Rafe Bartholomew’s Pacific Rims

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were highly influenced and still is by both of the cultures until this day.

Another unforgettable experience that Bartholomew had was meeting great people. He had the chance to spend time and travel with Philippines professional team, dined with politicians and witnessed a group of midgets and transsexuals who play exhibition games at rural fiestas. He has connected with them through a common interest- basketball, but what shocks him the most is the urge that each of them have or the sake of the game. He says, “I was realizing that there was no way to exaggerate the depth of Filipinos’ connection to hoops. Everywhere I went stumbled into some testament to this national obsession” (17). Though he has spent his teenage years surrounded with basketball players, he has never seen people as engage and connected as the people in the Philippines. Thorough his journey in the Philippines, he came to realized the factor of sport has on people. It brings them unity, togetherness almost like how it is be a family.

Like Rafe who had accomplished a mission to deeper his understanding about basketball in the Philippines, many backpackers enjoy travelling to a Third World country due to low costs, the chance to taste authentic food and the chance to experience unexpected challenges throughout the journey. But more than that, the self- realization they take away from each trip. Furthermore, travelers often visit a Third World to see and meet new people different from themselves. Some choose this as a way to find their identity widens their perspective in life, and others, do it to touch other peoples’ lives.