Diving Into Culture
Get the in-depth scoop on how I found (& continue to explore) my love for culture. Find everything from language, dance, penpals, and more in this years very first blog post. Here's to 2020!
Get the in-depth scoop on how I found (& continue to explore) my love for culture. Find everything from language, dance, penpals, and more in this years very first blog post. Here's to 2020!
As I try to think back to where my initial interest in different cultures really began, I keep landing on about 10 years old. Around this time, I became really interested in Paris, France. I remember playing with PowerPoint on my dad’s computer, putting together slides about French food (baguettes, anyone?) and the Eiffel Tower (I wonder if it’s still on his computer now that I think of it…). None of these silly projects were school related, just simply me being me.
As I entered the 6th grade, my first year of middle school, I remember a letter arriving to my house. The letter said that at my school, foreign language isn’t offered to everyone until 7th and 8th grade (when it is required), but that I had great academics that would allow me to start taking a language of my choice in 6th grade! I didn't even know at the time that my school offered foreign language, or that I would have even had the opportunity to take it in my later middle school years. Entering middle school was all new to me, as I was/am the oldest child. I was so excited to start this next step, and of course I chose French!
I studied French throughout middle school (along with the other required foreign languages, one of which was German). As I entered high school, only 2 years of foreign language were required, but you know me - I ended up taking 4 years of honors French. I’ve always just been curious about culture, and have always wanted to see the world. Another funny (& quick) story while I’m on this topic..
I remember in those same years (about 6th/7th grade), I felt I was sooo independent. I really did love going to school, and being responsible for all of my own things. I also played the violin, and felt extra special being responsible for an entire instrument! Anyway, I remember asking my mom if I could take a “vacation” by myself with just my friend to Cancun. I saw my older relatives heading there via the early stages of social media/Facebook. All I can say from that is that I got a laugh and a big fat NO! (I don’t blame you one bit, mom!)
From high school on, my interest in culture has only grown deeper. For my two year anniversary with my now fiance, I accomplished what I consider to be the greatest gift. EVER. In my opinion, it was so epic - I wish it were a gift for me, but I knew that no one I am close to uses social media like I do and would never have found and/or this, so I had to dive right in.
I found this Facebook group (I don't even remember HOW to be honest..) that was all about trading custom notes or cards from around the world. To be more specific, you would take a photo of some kind of scenery near where you lived. If you lived in a big city like San Francisco, most likely the image would be of the Golden Gate Bridge, etc. Well, me being from Ohio, I didn't really have a great “landmark”, but, I did have snow (for most of my images) - which not everyone has. I used a local barn since people like to think Ohio is an entire state of farmers.
The whole point of the project was to trade notes with people from around the world, to collect and put in some sort of scrap book or slideshow. It will make more sense once you see some of the examples below.
As you can see, I got to trade with some people near some pretty unique places! Sometimes I would even have people request I write their note in a completely foreign language - nothing like truly having to make sure you “dot your i’s and cross your t’s”...
The overall gift turned out great - I ended up getting one of those digital frames (since Joe is Mr.Tech-Savvy) and uploading all the images there so they would play as a slideshow. It turned out pretty great, but boy was it a pain to do! I had to not only write (and keep hidden) all the notes I had to make for other people, but then also find the time to go to my “location” and snap photos of each note - also making sure they got delivered to the correct person. Oy vey. Sounds like a lot of work (which it was), but it was totally worth it. I will forever suggest this project to other travel & photo lovers like me. :-)
This whole project actually led me down an entire other road as well - one I am so extremely thankful for. In that same FB group - I ended up finding 2 individuals that are now my “Penpals” if you will. I ended up talking with 2 women (one my age and one a bit older) from both Australia and Malawi, Africa (more on this in another blog!). This experience is one I can’t fully explain - it’s immersive, educational, real… You can’t learn about a country through a textbook the same way you do with a person. Check out my upcoming blog for more on this!
In addition to all these crazy stories & experiences, I also picked up Irish dancing over the last 2 years! Yes, I had danced before (this is always the first question I get), but I never did anything like Irish dancing. I grew up with the pretty typical “American” style dances which included classes like jazz, ballet, hip-hop, and tap. Irish dancing is completely different, however, in terms of both style/technique, but also rhythm. Full disclosure - what sparked my interest in this was St.Patrick’s Day 2018.. Joe and I are watching Disney’s The Luck of the Irish movie, and I have the crazy idea to start Irish dancing. Well, you may have guessed it - there I am, the very next week, researching places for adults to learn Irish dance. My love for this style of dance took off, and before I knew it just 7 months later I was competing at the Mid-America Oireachtas in Louisville, Kentucky with my team taking both 4th and 10th place!
To wrap this up - my advice to you is to try something new! You are never, ever, too old (or too young), to try a new hobby, adventure, or whatever it may be. Ok, maybe with the exception of the whole Cancun-in-middle-school-without-parents thing… but BESIDES that - do it all! Take on new ideas and challenges. Cheers to 2020 & a whole new decade!