Prague - the capital of Yugoslavia / Praha - hlavni mesto Jugoslavie
November 29, 2007
The other day I read an article on the American ignorance of the world geography. I completely agree, however, I think that the finger should be pointed on the educational system and the way they teach geography. Isn’t it part of the elective subjects in high school? Also, I am sorry but the Americans do live on a different continent so I would cut them some slack when they don’t know where Slovenia is.
All that said, I do have some pretty funny stories about this whole issue. Most of them come from the times when I was attending a college since that is where you get to talk to a lot of people and they find out you have an accent and then they ask you where were you from and than it goes all downhill from there..:)
Anyhow, my best story comes from one of the parties I went to. I started talking to this friendly all-American girl and as soon as she found out I was from Prague she got really excited, telling me that she had spent 3 weeks there! So we talked for a good 45 minutes about “Prague stuff”, places she had visited, clubs she went to, the food she ate….she then grabbed one of her friends that walked by and excitedly said: “Look I met a girl from Yugoslavia!” I looked at her, waiting for her to correct herself but nothing happened. When she saw my ‘look’ she became somewhat self conscious and said: “ Well, what, you are from Yugoslavia, right? Prague?”.
I tried to tell her as sensibly as I could that Prague was not in Yugoslavia but in the Czech Republic and as far as I can remember, she took it bravely. However, I just couldn’t believe she had actually physically crossed the borders of the Czech Republic, spent three weeks there and thought she was in Yugoslavia (former Yugoslavia)!!!!!
Other questions that people – mostly American students – would ask me were: 1. Do you guys have traffic lights? ( I would answer: “No, we just dance naked around the fire”) 2. Czechoslovakia is (I gave up correcting them on that one) next to Turkey, right? 3. You guys speak Russian? 4. Oh yeah, that’s by the sea, right? And the list goes on…
Instead of insulting them and making them feel stupid I chose to have a more of a “Jesus-like” attitude and I look at it as an educational opportunity and I patiently, non-judgmentally try to correct them. Although at times it may be a challenging task I feel like that is part of my purpose in life….
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Wow, that’s unbelievable! I got used to Americans being lame in geography, but this story moves my expectations much further! Thanks for the post, I was thinking there is nothing that can surprise me lately
I know, and it’s a real story too, I didn’t pretty it up or anything….But then again, do I know all of the 50 American states and their capitals? No….and I live here! So I don’t want to get too prideful, you know…
HAHAHA. I am awful with geography even in my own country, so i have no room to laugh but that was still pretty funny.
Is Prague on the sea? Of course not, but at one time the Kingdom of Bohemia may have included a beach or two.
From Wikipedia:
The seacoast of Bohemia
Shakespeare’s fellow playwright Ben Jonson ridiculed the presence in the play of a seacoast and a desert in Bohemia, since the kingdom of Bohemia (which roughly corresponds to the modern-day Czech Republic) had neither a coast (being landlocked) nor a desert.[5] However, it has been noted that the Bohemian seacoast was present in Shakespeare’s source, the romance Pandosto by Robert Greene. Also, for a period around 1275 A.D., because the kingdom of Bohemia at one time stretched to the Adriatic, it was, in fact, possible to sail from a kingdom of Sicily to the seacoast of Bohemia.[6] A similar situation existed for a time in the later 1500s—a fact noted by some Oxfordian scholars [See: Shakespearean authorship], who find it significant that the Earl of Oxford was traveling in the Adriatic region during this brief span of time.
That is a very good point!
lol, that was a great story. I’m heading to Prague for the 1st time in a couple days for New Years….atleast I’m doing my research before I go! I had a coworker ask me the craziest questions about CR…what do they wear, what do they do, do they have houses, do they drive…I had to explain it isn’t a primitive place, there is intelligent life there, lol.
That’s so funny Marsha! I can’t believe that people STILL think of Prague as the “ape land”….I myself have been lately getting actually some “educated” remarks about Prague…I am not sure if that’s just pure accident but people actually knew where Prague was and stuff! Or were they just pretending they knew??!!
Regarding your trip: You will love Prague - I garantee it! And it is still kind of cheap to vacation there compared to other European hot spots like France or Italy…Let me/us know how it went when you come back! OK? OK.
I like your blog Tanja! Funny stuff.
I’ve been even asked once if we had television in our country. I suppose I just had a bad luck about who I met, or maybe I looked as if I was from the past.
At least they asked about something modern like TV! I guess it could still be worse - like someone asking you if we have running water…
I am glad you enjoy my blog!
Tanja,
if you ask an average person who is good at geography to name a few regions in Russia, it will be a problem for him/her too. As well as to name them in Czech Republic, though CZ is a very small country in comparison to mentioned ones. So it’s not a big deal not to know capitals of states inside the USA and don’t justify Americans for being not so intelligent. That’s should be normal to know at least a certain number of countries and their capitals.
