Write an essay that explains how you respond to the ideas in the article, reflecting on those ideas and exploring your opinion. Support your own ideas with evidence from the essay.

RESPONSE ESSAY

The article is a little philosophical piece presented as a travel sketch . The exact is difficult to define , or rather , one can find a number of different s intertwined withing one simple and short article : a foreign national 's reaction to other cultures , the importance of one 's own place to oneself , and the peculiarities of the learning process that comes in leaps and bounds moving forward from the point where one gets a glimpse into a new "center of the universe . But the upshot of the story is the

invitation to experience other cultures that hang like "ripe fruits " ready to be picked by an interested traveller

To me the last idea seems the most interesting and valuable , offering one insight into how people can broaden their outlook , step over the boundaries of their perception and reach into the unknown . The author of the article shows the trite idea that one 's life is centered around the place where one was born from a new and fresh angle . He confirms the belief of the Brazilian villagers that their place is the exact center of the universe , even after remembering that he always thought the center is somewhere in New England , presumably where the author himself comes from . Accustomed to the perception of the world , borrowed from natural sciences , he is at first confused : the center of the world is a distinct point on the globe , how come there are at least two of them Only later , reflecting on the issue , he grasps the idea that the meaning attributed to the center was different and had little to do with college geography . Instead , this was more of a cultural notion something known to everybody in the vicinity , passed from generation to generation

The author then takes this folk legend one step further , concluding that such "world centers " are numerous , and represent an opportunity to learn for everybody who passes them on one 's journey through the world . This text made me think of the countless times I could have passed such centers in my travels . I have not travelled abroad much , but I have been outside the country . Mostly I took my trips to be exciting little outings , ways to have fun and relax , often a way to learn my friends better while traveling together . I begin to think now that time spent away from home is also a chance to enrich one 's personality , to dig deeper into other people 's values and attitudes . The author of the article says that once "a conscious breakthrough to a second center is made , a lifelong perspective and collection can begin . I am already comfortable with my own "banana , and it may be the right place to start a trip to another place that will give me a new perspective on things

Learning other cultures takes away the blind folders inevitably put on our mental eye through belonging to just one culture . The author grew up perfectly sure that...