Interesting International Facts

A couple of nights ago I was hosting a dinner for work. The attendees were from Uganda, Ecuador, the UK, Canada and Baltimore. We had some great conversations about all sorts of topics. I sat closest to the Executive Director of the UK affiliate office. He's originally from Wales and now lives in the London area, he said he's found speaking Welsh to be completely useless in his line of work (international relief and development). Which made me laugh. Imagine coming in to Uganda and speaking Welsh - your lucky to find an English speaker in most of the countries I visit. Anyway, that isn't the interesting fact I learned.

Did you know?

Those who live in England would not consider themselves European even though they are part of the continent of Europe. He said when asked where Europe is, they would say, "over there."

Which led to the next question, "what would those living in England consider themselves?"

His answer, "British."

Then someone at the dinner table asked, "what would the Irish consider themselves?"

His reply, "European."

Followed by the question, "what about Scotland?"

Answer, "Scottish."

I don't really have an explanation for these classifications, but I found it to be an interesting conversation. In the United States, we call ourselves "American" and often forget that Canadians and those residing in Central and South America are also American. We just claim all of America as our own. I hope you enjoyed this entry of Interesting International Facts...