Learn About Other Cultures

Learn About Other Cultures

There are a lot of ways to experience other cultures without having to take a long plane flight. You can travel via the Internet, without ever leaving your house, and learn about other countries, without having to go broke.

Visit the library and check out travel books. Reading through travel books and travel journals gives you great ideas about local and international destinations and begins to expose you to new cultures. Volunteer to practice English with people in your community who speak English as a second language. In exchange for practicing English, you can ask to learn more about their culture and language. Take a class at your community college about another culture. It doesn't have to be a language class...it can be a dance class, like capoeira from Brazil, or a cooking class like learning how to make mole from Mexico. Visit local museums and cultural centers, especially when they are exhibiting works from other countries.

Explore the Internet...subscribe to newspapers from other countries online to read more about what they are reading. Browse local websites with data on entertainment, outings, trends. Take a look at local communities, forums, blogs to get into real everyday slang and culture. You can even get a pen/email pal.Realize that if you would still like to travel, investigate exchange programs in your community. Many cities have "sister city" exchange programs where they select young people to visit the town's sister city for a week. Other options include Rotary, church programs and volunteer organizations. Many of these groups offer supervised travel and travel grants. Remember it is always good if you have a friend of another culture. This way you learn more about how people look, act, etc.

Ask your teachers about special travel programs. Many teachers take trips during the summer and learn a lot about exchange programs abroad. Depending on how old you are, you may also be able to work abroad. Club Med, cruise ships and other tourist organizations often hire young, but over 18, people to run events, take guests ashore, etc.

Make sure your parents know why you want to travel and learn more about other cultures. They might be able to help you, and, by keeping them informed, you are more likely to be able to make a trip