Culture

One of my biggest dreams or rather goals is to travel the world. I want to explore different lands and see different things. But more importantly I want to experience new cultures and meet people with different values and views far from my own. I think this is the best way to experience a new place, whether it is a new town, state or country. Getting to know the culture is probably the most rewarding thing.
I never really realized this until when I first moved to Florida six years ago. I had been to Florida plenty of times on vacation so I thought I knew what to expect. Boy was I wrong about that. I moved to Jacksonville Florida. I don’t know if you’ve ever been, but it is definitely not like Orlando. Orlando is full of tourist attractions and people whose purpose is to cater to tourists. In Jacksonville it was completely different. You hear the thick southern accents, and the manners that people have are incredible, something that I was not used to too. There were also draw backs, like the education there was so far behind that of New York. Also people talked with this slow drawl that I could not deal with because I was used to things being said quickly. Everything down there was slowed down and it was a bit hard for me to get used. The environment however, was very different. It was like a relaxed, stress free environment.
Now from this experience I learned that just because you visit a different area doesn’t necessarily mean you experienced the culture. I encourage people to stay in an area longer then just vacation time. And instead of staying in a hotel, stay with a friend or a local motel. Yes some places may be beautiful in appearance but the cultures may be more intriguing and more appealing.