Time transcripts of Kowalik_Captioned

[00:00:00:00]	Q: Alright, can you share with us your name, and your current occupation?

[00:00:03:27]	A: My name is Lauren Kowalik, and I am a student at Ohio State.

[00:00:07:13]	Q: Do you have geographical literacy narrative to share with us today?

[00:00:12:15]	A: Yes, I do. (Laughter)

[00:00:14:29]	I think that my first experience going abroad was when my family and I took

[00:00:24:04]	a trip to Mexico City to visit my great aunt and my great uncle

[00:00:28:03]	when I was in the first grade.

[00:00:31:07]	Ever since that experience, I've really kind of fallen in love with the idea

[00:00:36:12]	that there are other people around the world with completely different cultures and ideals.

[00:00:40:21]	My aunt used to, when we were down there, 

[00:00:43:17]	we were down there for about two weeks, 

[00:00:45:05]	my aunt would take me with her to go to the market. 

[00:00:49:02]	And, it was different than going to the market in the United Sates.

[00:00:54:01]	You know? Here, you go to the grocery store, and it's all inside.

[00:00:57:08]	But, here, everything was outside.

[00:00:59:03]	And people were calling, "Bananas for this price! Peaches for this price!" 

[00:01:05:25]	And it was just a completely different setting, 

[00:01:07:26]	so much more hustle and bustle.

[00:01:10:14]	 Because, Mexico City, I think, is the most populated city in the world.

[00:01:15:15]	That was, in itself, really interesting to see that... there is life outside of the U.S. 

[00:01:23:17]	I think at the time, in first grade, I was like, 

[00:01:27:21]	"Wow, there's a new place! This is a cool place!"

[00:01:29:15]	But, as I've gotten older, I've become more interested in other cultures.

[00:01:36:11]	What are things like in South America? Which, I've come to find out,

[00:01:39:28]	are fairly similar to my experiences in Mexico City, or in Mexico in general.

[00:01:47:22]	But each country has it's own distinguishable traits, if you will. 

[00:01:55:23]	What happens in Europe is completely different than what happens in Africa.

[00:01:59:16]	I think that really helped... was probably more

[00:02:05:14]	implicit in my decision to become an international studies major.

[00:02:09:10]	But, I think that general interest started at a young age,

[00:02:13:09]	which is what has led me to take the path that I've chosen to take.

[00:02:16:24]	Q: How have your travels helped you conceptualize topics in your studies?

[00:02:23:24]	A: I found, interestingly enough, a lot of what...

[00:02:28:28]	I've been to about eleven different countries.

[00:02:32:04]	And, what I have found is that while the stuff that they teach

[00:02:38:04]	us in school is not false by any means, but there are also a lot of 

[00:02:42:16]	underlying things that you don't learn about in school

[00:02:46:07]	that you really do learn by being a part of those cultures and living the daily life. 

[00:02:53:24]	Versus taking the more of touristic route.

[00:02:56:28]	That's probably been one of the challenges for me too, sort of being,

[00:03:01:06]	Oh, let's take a Mediterranean Cruise," or, "Let's do this!" 

[00:03:05:12]	Some of my friends, "Let's go to Cabos San Lucas!" 

[00:03:08:08]	Well, yes, that all sounds find and dandy. 

[00:03:12:16]	But for me, I've really enjoyed more of trying 

[00:03:15:15]	to be a part of the culture versus taking an outsider's view in, I guess.

[00:03:22:09]	Q: So what would you say is an essential element or aspect

[00:03:26:08]	of becoming geographically literate?

[00:03:28:11]	A: I think our generation is kind of in this world where...

[00:03:35:06]	globalization is just becoming an outstanding presence,

[00:03:43:02]	especially with the implementation of technology.

[00:03:47:09]	Cell phones, the Internet. Things that were almost...

[00:03:50:23]	that if you don't accept other cultures, and,