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I once had a conversation with a Frenchman (in France) about how he had berated some poor American girl (also in France) for not knowing that Zurich was in Swit
by DirtyCalvinist 14y ago
I once had a conversation with a Frenchman (in France) about how he had berated some poor American girl (also in France) for not knowing that Zurich was in Switzerland. I promptly quizzed him on which states 5 American cities were in, all larger than Zurich. He failed miserably.
The United States is geographically almost as large as the whole of Europe. The closest foreign border to me is Niagara Falls just over 400mi away, and even if I go there, they still speak my native tongue with pretty much the same accent. I don't think there exists any point in Germany that far from another country.
- tjoff 14y agoI promptly quizzed him on which states 5 American cities were in, all larger than Zurich. Who cares about states in a foreign country? In this context the size of the city or state is not of any interest.
- sanderjd 14y agoThe point is that knowing that Zurich is in Switzerland is more similar to knowing that Denver is in Colorado than it is to knowing that Denver is in the United States. Presumably the size of the city is interesting because the implicit assumption is that knowing where Zurich is important because Zurich is a big city.
- tjoff 14y agoMy point is that it isn't similar at all, on any level. A typical foreigner to the US probably knows where some large cities in US are without having the slightest clue about which state many of them reside in. That is my perception of it.
- sanderjd 14y ago...Which is why it's so similar to how a typical American probably knows where some large cities in Europe are without having the slightest clue about which country many of them reside in.
- tjoff 14y agoI'd say that few outside of America could write that sentence. The difference between two neighbouring countries is a huge deal and apparent (regardless if you are a local or not) where you don't even speak the same language, have the same currency (the euro has of course changed that a bit (in Europe)) and for all practical purposes a complete different sets of laws and culture. The reason for why many cities are notable is because they are the capitals of different countries. Their identity is based on their country. You can hardly say the same about different states in America (to the same extent (of course people that live in America have different accents and prejudices for people in other states etc., but to compare that to different countries?)).
- sanderjd 14y agoI think we're both wrong to a certain extent - you're de-emphasizing the differences between states in America too much, and I'm overemphasizing them. You believe that countries are different enough culturally that not knowing which culture a city is part of is ridiculous, I believe that states are different enough geographically that not knowing which geographic area a city is equivalently ridiculous. It's a pretty dumb argument.
- charonn0 14y agoIn America I don't need to travel at all to hear many different languages, experience different cultures, etc. They're all in walking distance in any major city. European mono-cultures need to make nationalistic distinctions, the American multi-culture doesn't.
- barrkel 14y agoAmerica's monoculture was actually one of my surprises. I live in London; going to the Bay Area and seeing the monoculture was a bit of a shock. IMO you're far more likely to hear foreign languages (foreign to the country) in Europe than almost anywhere in the US.
- 14y ago
- rdl 14y agoThere ate tens of cities in China with populations over several million that westerners have never heard of, too.
- onetwothreefour 14y agoHe's clearly American... :)
- kbolino 14y agoSo, in other words, if it interests you, it's fair to quiz someone else about it, but if it doesn't interest you, it's not fair to quiz you about it.
- tjoff 14y agoDo you want me to quiz you on the provinces of Sweden? Oh, you don't find that interesting? Well, hardly anyone outside Sweden probably does. Pointless knowledge.
- waterlesscloud 14y agoMost people could name a grand total of one city in all of Sweden. Just not on people's radars the way the US is.
- tjoff 14y agoI'm happy as long as we are not confused with Switzerland, but you missed my point. Is the state that large US cities reside in on (foreign) peoples radars?
- waterlesscloud 14y agoSan Francisco and Los Angeles are in what US state? Dallas? Miami?
- rogerbinns 14y agoThe US state of Montana is slightly larger than Germany. I can't name more than one city there and many airlines don't even fly to the state. The US is really big!
- afterburner 14y agoOr, really, European nations are incredibly tiny. Fun fact: Guyana is as long as Germany.
- HeyLaughingBoy 14y agoAnd only slightly smaller than the UK in land area, yet has about 1/50th the population.