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Sure. But when I lived in Europe, I was constantly asked questions by various peoples which could only be classified as inane, absurd or just plain idiotic.
There are people on the East coast who think downtown Phoenix looks like this:
Also, more generally, is this an educational failure? Should schools try to give students a general sense of perspective as to "how things are" in other countries?
This ought to give you an answer to your question:
I lived in England for two years and one big difference to note was when you watched their evening news broadcasts usually a large chunk of it was about America. And they cover everything from our politics and entertainment to occasionally what's happening in various states. By contrast we hardly ever hear anything about England on our nightly news broadcasts. Most Brits I talked to were surprised we rarely covered the UK on our nightly news broadcasts. Some of them felt insulted.
But one thing that surprised me was just how small most foreigners think the US is. I knew one guy who worked on base who was planning a vacation in Florida. He said he was going to spend a couple of days in Miami, then take an afternoon off to drive to California in a rental car and see Hollywood. He absolutely didn't believe me when I told him just how large the US was. I literally had to get out a map and prove it to him.
I lived in England for two years and one big difference to note was when you watched their evening news broadcasts usually a large chunk of it was about America. And they cover everything from our politics and entertainment to occasionally what's happening in various states. By contrast we hardly ever hear anything about England on our nightly news broadcasts. Most Brits I talked to were surprised we rarely covered the UK on our nightly news broadcasts. Some of them felt insulted.
Why would we, though? Not much of interest happens there that the media bothers to report, which is probably why the UK's news broadcasts have a more international focus. I lived in a city where the daily newspaper put a sick kitten on the front page.
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But one thing that surprised me was just how small most foreigners think the US is. I knew one guy who worked on base who was planning a vacation in Florida. He said he was going to spend a couple of days in Miami, then take an afternoon off to drive to California in a rental car and see Hollywood. He absolutely didn't believe me when I told him just how large the US was. I literally had to get out a map and prove it to him.
LOL, I got that too. The UK is about the size of Indiana or Illinois, I think, square mileage-wise. They just don't understand that my STATE is bigger than their COUNTRY.
I knew a guy that was flying into New York and asked if I could pick him up at the airport. He was a little surprised when I told him no because the 20 hour drive was little more than I was willing to make.
One of the complaints of foreigners visiting the US (or even foreigners receiving US visitors) is that Americans sometimes ask incredibly ridiculous questions of them, about their countries. Things like "is there electricity in Ireland???" or "can I get ketchup in Canada???"
Have you ever seen any questions like this being asked, or do you know people who would likely ask questions like that if they were talking to a foreigner? Also, more generally, is this an educational failure? Should schools try to give students a general sense of perspective as to "how things are" in other countries?
When I met my future sister in law, she asked me if we celebrate the 4th of July in Germany..., she was about 26 at the time. I have been asked MANY very stupid questions. Another question I am asked frequently, do you speak german? Heck, no, people in Germany speak chinese
I knew a guy that was flying into New York and asked if I could pick him up at the airport. He was a little surprised when I told him no because the 20 hour drive was little more than I was willing to make.
LOL! If I had a nickel for every European who thinks you can take a leisurly 1 hour drive from Boston to Vegas or Seattle to Memphis, I would be rich. It begs the question: Do they ever look at maps?
When I met my future sister in law, she asked me if we celebrate the 4th of July in Germany..., she was about 26 at the time. I have been asked MANY very stupid questions. Another question I am asked frequently, do you speak german? Heck, no, people in Germany speak chinese
I am going to have to defend your sister in law. I have been in Germany, France and Switzerland on different 4th of Julys. Each time there were enough places playing up the 4th to make it a pattern. Now, the comment about you speaking German might qualify as insane.
Well, I lived in Germany the first 29 years of my life. No one celebrated the 4th of July, except people on a US military base. And why should they? It is after all the Independence day of the US. Sorry, if a US citizen doesn't know that, it qualifies as extremely stupid to me, LOL.
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