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By Judy Ramsook
Jan. 13, 2006 Sometimes some of us will have encountered a few persons who seem to be geographically challenged, now I don’t expect everyone to know the name of every country in the world, but some persons you run into out there are just too knowledgeable. There was this guy I knew in college who knew the capital of every country in the world though. He was good too. You could have given him the name of any rarely mentioned country in the world and in less than two seconds he would utter the name of the capital city for that particular country. Then there are some persons in our midst who let their ignorance of geographical matters get the better or worse of them. You be the judge. I remember waiting at the bus stop one cold, dark morning with a prospective fellow female passenger. Of course she could tell I was not from around here just from looking at me and proceeded to ask where I was from originally. Surprised that she asked, I answered, then she asked where it was, meaning Trinidad. I could have told her one of two things since she seemed to be unfamiliar with the country. I could have told her it is close to Venezuela, but then she might have thought it to be a South American country. Then I thought since so many Americans seemed to be so familiar with Jamaica, a popular tourist destination, I told her it is in the same region of the world as that is. Her curiosity did not end there though. She proceeded to ask if we had roads in my country looking at the road before us as to hint if we have roads such as these. I told her yes and looked down the street to see if the bus were on its way. Let me add here that the reason many people may not know of the island of Trinidad is because tourism is not its number one source of revenue. It has oil, natural gas and even a natural asphalt lake. It’s an amazing site, if you visit the lake, you will be surprised to see asphalt being naturally created. Tobago, Trinidad’s sister island is the hot tourist spot. I learned a thing or two from the above mentioned experience. Today if some one I have just met were to ask where I’m from and where that island is, I tell them it’s in the same region as Jamaica. You could meet one of the most educated persons out there, but having all that education does not necessarily mean that individual knows his or her geography. Occasionally, after encountering some one who is educated but geographically challenged, I have had to go into further details about where exactly Trinidad is. Since that time at the bus stop though, I have encountered many persons who did not know where Trinidad is or who had never heard of such an island in the Caribbean. There have also been times when I have been pleasantly surprised after informing some one where I’m from and he or she did not have to ask what I was expecting. Where is that? If anyone reading this ever happens to visit Trinidad though, don’t forget to take in the sight at the asphalt lake. You’ll be in for a real treat. ------------ About the author Judy Ramsook: My first book titled: "Karen's Adventure" which is about two young girls who go in search of their missing parents, is now available. I was born and raised in Trinidad & Tobago, then in the mid eighties I came to the US where I attended San Antonio College and The University Of Texas At San Antonio. Visit: http://www.authorsden.com/judyramsook www.publishedauthors.net/g2rdy Email: j2rdy@hotmail.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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