Identity Crisis

**MNlad** · 5th May 15, 04:20 PM

Working the Scottish booth in the Bazaar at the Festival of Nations in St. Paul last weekend , I was approached by a lad of about 12 or 13. He looked me up and down a couple of times, pointed at my dress and proudly identified me as "German." I was standing about where you see me in this picture.

Using my high school German (limited at best), I politely corrected him as to the nationality I represented and pointed him toward the German booth about 20 feet away.

It was a great event again this year and we saw about 12,000 students in the first two days of the Festival. It's a learning experience for all of us.

**cable scot** · 5th May 15, 04:41 PM

Well it is the midwest

He could have said Finnish.

**Couper** · 5th May 15, 04:55 PM

Unfortunately, the teaching of Geography has fallen by the wayside in many schools. All of these "testing programs" take so much from the education of our children.

**MNlad** · 5th May 15, 05:36 PM

Well it is the midwest He could have said Finnish.

That booth was 20 feet in the opposite direction. We had it covered.

**Richrail** · 5th May 15, 10:03 PM

While kilted on vacation the wife and I walk in to the restaurant in Bend Oregon. The hostess walked up and promptly asked if I was from France.

**Tarheel** · 6th May 15, 01:37 PM

Originally Posted by Richrail

While kilted on vacation the wife and I walk in to the restaurant in Bend Oregon. The hostess walked up and promptly asked if I was from France.

Your lovely wife looks more French than you do, what was the hostess thinking?

**OC Richard** · 6th May 15, 06:21 AM

Originally Posted by Couper

Unfortunately, the teaching of Geography has fallen by the wayside in many schools.

Boy, has it!

I was out piping somewhere and an enthusiastic girl of around 15 ran up and said "are you Scotch-Irish? My ancestors came from Scotch-Ireland!"

I was at a loss as to how to respond, so I didn't.

A friend of mine is a history professor and he told me that one time, during the Final Exam of a US History (A) course, a student raised her hand. He walked over and she quietly asked "Is there a difference between England and New England?" and he said "Yes."

But! Sometimes kids surprise me. I was out piping at a High School and two kids started talking about the Union Jack badge on my pipe case. One kid explained the difference between Britain and the United Kingdom to the other. Wow! How many High School kids in the USA know that?

During the World Cup in South Africa an eejit American reporter was in the England supporters camp (awash with red & white flags) and kept referring to them as "Britain fans" and their team as the "British team".

**tpa** · 14th May 15, 04:13 PM

Originally Posted by Couper

Unfortunately, the teaching of Geography has fallen by the wayside in many schools. All of these "testing programs" take so much from the education of our children.

With the obvious exception of the members of this forum and those who travel outside the States, the impression I have got of the knowledge and by derivation teaching, or lack of, of geography of places outside the US to Americans is virtually non-existent.

Not sure where I got that from as I have never travelled any distance in the States, so it must have been from a combination of films, books, TV, people who have visited there and of course the internet. It would seem from this post that the impression is not far from the truth and maybe inside the US can be added to the list.