Nikki wrote:

Yeah. It is. A lot of people think Detroit is the capital of Michigan too.

Turtleneck wrote:

IT'S NOT???!!! (*Shock*)

silvella wrote:

Nikki, keep cool! It is Berlin, but it WAS Bonn before the reunification of Germany and the German Democratic Republic. Hope you've heard of the Fall of the Wall in 1989? Seen from the outside, it is a totally crazy story! Or can you imagine that people were not allowed to travel where they want to or have to wait for a car 20 years long? In central Europe in the 80's??!! Thank god it's over!

lilly wrote:

Btw: if we take that "can you name all the capitals of all 50 States" a little further, we would have to be able to name the Capitals of the Spanish "Comunidades Autónomas", the German "Federal States (16)", the Chinese Provinces and regions, etc etc etc, too, if you see what I mean... ;)

Monica wrote:

And why some Americans think Spain is near Mexico? :O *lol*

Monica wrote:

I know the names and where every single capital of the Spanish Comunidades Autónomas are, but I have no idea about other countries.

And why some Americans think Spain is near Mexico? :O *lol*

I Came in Through the Bathroom Window wrote:

Argentina is a huge country and we can't hop on a train and go to another country either, but I think that knowing or not knowing geographical facts has more to do with the type of education you receive. Nationality has nothing to do with it (imo).

Megg, I totally understand you when you talk about those questions! We have to deal with our own ones:
An English girl once asked me if Argentina was in Rio de Janeiro. An American woman asked me if it was in Russia.
An Australian guy asked me if we had cars...
The setereotype is to relate South America in general to drugs, indians, coffee, poverty... and I don't know if anything else haha. No distinction between countries, so let alone provinces or states inside each one xD.

AbsGinger wrote:

you forgot to mention plastic surgery for Brazil

ElspethOllie wrote:

...

another broad generalization about Americans.

Monica wrote:

I said: some Americans, didn't I?

Nikki wrote:

*sigh* Of course I have.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I agree with Kayte that because of our geographical location, Americans are far more isolated and many don’t know much about other countries and their cultures because we can’t jump on a train and travel there as easily. But isn’t it the same for Canadians? How come they aren’t labeled with the same stereotypes? Having said that, America has some of the most highly educated people in the world and to make such a sweeping generalization and claim Americans on a whole are stupid is asinine. I, like many of my fellow Americans on the board, know a lot about geography. I went to college, got a degree, took classes on world geography, relations, politics, culture, religion and history. I’ve only been outside of North America once (to Poland for a month), but I feel I have a pretty good grasp on what is going on in the world. (To clarify, MoreThanMe didn’t come out and say the word “stupid,” but it’s a view that other countries seem to have of us for some odd reason).

Megg, I can't stand when people make Polish jokes, and I'm third generation, so I can't imagine how it feels for you to hear all that crap.

Also, I don’t think that knowing all 50 US states and their capitals equals knowing the countries of Europe, for example, and their capitals. That’s two different levels of “importance.” If we said that, we’d have to know all the providences in Canada and their capitals. Which I don’t think any of us could do off the top of our heads…except for Kristy maybe.

silvella wrote:

Nikki, I was totally surprised that you feel isolated in the USA?? For most Europeans, the USA seems to be the centre of the world!