It's a rainy day in the neighborhood and I decide to duck into a nearby diner/sub shop for the soup du jour. A regular for some years at this establishment, I know the owner, the handful of employees and a part-timer or two by name.
As I take a seat at the counter, extend greetings to the proprietor and glance at the door, a man carrying a small boy enters. After carefully arranging the child and his toys in a seat adjacent, he orders their lunches, then spends several minutes playing quietly with the boy.
My soup arrives, and after the first bite, I hear the man, a British expat, tell the waitress that he is going back to Europe for a visit. She, a high school graduate, responds, "Oh wow...Is Europe in England?"
I see the dimmest smile begin to creep across his face...as he says with a wink:
"Well, not all of it, only the best bit."
Methinks our high schools need to re-tool their geography curricula, assuming they still teach that...
Mr. Toast can be found at http://goodteatoo.blogspot.com. He has some lovely widgets and maps in case anyone has forgotten where they are or from whence they may have come...
Visiting his blog today brought this incident to mind.
I'll leave you to ponder...
Until Next Time...
15 comments:
Ha-ha, I have to laugh, e, that is too too funny! Well I have that very nifty BRitish map on the side bar where people can go to Smitten by Britian's blog's post where she describes the differences between England, Great Britain, United Kingsom, etc. The sad thing is, I am not at all convinced even half of the comprehensive kids in school there could get all that right, let alone the significance of our Union Flag.
(http://www.smittenbybritain.com/2009/10/great-britain-back-to-basics.html)
Even that article probably doesn't say UK is in Europe, that is a given!
Believe me, I've heard some woozies, like "Oh yeah, Wales is in London! I know!" and other crazy things. I just have to laugh as it is said with such enthusiasm and that is, at least, very well intended! :)
Thanks for the llaugh, e, and I am flattered you thought of my blog.
Oh dear. I visited another blog this morning that had a video of Americans trying to identify North Korea. They chose Australia. They also said that the US should invade France due to 'frosty' relations and couldn't work out which were the Isralies and which were the Palestinians because they couldn't remember which group was the one that threw stones. Unfortunately, I think education is becoming too specialist and general knowledge is suffering. There are kids that go through our system having done only one year of geography depending upon their selection of subjects. The world is a big place, we need to know more about it. Even I am shamed by a 17 year old Hungarian blogger who has more worldly knowledge in his little finger than most. Their education system is amazing.
WOW! I mean I'm not an expert( what, with the world's borders ever changing )but still...
And your description is well told here :)
I had a laugh too. I must say that I am trying to learn American States,I know names but I can't say where they are.big hug from Italy Alessandra
And I thought it was a shame today's students weren't studying foreign languages. I didn't realize just how insulated this country had become.
It's funny but it's also rather pathetic...
jazz put it nicely funny but oh so pathetic!!
people in the u.s. really can benefit from traveling outside of their bubble more!!
@kimy, I'm well travelled :)
hmmm...i wonder if she will be able to find her way home...what is the world of education coming too?
Oh, brother!
Even here in England we sometimes have some rather strange ideas of where Europe is and whether we are part of it or not. Many years ago the Daily Telegraph once had a front page headline which proclaimed "Continent Cut Off By Fog". It was a fine indication of how us Brits can see ourselves at times.
Ho, ho. But I echo Jazz'z comment too!
You have no idea where people think Botswana is, and what they think it's like here!! Actually, the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency books and movies have helped people to gain more of a clue about this..
Oh, it is scary, some of the basic stuff that people don't know!!!
Both my sons have huge world maps on their bedroom walls- have been there for years (oh dear, just realised that redecoration long overdue!)- but I am not sure it has made any difference to their geographical ignorance!
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