Time transcripts of RybarczykCaptioned

[00:00:00:00]	Q: WeÕre now recording, if you could tell us your name and current occupation.

[00:00:05:06]	A: Alright, my name is Aubrey Rybarczyk,

[00:00:06:21]	and I am a student here majoring in speech and hearing and minoring in psychology.

[00:00:11:14]	Q: Ok, and do you have literacy narrative to share with us?

[00:00:14:20]	A: I do! I think the first time I was really responsible for my own geographical literacy

[00:00:23:07]	was when I took a trip to Europe in my sophomore year of high school.

[00:00:27:02]	I spoke a little bit of French, but not a whole lot, so traveling around

[00:00:35:03]	Paris, France and Barcelona, Spain  was a new experience for me. 

[00:00:40:01]	Because all we really had was a map, we didnÕt really have a GPS at our disposal.

[00:00:44:19]	So, it was pretty much me  and a bunch of my friends

[00:00:47:29]	who had about two years  of French or Spanish under our belts,

[00:00:51:11]	just being set loose in a city to find out whatever we wanted to.

[00:00:58:16]	I was actually kind of surprised at how I was able to read a map and find my way around, 

[00:01:07:02]	because at that point I had just gotten my license, so I was not used to driving long distances 

[00:01:14:01]	or being responsible for getting myself anywhere. So, it was kind of a sink or swim situation. 

[00:01:18:16]	You wanna go somewhere,  you have to figure out how to get there,

[00:01:22:26]	I was surprised by how well we all did.

[00:01:25:12]	Q: Do you think that part of your success was the stress of being abroad?

[00:01:30:05]	A: I definitely think so, because I was definitely less willing to give up easily on things. 

[00:01:37:10]	Because, I was nervous to just go up to a local

[00:01:41:14]	and ask them in really terrible French or Spanish how to get somewhere. 

[00:01:45:24]	So, I was definitely more willing to...look at  the map carefully and really try to find out myself

[00:01:52:17]	rather than be reluctant to ask someone else.

[00:01:57:21]	Q: What were some of the key things that helped you use a map in that situation?

[00:02:03:17]	A: UmmÉ, I think, honestly (laughs), figuring out the direction to hold the map. 

[00:02:14:08]	That sounds stupid, but I feel like a lot of times, you look around and youÕre like, 

[00:02:19:21]	"Ok, IÕm going to find out where to go.ā€¯

[00:02:21:16]	But you donÕt really take time to orient yourself and feel like that is the right way.

[00:02:28:24]	Like reading a map upside-down. It might make it a lot easier if thatÕs the way you want to go.

[00:02:33:16]	Q: So, from your experience, what kind of insights did you grab on literacy or do you have?

[00:02:43:17]	A: I guess I would say that  I feel like our generation

[00:02:51:01]	might underestimate their geographical literacy and might think,

[00:02:54:25]	ŅOh we have GPS or an iPhone. I donÕt need to figure out how to get somewhere.Ó 

[00:03:00:07]	I feel like, if youÕre placed in a situation,  where you have to figure it our for yourself,

[00:03:04:19]	people are more self reliant than they think.

[00:03:08:16]	Q: Well, thank you for sharing your story.

[00:03:12:13]	A: Thanks!