To the person in Iowa that thought Europe was one country - LET’S DO BETTER
Not that I’m overly concerned with what Europeans think of Americans, but this is bad.
A few nights ago, I met a man from North Macedonia (and I did NOT know exactly where this country was until I looked it up) who was here with a group of delegates for a two week leadership program. I love these type of interactions as the conversations I get to have are always so fascinating. For example, the man I met asked me what Americans thought of Europe. This was a perfect question for me as a co-host of the Rhythm and Roam podcast as we are constantly asking ourselves these types of questions and working through our misconceptions.
I explained that I thought the average American doesn't fully understand the complexities behind all the culture, history, languages, current events, and even geographic placement of the countries in Europe. To fully grasp just a fraction of it would require a lot of research, time, patience, and study- which Americans generally won't do seeing as how situations in Europe usually do not affect our day to day lives. What's more concerning is that I'm not sure if Americans are even aware that they have these misconceptions and general ignorance when it comes to European countries. I know at least that I'm aware that I don't understand all the complexities and that I have so much work to do.
The large group of delegates had first gone to Washington D.C. for a couple of days of sightseeing and meetings. Then the larger group split into smaller groups and the idea was that the delegates would see lesser known parts of the United States and smaller towns. The man from North Macedonia and his group had drawn Iowa as their state to visit. Now I have a lot of misconceptions about Iowa not having really explored that state. Corn and soybeans are what I think of and not much else. So imagine the upturned eyebrow, the increase in my pitch as I asked “Oh…and how did you like Iowa?”
“Exactly,” he said - recognizing everything that I was trying to decide if I wanted to convey or not about Iowa.
“It wasn’t great.”
Being as the whole point of this part of the trip was to see smaller towns, they found themselves in hotels in the middle of nowhere right next to a highway. No public transportation, no readily available Ubers, and no real way to get around as rural and suburban areas in the United States require a car. They felt isolated and stranded during their off time.
They made the most of there trip and made a lot of effort to interact with the various groups they met. There was one Iowan, who upon seeing the group of delegates, asked them where they were from. The man from North Macedonia responded with “Europe” being as the group had people from many different countries.
The Iowan then admitted (why? I don't know) that until a month ago, they had thought Europe was one country. I did not get a chance to ask about the demographics of this person, but this is concerning no matter their gender, age, race, or socio-economic background. As I stated before, I get that understanding ALL the different cultures, history, languages, even exact placement of where countries are in Europe (me!) may be a lot of work for the average American to undertake.
BUT, we need to know that Europe is not just one country.
Perhaps it's a schooling issue, an isolationist policy, apathy, certainly a lack of awareness of basic geography- whatever the case, I find it deeply concerning and disappointing. This example solidifies the work of this podcast and the conversations that we have. Schooling alone is never enough to understand the vast world in which we live.
As a whole, we can do better. Travel more, read more, and overall be more aware.
Make America Smart Again.
~Benefsheh