My mom and I like to travel. Last year, when I turned seven, we went on our first trip together and now we travel all the time.

One day we went to the city and went to a big fair! There were a bunch of bright colors and things I had never seen before. It was so cool to see!

“Why do those kids look different than me, Mommy?” I asked confused.

Mother told me that they were from different cultures. “James, cultures are how a person acts and dresses because of where that person’s family comes from.” she explained to me.

While my mother talked to some adults, I went up to a girl to talk to her.

“What are those in your hair?” I questioned her, pointing to the sticks in her hair.

“They are hair sticks. They are a part of my culture,” the girl answered, looking at me. Her eyes were almost as dark as the night. They matched her black hair. “What is your name? My name is Keiko.”

“My name is James. I haven’t seen a dress like that before,” James replied looking at the outfit on Keiko with flowers on it.

“It is a traditional dress, called a kimono.”

Just then a boy with flaming red hair bounced over. “Mornin’ Keiko! Who’s yer new friend?” He had a funny way of talking.

I was amazed by how the new boy talked. “Why do you talk so funny?” I asked.

“The name’s Sean and I’m Irish. Me whole family talks like this.” Sean blurted out, speaking in a rush.

Before I could respond, another boy came running in and crashed into Sean. This new boy didn’t look like anyone else I had seen before. He had a bunch of hair on his head that looked like a ball and his skin was the color of chocolate.

“Sorry Sean!” The new boy called after getting up and running away.

“Who was that?” I questioned as I helped Sean stand up.

“That was Jerome. He never stops running. He comes from a long line of runners because where his family is from, all they could do was run for fun,” Keiko answered.

“James! James come here!”

Mother called for me to come to her.

“James, I want you to meet these two delightful young girls, Nata and Isabella.”

Mother pointed out two girls who were near her. The one she called Nata had long dark hair and had feathers in it. She wore a brown dress and shoes that matched. Her skin wasn’t as dark as Jerome but it was darker than mine. Isabella was pretty and had dark hair with flowers in it that matched her eyes. She wore a colorful dress that poofed out when she turned.