a foundation for understanding the Gullah/Geechee, as well as the plantation owners culture.

The Hunting Island camping trip was definitely the most amazing experience we have had! Not only were we able to get to know the people in our class better, but we were also able to experience the Gullah/Geechee in a whole new way. Meeting Queen Quet was phenomenal, she has such a commanding presence! My favorite portion of the trip was doing all the workshops, watching an 86 year old man make a casting net, making mini strip quilts, and participating in poly-rhythms! Queen Quet's tour through Beaufort was also very informative! I loved it! Learning about her people and her story from her was so much better than reading it in an article written by some other person! I also ate okra and bread pudding... definitely not my normal choice of foods, but it was all apart of the experience :)

Pictures will be coming soon!