There’s no other state outside of California
I’d heard before that Californians really didn’t have a good grip on geography. I just figured it was one of those statistics that stemmed from asking the 10 stupidest kids in high school. The ones that spent more time playing football or filing their nails than giving a damn about the rest of the world.
Ok, my geography is leaking out of my brains. But I can point to all of our states on a map. Even if I sometimes have to think about it.
Then I got my haircut, and was having a pleasant, meaningless conversation with the 40ish woman doing my hair. Oh, Michigan. My mom was from Michigan.
Oh yeah, where from? I don’t know. I just know she was born there. OK. No big deal. Bet it must be cold there. Yes, I say. I hear that it’s pretty nasty there right now. And here, it’s sunshiny and warm.
Yeah, my mom told me how cold it was.
All fine and well. I find it weird to think of how warm it is during the winter, and others think it’s weird to have snow and be cold during the winter.
Where is Michigan anyway? What states is it surrounded by. (As if that would help.)
Michigan is perhaps one of the most recognizable states in our country. It’s a peninsula, like Florida, and can easily be spotted even on a globe, even if it’s not divided into state boundaries. It’s the one surrounded by all the great lakes! (Not counting the upper peninsula, which is also formed from political boundaries)
I admit I don’t know much about California geography yet. Yet. And I admit that some smaller towns I might not even recognize from Michigan. But at least before I moved here, I knew where California was.
Sigh. The woman was nice, and did a good job on my hair. And maybe I’m just overinflating the importance of geography in relation to my cold, snowy native state.
But I couldn’t help thinking at the time that maybe people really are as stupid as those surveys always say.
have you ever seen Nurse Betty? Well, there “is” a difference between stupidity and ignorance and I think what you are talking about is just ignorance. I’m in that boat as well: I’m sure that there are a number of states I could not identify. I hope that that means I’m just ignorant.
I’m pretty good at US geography, but don’t quiz me on the international stuff–not my strong point, embarrassed as I am to admit it. Then there’s my other problem that I can’t figure out north, south, east, and west, but don’t make a big deal out of that as geographically correct people who care about such things really piss me off.
All I’m saying is that it was Michigan. Not some faceless little square state. …
I don’t do that well with international geography either, but I know I could get pretty close.
I don’t do well with directions either, but that’s on driving. Right after I moved here, I had to give someone directions to my apartment, and she wanted to know if it was east or west or whatever. I was like, how should I know? I know that you turn left.
Of course, if you turn from the other direction, you turn right. So that was no help to her at all.
My favorite Doctor Who quote goes something like this:
It’s always north and south with these stupid maps. Why can’t it ever be forwards or backwards?
Great quote!
In Belgium, I reference Michigan with Detroit and Chicago. Many know about the Great Lakes as well, but those urban points make a difference to some folks.
Belgians have an excuse. But that’s a good way to do it. And when people want to know where I’m from in Michigan — the hand doesn’t always work outside — I usually ask them if they know where Notre Dame is. For good or bad, many people do. I lived about 15 minutes away from Notre Dame, across the state line, I say.