@Gelderland
Well, it makes sense that the Netherlands would need to be better at foreign cultures and geography than we do, but it definitely doesn't make sense just how bad we are. As I said, so many Americans don't even have the foggiest idea about the geography of the United States, even basic facts that I would think would be necessary for one's life. I have a particular love for geography, I'm not expecting others who don't share my passion to know anywhere near the level of details I do. But isn't there a basic standard of some knowledge that should be expected from people that manage to graduate high school? Reputedly, only 25% of HS grads in the US can locate the US on an unlabeled map. That's absurd. Granted, I'm not positive that the sources are accurate, but I believe that it's probably true, or at least close. The United States is the 3rd or 4th largest country in the world (the US and China are close enough that sources vary, it depends on exactly how you count China's disputed borders, and some water area), how can that be a difficult task?
Yes, it can be tricky to travel to countries where they don't speak any languages that you do, I've done it a few times. I've always managed, but sometimes it was a challenge. Yes, the Netherlands is one of the countries where English is spoken at a very high level. Other than the Scandinavian countries (a couple of which might have you guys beat, but it's very close), I've never been to any other country (where it's not the native tongue) where the people are nearly as good at it. Heck, I think sometimes you guys are better at it than I am :P.
39
@Gelderland
Well, it makes sense that the Netherlands would need to be better at foreign cultures and geography than we do, but it definitely doesn't make sense just how bad we are. As I said, so many Americans don't even have the foggiest idea about the geography of the United States, even basic facts that I would think would be necessary for one's life. I have a particular love for geography, I'm not expecting others who don't share my passion to know anywhere near the level of details I do. But isn't there a basic standard of some knowledge that should be expected from people that manage to graduate high school? Reputedly, only 25% of HS grads in the US can locate the US on an unlabeled map. That's absurd. Granted, I'm not positive that the sources are accurate, but I believe that it's probably true, or at least close. The United States is the 3rd or 4th largest country in the world (the US and China are close enough that sources vary, it depends on exactly how you count China's disputed borders, and some water area), how can that be a difficult task?
Yes, it can be tricky to travel to countries where they don't speak any languages that you do, I've done it a few times. I've always managed, but sometimes it was a challenge. Yes, the Netherlands is one of the countries where English is spoken at a very high level. Other than the Scandinavian countries (a couple of which might have you guys beat, but it's very close), I've never been to any other country (where it's not the native tongue) where the people are nearly as good at it. Heck, I think sometimes you guys are better at it than I am :P.