My husband recently told me that as a teenager, he and his friends in California had a vague idea that Maryland was a county somewhere in the Midwest. I laughed, but was a little incredulous. Aside from the fact that these guys had clearly never passed a 3rd-grade geography quiz, I was amazed that someone could not know what or where Maryland, my home, was!
Maryland has crabs! World famous, Chesapeake Bay blue crabs. Remember Wedding Crashers? "Crab cakes and football, that's what Maryland does!" And the sailing capital of the world, Annapolis. And Baltimore- home of Babe Ruth, good ol' "Charm City!" Ever heard of a little ditty called "The Star Spangled Banner?" That's right; witnessed, inspired, and written here. These and a million other small traits and claims to fame make me proud of Maryland, and I couldn't believe that these silly California kids only gave it enough credit to be perhaps a mid-sized county in Ohio.
That got me thinking. I'm proud to be from Maryland. Probably, the people living in some mid-sized county in Ohio are likewise, really proud of it. Everybody is proud of where they are from, even if it is unglamorous or remote to everyone else in the world; it's home.
Hence, this endeavor. I want to learn a little bit about every single country in the world, to understand a little bit more about the homes of others-- what's great about the land they live on, what glory days they reflect upon, what their defining moments are.
My goal is to read as much as possible (but at least 2 books and 2 articles) about each country, A to Z, trying to study one country every 3 weeks. Assuming that I stay on track, it will take a little more than 11 years. I'll post my observations, ideas, and small insights; looking forward to Afghanistan!
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
