Tell us about yourself.
My name is Ryan, husband of Friend Afar, Meagan, and high school teacher and coach. I teach foreign language (Spanish), but I am also a certified history teacher, too. One of the ways that I love to combine these two disciplines is by leading student study abroad trips. I have twice taken my students to Europe, and I hope to organize another trip very soon. I love all things sports, especially Atlanta Braves baseball, soccer, golf, and (American) football. I also love movies, television, board games, and any kind of trivia game. I think traveling is great because I can experience nearly all of the things I love while I am away from home, albeit in new and exciting cultures which have their own unique traditions, customs, and practices. And to think that I can return home to share my stories and inspire a captivated audience of eager young minds in my classroom makes the experience of travel all the more thrilling!
Where did you travel for your first trip abroad? Was it for work, school, or vacation?
My first trip abroad was to Vancouver, Canada during the summer between my senior year of high school and freshman year of college. My mom had a work conference there, and my grandma and I tagged along. The experience was so exciting because I felt like I was in a completely different world. The trees were different, the animals were different, the food was different, the cities were different, and the people were different. My grandma and I traveled out to see the sights during the day while my mom was working, and then we would all explore the city at night. We also just so happened to be there during the Celebration of Light international fireworks competition, and we watched the show from our high-rise hotel balcony downtown. It was definitely a memorable first trip abroad!
Ryan in Cholula, Mexico
Do you speak a foreign language? How has that influenced your travel?
As I mentioned, I do speak a foreign language, and the very fact that I do can be attributed to my experiences with travel. I studied Spanish in high school, but I never intended to continue using it after graduation. During my first year of college I got a chance to participate in a mission trip to Juarez, Mexico to build houses for families in need. I don’t really remember how it happened, but somehow I was chosen as the designated interpreter to communicate with the Mexican family for whom we were building the house. At first this task scared me tremendously, but by the third and final day on our work site I felt so proud of the relationship that I had formed with that family of complete strangers who spoke a foreign language and lived in a world so foreign to me. I think it was in that moment that the world shrunk for me. No longer did I view other cultures as so distant and incomprehensible. From that trip on I embraced the excitement of using my Spanish skills, and the very next semester I re-enrolled in Spanish courses. The following year I spent an entire semester studying abroad in Puebla, Mexico where I lived, worked, played, and traveled with native Mexicans. My language skills got better and better to the point where I now teach Spanish to high schoolers. My knowledge of Spanish has also allowed me to travel with confidence to places like Costa Rica, Panama, and Spain. In each of those places I learned so much more about the Spanish language, lessons that I can then take into my classroom as well. So in a sense, not only has my speaking a foreign language influenced my travels, but my travels have also influenced my language skills to a great extent.
[Editor’s note: Ryan and Meagan met on another trip to Juarez while building houses with Casas por Cristo. That’s where it all started!]
Of all the places you’ve visited, which place is your favorite and why?
My absolute favorite city is Rome. I’m a huge history nerd so being inside the Colosseum or the Sistine Chapel sends shivers down my spine. Plus, you can’t go wrong having the most delicious food on the planet for every meal. Also, I don’t think one is truly living life to the fullest unless they have gelato at least once a day (but really more like two or three times a day!). When Meagan and I honeymooned there, I remember saying to her how around every corner we turned it looked like an image on a postcard. It is the perfect city for finding a bench in a square (or a spot on the Spanish Steps) and just spending hours watching the world stroll by. Now that’s amore!
What places are at the top of your travel list right now?
I spoke earlier of my love for all things sports so pretty much all of the top places on my travel list are sports related. I would love to follow my favorite team, the Atlanta Braves, around the country to some of America’s iconic baseball parks. I would also love to take a golfing trip up and down the British Isles, making sure to get in a round at The Old Course at St. Andrews, the home of golf. I also really want to travel to northwest England to see my favorite soccer team, Liverpool, play a home match. Finally, I would love to experience the Olympics or the World Cup in another country. I’d love to be there from start to finish, going to the opening and closing ceremonies and attending matches all day every day.
Ryan just attended the Tour de France for his 30th birthday and took this great shot at the Arc de Triomphe!
Has a book or movie influenced your travel?
I had a Spanish class in college where an assignment was to show a film and lead the class in discussion about the major themes of the work. I chose the film Diarios de Motocicleta (The Motorcycle Diaries). It is the story of Ernesto “Che” Guevara before he became the Cuban revolutionary figure that most people know him to be. It is based on the true story of a motorcycle journey that Che and his friend took from Brazil to Peru. As the adventure unfolds, they become transformed by their observations of the lives of the impoverished indigenous populations of South America. Through the characters they encounter, they witness firsthand the injustices that the destitute face, and they are exposed to people and social classes they would have never encountered otherwise. There is a quote from the film that has resonated with me ever since I watched it over and over again in preparation for my assignment presentation. It reads, “Deja que el mundo te cambie y podrás cambiar el mundo (Let the world change you and you can change the world).” I think often about this notion that if I truly want to make a difference in this world then I have to go out and see and experience it, warts and all. Only then will I be able to fully understand the greatest challenges and needs of our society.
What advice would you give to someone traveling abroad for the first time?
A wise Alaskan native once told me (how I came to meet that wise and well-traveled man is another story for another day) that in order to truly experience a place you really need to travel that place by land. It is easy to see the world by hopping from metropolitan city to metropolitan city via plane or even from major sight to major sight or subway station to subway station. But you miss so much along the way that truly makes the experience memorable. Traveling should not be about checking boxes off a must-see list. It should be about living like a local, even if only for a few days or a few hours. Stroll the streets with no particular destination in mind. Buy your meal in a local market. Take a train. Rent a bike. Go where the wind blows you. Feel the vibe of a city. You can still go to all the tourist sites and eat at the well-reviewed restaurants, but don’t forget to slow down and embrace the rhythm of life that your destination has to offer. The moments that I remember most in my years of travel are often the most quiet and intimate ones that were never captured on camera or found in a guide book – a picnic under the Eiffel Tower, a late-night walk along the flooded cobblestones of St. Mark’s Square in Venice after all the tourists have left the city and the locals come out to play, or an ice-cold soda after a long, hot trek through the Panamanian jungle. These are the memories that I cherish the most, and these are the moments that will make you want to continue traveling time and time again.