I have a story to share. I’m a web designer and deal with computers a lot. But I’m not a geek or something like that. Anyway I had a chance to meet an American who told me the following: “I didn’t know you’re so smart”. It happened after I set up a localhost for a couple of PC’s.
p.s. he was a guy who worked in the computer industry.
Did he really say that? Are you sure it wasn’t just some kind of a language barrier? It sounds like he was trying to give you a compliment, saying that he couldn’t believe that you were such a prodigy…
Language barrier? Not at all. It sounded the way it sounded. It wasn’t a compliment, because it’s just ridiculous to give a compliment for a such a primitive action as setting up a localhost. It’s easy. It’s _normal_ for a computer guy to be able to set up a localhost.
Another guy was surprised after I told him I have a fast internet connection at home. He thought we didn’t have internet at all in CZ.
The 3rd guy tried to explain me how to use a cell phone. Weird, eh?
I have a lot of stories to share
I met a lot of Americans in my life. I was working for an American company over an year. Some of them were average, others had up to 2 university/college degrees. But all of them behave the way they were smarter than others, richer than others, more experienced than others and so on. You got the idea.
I may suppose their attitude to a foreigner can be different if you live in their country. You know better. But after they live in another country for some time, e.g. Czech Rep., they start thinking different (hey, Mac fans!), they change their opinions about a lot of things etc.
But we were discussing their knowledge about geography. It’s poor as well as about anything else. There’s no doubt there are a lot of well-educated and intelligent people in the States (including Americans, who were born there + people who came from Czech Rep., China, Japan, Russia, Israel etc.), but the overall number of stupid and narrow-minded people is pretty big.
I’m sure you watched a video from a CNNN guys (don’t confuse with CNN). Of course, they didn’t include episodes with correct answers and chose the funniest ones. But being an adult person I won’t tell you that “Stars Wars” is based on a true story, even if I were drunk flat.
Someone could think I hate Americans. Nah! I have good friends of mine in the States (white, black and asian), and they are smarter than some people around me LOL
Don’t be fooled - they know more than you think! I went to a (very first one) football game recently to get the full American experience. During the game I was asked by one of the raging fans where I was from. When I said I was from the Czech Republic, his eyes lid up in excitement saying: “Really? Wow! Where in the Czech Republic?” I said:”From around Prague.” He jumped up and screamed: “No way! That’s awesome! I’ve been to Dubrovnik!” I sat down quietly and for the rest of the game I was trying to figure out what was I missing…. I am still in the dark …
That’s pretty crazy!!! Maybe those people really are smarter than we think and the things that they say are just way too “over our heads”!! Who knows, maybe there is another Dubrovnik in the outskirts of Prague and we just don’t know about it :))
I am a 45 year old american,yet Im studying czech culture( self teaching)and etc.I found that my genology is chech from both sides,and until then, I never knew much about it.Part of the problem over here is our morality is declineing,and we live a double standard if you will.I cant say this for all,but a good majority.We are to hell bent on two car garages and big careers,fame,and even in the streets over here its (all about me).Whats this got to do with geography? The point is, the average american could care less,unless its going to be theyre vacation spot.But in a place with almost every culture mixed up makeing a whole,its going to be confuseing,and keeps getting worse to my opinion.Im not very well educated,but Id almost rather go back where m people come from there,(lol)than live here,You have to be greedy,compulsive and selfish just to make it here to be respected,big house on the hill,expensive car,etc.We claim to be under God, but thats only if `you have as much or more than me`so to speak.and Im wondering,are the true checs like that???My people here worked hard,but we are very basic,and practical.Is that true chech,so to speak?? Keep in mind, the world is big,and this is only one opinion in it….
Hi Tanja,
Canada is just as bad. Though it saddens me greatly that the vast majority of my friends, with a GPA range between 3.5 and 4.0 (A’s and B’s), are inexcusably ignorant when it comes to the geography of small (but awesome) European countries. To many such people, we are, like you said, people who have yet to invent electricity and separate ourselves from the sitll-existent USSR.
Canada too?? I didn’t know that. Do you think that it’s the fault of the educational system as well?
Oh well, I guess we got a lot of educating to do, right?!
O.K., I agree that Czech Republic is a small country and my knowledge of geography is not good either but…..:
I had a few interesting moments too. One time (about ten years ago) when visiting CANADA. I had a friend of a friend ask me if we have cheese back home! :-))
Then about four years ago visiting the same canadian friends who now live in Indiana. They had some people come over and one of them was trying to convince me that Prague is the capital of Croatia. Not kidding. Finally when I had three other people agree with me she believed us. I told her that if it did not change since three weeks ago when I arrived in the US it should still be Czech Republic.
AMAZING!