A recent article in the New York Times chronicled the opening of a Soccer Museum, where else but in Sao Paulo, Brazil. An elite sport that has become a sport for the masses, it has great lessons to teach both on and off the field.

Agility, thinking fast on your feet and teamwork are just a few of the skills vital for soccer success.  From Pele to Mia Hamm, Cameroon to Korea, soccer stars are truly global, although Brazil is perhaps the most insane for its players, many of whom are often given only one name to further heighten their star status.

The billions of soccer fans around the globe love to share their passion, whether using a bunched up old shirt, an old rusty can or a regulation black and white ball; futbol is truly an international language. So, if you have kids who love the sport and you plan on traveling anywhere outside the U.S., take a soccer ball along. Your ball just might be an ambassador of sorts, an entrée into the world of local kids. A mom friend of mine with three boys, all soccer crazy, just got back from a whirlwind trip to Europe. She reminisced with me about her sons’ pick-up games in London’s Hyde Park and Barcelona. What a great way to connect, mingle and assimilate into a culture, something we Americans need to experience more often.

Whenever I travel, I like to bring a novel written about the place to dive into while away. Some of my favorites include Smilla’s Sense of Snow, a 1992 novel by Danish author Peter Høeg  which is a film as well. I read this on a trip to Iceland and it really got me in the mood.  I know the book is set in Denmark and Greenland but I took a little imaginative license and got myself in the groove for a blustery March trip to the lunar-like island.

Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon, by Jorge Amado, set the tone for a trip to Brazil years ago and helped me understand the culture and geography of Bahia. This book was also made into two films for Brazilian television. Sometimes, films offer an appetizer for the main dish of the trip. Recently, I recommended two films to a colleague who was headed to Vietnam: The Scent of the Green Papaya and the Academy Award winning Indochine.The former gives you a taste, a visceral sensation of the place, the latter offers historical insight and helps one understand some of the dynamics that led to the Vietnam War.  Do you have a book or film that inspired or enhanced your travels? Let us know.