Perhaps that is why that state’s license plates say “New Mexico USA” on them.
But would the clerk have realized that the Choctaw Nation is Native American, as opposed to foreign?
Well, he could have been mistaken for an Indian citizen then!
Good grief, can we mandate that every elementary child learns the song “Fifty Nifty United States!” 8-|
When I tried to buy a ticket to Montana, at least one airlines cut me off with, “We only fly to the United States,” and within said states. I tried to explain that MT is a state but gave up and found an airlines that realized it and would sell me a ticket—thanks United!
This reminds me somehow of attempting to get to the Spanish consulate in Chicago, where S was to get a visa. The hotel concierge was trying his hardest to get us to the Mexican consulate instead, not understanding the difference, and not able to comprehend our explanations.
I recently flew into Newark Airport. When I landed, my phone said: Welcome to Canada! Verizon will charge you $10/day for every day you initiate use of your phone.
I call Verizon. Rep asks me where I am. I tell her I’m in New Jersey. She says, “Oh, so you are very close to Canada and that’s why you received that notification.”
Oh yeah, absolutely. We are SO close to Canada, that we have to learn French growing up just in case we wander, oh, several hundred miles away (through all of NY state) by accident and have to get directions home from a helpful Quebecois.
@brantly The flight probably took you through Canadian air space. That’s happened to me before. The notification didn’t arrive at my phone until after we landed (in the US). Common if you’re flying to the NE from some place like Chicago.
As to the OP, yikes! How does someone get to be an adult in this country without at least being aware of the names of the states?
Shaking head in disbelief tempered by abject fear.
I showed my sister in law, a highly educated and intelligent woman who has been to Spain, a photo of the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sanchez. She replied that those Latin American men are so handsome. I informed her again that he was from Spain and she said, “yes, Latin American…”
People tell me I speak English well too—you know being from HI and all. :((
People have asked whether they need a passport to go to Catalina Island.
We are constantly given extortionate shipping rates for HI—of course the free shipping is only for within the US (yep, we live in Mars).
My nephew’s wife (she may have been his girlfriend at the time) who is a college graduate form the Northeast and lives in Arizona, asked my daughter (who lives on Oahu) how long it would take to drive from Arizona to Hawaii!!!
There is a CC member (@DadTwoGirls ???) who was born and raised in Montreal. He was an anglophone educated in English schools in Montreal and he was far from fluent in French. When he applied to college in the US several schools required him to take and pass the TOEFL in order to be considered for admission.
While the average American would not be expected to know the linguistic mix of Quebec, college adcoms should.
lol :))
@Sue22 Yes, I was flying from the upper midwest, and we picked up a Canadian tower. Forgot to put my phone on airplane mode.
I had a recent conversation with a highly successful and well traveled physician who repeatedly referred to Mexico as being part of South America. She’s one of those people who loves to correct others so I was so tempted to say something but I knew she would not appreciate it. I held my tongue.
I am an attorney and I handle many depositions. In the current environment, I no longer allow my clients to answer citizenship questions unless I know for certain they are American citizens. Recently, I produced a client and the exchange went like this:
"Q - Mr. X, where were you born?
X - Puerto Rico.
Q: And are you an American citizen?
X - (looks at me) Really? Did he just ask me if I am an American citizen?"
This was asked by an attorney I have known for some times, and who is an intelligent person.
Second example -
I was at the deposition of a witness who was born in the Philippines. Another attorney said to the witness “Your English is so good” to which the witness responded “It should be, English is a primary language in my country, just like here.”
This makes me want to laugh and cry, all at the same time.
Here’s another one - my daughter’s friend once told me she couldn’t go to Pennsylvania because she didn’t have a passport.