Presently, I have branched out of my culture and my comfort zone by taking part in several trips outside of the country. My first trip abroad was to Mexico with my family. We had a tradition that we would travel there every other summer. My father is fluent in Spanish and listening to him communicate with the Mexican people was different than anything I had ever experienced. I also had a personal experience with bartering in Mexico. This practice is a major part of their culture, and I enjoyed trying to come up with a bargain price for a stuffed animal I wanted to purchase. I also really enjoyed the food. The hotel where we stayed served rice, beans, pancakes, and eggs for breakfast. I looked forward to this trip every two years until it became very dangerous for Americans to travel to Mexican border towns.

            My second experience with an outside culture was in 8th grade; I took part in a mission trip to Costa Rica. This was also my first time to ever travel by airplane, so I was already out of my comfort zone before even setting foot in a foreign country. This trip changed my outlook on what I had imagined poverty to be. I had never seen anyone as skinny and hungry as some of the Costa Rican people. We were building a parking lot for a church in San Jose, Costa Rica in the most poverty-stricken part of the area. Communication was the main barrier in relating to their culture because they spoke Spanish. I had to use the little Spanish I gathered from school and my father in order to attempt to communicate. This was very difficult because I yearned to learn so much more about them individually than I was able to. 

            In 2007 my family traveled to my mother’s hometown, Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada for an anniversary celebration at my mother’s church there. Compared to my other cultural experiences, Vancouver is not as different as I was expecting. I did notice, however, that there were many Asian and Indian people residing there. In Vancouver, there is a place called China Town that mimics China, and many foreign foods and goods are sold there. Personally, this was the biggest culture shock. We ate lunch at one of the Chinese restaurants in China Town, and I ordered a dish called chicken and noodles because it was the most “normal” looking dish on the menu. Once I received my food, it was not a “normal” dish at all. The broth smelled and tasted like fish and the chicken had bones left in it. I did not enjoy this dish at all, but it was definitely a cultural learning experience for me. 

            My most recent adventure outside of the country was five summers ago when I went on a mission trip to Belize in Central America. Language was not as much of a barrier because the Belizean people speak a mixture of Spanish and English, so I had fairly good idea of what they were trying to say. I have always been proud of my ethnic heritage, but we were told that many of the Belizean people look down upon Americans because of the stereotype that we are all spoiled and view ourselves as “better” than others. I was not ashamed of being an American, but I wanted to relate to the Belizean people the best I could aside from the stereotype. This trip was truly the most touching and impacting trip I have ever taken. We had Vacation Bible School for the children and also went to different houses to do construction work. Everyday the pastor and his wife cooked lunch for us and had us in their home to eat. During this trip I had the mindset that we were going to help these people and to show them the love of Christ, but I truly believe that they ended up having a greater impact on me than I had on them. 

            The most recent cultural experience that I am experiencing is during my current everyday life. I serve as a first-grade teacher at a Title I Distinguished School in Athens, Georgia. Within this program, most all of the students at my school receive a free or reduced breakfast and lunch. The elementary school where I teach has an enrollment of 483 students. Of these students, 48% are African- American, 42% are Hispanic, 3% are multi-racial, and 6% are Caucasian (FDES Annual Performance Report, 2015). We also have 113 ESOL students at my school. The school I am involved with is located in the middle of a neighborhood in the northern quadrant of Athens Clarke County, which is a small urban community. Although I have been teaching at this school for two years, I also completed my practicum hours and student teaching requirements at this school, so I have really been working at this school for a total of three and a half years. Through this experience, I have had the opportunity to build relationships with many of the families who have children attending the school. The school is found wedged between the meeting of rural and urban areas of town where many impoverished families reside. The area seems to be somewhat unfamiliar, to the extent that when I mention the section of town where my school is located, even local Athenians are often uncertain about where the area is that I am describing. The area is almost like a ‘forgotten’ or unknown part of town. Through working at this school I have not only learned about the cultures of my students, but I have also learned how to get to know them on a personal level where I can be the most impactful as a white, American, female teacher.