During dinner with some friends, we just happened to be talking about traveling and destinations. We were talking about the different experiences you can have in several Countries, Continents and world regions in general. Two of them were from the US and me from Panama. The conversation took a turn when I described Mexico as part of North America. One of them right away said “No” with a tone and expression of “that’s really wrong” and the other one just remained silent.
I was sure of my statement and it was interesting to see how sure she was on her statement as well. Since I am always open to learning and improving myself, I went online and searched “is Mexico part of North America?” And, to my surprise, it depends on where you were born (because Google is great at trying to figure out what you’re trying to research).
The school system in the United States of America teaches kids that The Americas, the continent, is divided into North America and South America… that’s it. While these countries that are not part of North America teach kids that The Americas is divided in North America, Central America and South America.
So, going into detail should be something like this:
North America
Canada
United States
Mexico
Central America
Belize
Guatemala
Honduras
El Salvador
Nicaragua
Costa Rica
Panama
South America
Colombia
Venezuela
Ecuador
Peru
Brazil
Chile
Argentina
Uruguay
Paraguay
Bolivia
Guyana
Suriname
Guyane
Falkland Islands
Bouvet Island
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
It is so interesting to me to see how the place where you were born can condition the way you see the world. Growing up in Panama I could perceive my country as a tiny part of Central America. And now being a US resident I kind of understand how Americans see the rest of the Continent from a perspective of a first world country.
I do love the US and I know there are thousands of people with great hearts in this country as I do love Panama and all the greatness that comes from it.
It’s pretty common when you travel and when you interact with people from other cultures to come across this kind of situations. The best approach is to be open, listen and don’t judge right away. Just because it is not your way doesn’t mean it is wrong.
At the end, we are all part of this planet we call Earth, independently of how it is politically divided. My hope is to see humanity moving towards its nature without labeling people, countries or regions in a deceptive way.
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