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Brian Hobbs
Professor Rebecca Agosta
UWRT 1101-035
9 October 2015
Cultural Literacy through Travel
Ive learned a lot through my 18 years of existence. I especially remember the times
where I traveled to different parts of the world and met new people. I learned a lot from other
people in other cultures. Humans are a social breed and we learn from interacting with each
other. When we experience other cultures, we take parts of who they are and integrate it into our
lives. The most memorable and influential parts of my life took place on the soccer field and
when I Traveled to London, Calgary and the Dominican Republic.
I have done a lot throughout my life, but one thing that has stayed constant is my passion
for soccer. Ever since the age of 5, Ive been playing soccer. Rain or shine I was always playing,
whether it was for school my school team or for my travel team. When Im out on the soccer
field I can express myself. I have learned so much through soccer. Ive learned how to work hard
and how to be a part of a team. I also learned the language of soccer on and off of the field. I
learned how to play soccer rather than how to just kick the ball, because there is more to it than
that. It is all about your positioning and off the ball skills. I also met a plethora of people
through soccer, more people than I can remember. I met people from all over the world. From,
Europe, South America and Asia. All of these different cultures had a huge effect on who I am.
Some of these people didnt speak the same language that I speak today. Others spoke English,
but they didnt speak the American English. My English coach would say different words than

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what we use. For example he would say boots instead of cleats, pitch instead of field
and kits instead of jerseys. All of this is now in my brain and I can use them as a part of my
vocabulary. If I would have never played soccer than I would have never learned any of this. I
also picked up on the language of other foreign players. Even though it would have been a word
here or there, it still had an impact on my knowledge of their country and their language. Now in
the future, I will now be able to have a clear understanding of what people are saying from
England.
I also learned a lot through travel, learning more and more about each country as I spent
more time there. Looking up information about a country only gives you a small peek into that
country. Going there is the only way to get the full experience. For me, traveling is a lot of fun
because it allows you to explore and be free in new and unfamiliar territory. In the past two
years, I was blessed to be able to go on three trips out of the country. In the spring of 2014 I went
to London England for spring break. The next January, I went on a missions trip to the
Dominican Republic and the spring break of 2015 I went to Calgary Canada to see family. Each
one of these trips had a profound effect on my life and their memories will forever live on.
The trip to England was the most memorable trip of them all. I got to experience so much
in such a little amount of time. On the trip, I was able to experience the true look and feel of
England. I was even able to get a taste of Europe. Because all of the countries in Europe are so
close to each other traveling between each one is easy and with a European passport it is even
easier. Because of ease of travel, most European countries are very diverse and while I was in
London I experienced a lot of the European cultures. When we were there, we stayed in a
beautiful apartment, in the Chelsea area. The look of that apartment will never leave me. The
architecture of the apartments were all so different than the apartments in the United States. This

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is due to the fact that they are much older and are influenced by the European style of living. The
looks of the streets and the smell of the restaurants I ate at will forever be in my memories. The
European culture is vastly different than the American one. What they eat, say and do is all
different. When you ordered a drink, they wouldnt put ice in it. They didnt serve sweet tea or a
lot of the classic American dishes. Americans have a bad reputation over there so you would
ways get bad service. Their driving is crazy. They dont seem to care how fast they are going, nor
do they care about the pedestrians. They will not slow down for any reason. You have to get out
of the cars way or you are going to get hit. Unlike the city of Charlotte, where I am from,
London has a subway system. It takes some getting used to but it is a great way to get from point
A to point B. The most exciting part about the trip was when I was able to see an Arsenal game.
My, favorite soccer team since when I was a kid was playing on a Sunday night, and I was able
to get a ticket. I can say that it was the most exciting moment of my life when my Dad and I
went up to the ticket stand and said that they had two tickets. We won the game against our
hometown rivals. One of the other cool parts about the game was that it was played at night.
Most soccer games are in the afternoon, so I got to watch a special game. The game was amazing
and I will never forget it. Being at the game gave me a whole new perspective on what it was like
at an England soccer game. The atmosphere was incredible and nothing in America can match it.
The sights sounds and smells of London will never escape me. But nothing will match the views
of Banff, Canada.
The next trip I went on was to Calgary Canada. I have an Uncle, Aunt and Cousin that
live there. My family had been trying to go for many years. We finally got the opportunity to go
during my senior year of high school. It was a different kind of trip because we had our own
personal tour guide. On the day after we arrived we took a two hour drive to Banff. Banff is in

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the Canadian Rockies. While I was there, I learned a lot about the town and I got to see some
amazing views. I learned about the Canadian culture as well. The way the Native Americans
grew up and developed the land as well as how the French influence permeated throughout the
country. It was a great and beautiful experience. The next day was Easter Sunday and my Aunts
family came over. They were from Austria and I learned a lot about the Austrian culture and
people by talking to her parents. I also learned a new German card game while I was there. All
throughout the week we went to different places in Calgary. We watched a hockey game that was
close to the playoffs so it was an intense game. It was the first NHL game that I have ever been
to. It was a fun experience seeing a hockey game in the country where it was born. And on the
next day we went to the Olympic park were Calgary held the Olympic Games. I was able to see
the high jump and the luge. The cool part about it was that you could go on it, but unfortunately
it wasnt open at the time. All of this information that I learned and the memories I made, was
because I traveled to a different country and a talked to different people from all around the
world. I enjoyed learning about the Canadian history of the French and Native Americans as well
as experiencing the Canadian Rockies. Transitioning from the cold to the warm, the last place
that Ive traveled in the past few years was the Dominican Republic.
I went to the Dominican Republic for a mission trip in January of 2015. This trip was a
little different, I was going to work rather than going for pleasure. I went with my school. I
learned so much while I was down there. To begin with, I didnt speak fluent Spanish, so it was a
little hard to communicate. Over the trip I learned some Spanish. I also learned a lot about the
Dominican Republic. We were there helping a group that was building a school for under
privilege kids. Over the five days that we were there, we helped plant trees and taut kids in the
classrooms. I learned a lot about the Dominican landscape when I was planting the trees. I also

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learned how to deal with kids that didnt speak my language. It was definitely interesting
communicating with them. We then would go to their small villages in the country and this was
the poorest of the poorest in the Dominican Republic. We talked with the adults and played with
the kids when we were there. I was a very eye opening trip. I will never forget the smell of
burning trash when I got the villages. The smell was so strong and its something you cant
forget. It is a smell that I cannot explain; the only way to experience it is by going there. I
learned a lot of things that I couldnt learn at home. We got to help a lot of people and we made a
lot of peoples day while we were there.
Travel is the best way to learn about different cultures and people. We learn so much
from other people and the way they do things. They are all different that thats what makes
diversity. If we were all to say in our houses then we wouldnt gain any new knowledge. As
humans we have to get out and explore, meet new people and be social. By traveling we
experience more than what ever could by watching a video about it or reading about it. It is just
something about being there and personally using all five of your senses to experience the place
makes it special. We gain knowledge every day from our actions, whether it is going to soccer
practice and conversation with foreign teammates, or it is traveling around and experiencing
different cultures. Traveling gives you opportunities that others cant have when they dont
travel, therefore traveling in a very beneficial to your social and cultural literacy.