Exhibit: 2 years of spanish classwork and trip to the Virgin Islands

Benchmark: Teamwork/Communication

Skills: TC101-Understanding the cultural traditions of others

TC102-Seek to understand different points of view

Growing up I never have gone out of the country, it was always a bunch of different

states for when we went on family vacations. This past summer of 2020, I finally got to

experience going out of the country. I went to the Virgin Islands with my mom, sister, andstep

dad for a vacation and my mother’s wedding. Before I got to the island, what I pictured in my

head from what it was really like was a whole lot different. Even though the Virgin Islands is

United States territory, there are numerous races and ethnicities of people on the island. I found it

quite fascinating to sit back and observe the different cultural habits and living conditions of the

people on the island, especially their everyday lifestyle.

I would see poor people on the streets talking to each other in languages I couldn’t

understand. I would recognize their driving was opposite from what the United States was which

was very strange to me. People would be on the street trying to sell produce or little nick nacks

that they made just to get a little bit of money which was kind of saddening to look at. It was

something I have never experienced before but I found it very interesting to see some of the

lifestyle habits other cultures have and live with.

Even throughout my two years of spanish class, I found out so many new traditions and

cultural habits that other ethnicities and countries do or celebrate. Sometimes when we would get
a foreign exchange student from a different country, I would try to learn or pick up a few things

that they do differently in their country compared to here. I have always found it so interesting to

see how other cultures do things differently and what people from different countries find so

different from here compared to back where they're from. I have learned a lot from observing

and especially from being in two years of spanish, it helps me understand different points of

view of other cultures which i find fascinating and a great quality to have.

These skills will help me throughout my life as a young adult because it will benefit me

when I travel to different countries and have to understand their cultures and language. It will be

good to communicate with the people from the countries and know what their daily life style is

like. It will also help me in my future career as a veterinarian because some of my patients could

be from a foreign country and not speak English very well english. It would be a huge benefit to

understand their language and communicate with them in terms of their pets health and sickness.