Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Somos todos americanos

It seems that we never have enough time in class to talk about all the cool places in the world where Spanish is spoken. Click here for a fun little quiz to see how much you already know about South America.  Feel free to do any research on your own about some of the places mentioned and leave a comment about something interesting you find out.

By the way, did you know that in Spanish speaking countries they go by a 6-continent model of the world? That's because they consider North America and South America to be one continent. (If you don't believe me, click here.) That means you're better off using the term "estadounidense" rather than "americano" or"americana" when you want to express your nationality in Spanish. In fact, it can seem presumptuous and even offensive for U.S. citizens to use the term "americano" as if they are the only people on the continent!



12 comments:

  1. I never knew that spanish speaking countries go by a 6 continent map thats very interesting. The people who live in those countries are americans according to there map so american wouldn't be very specific. I don't know south america geography very well I got a 50% on the quiz. I would like to learn more about south america. One cool fact about south america that is that the largest river ( The Amazon) is there, its the largest continent and the largest waterfall is there also (Santo del Angel) its 1000 meters high.

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  2. Luca 703

    That's very interesting because here in the U.S.A we think that there are 7 contients. We fell that North and South America are two differnt contients. It's amazing how everybody has their own beliefs in the world.

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  3. I tried the quiz thinking I was going to do ok and I got a 50. I was surprised because I started off really well and then it just plumitted down from there. It got harder and harder. I would like to learn more about the geography of Latin America. It sounds very interesting.

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  4. I find this intriguing because here in the United States i was raised to think that there was seven continents, but i never thought that a place would call North and South America one. I find it really cool how different they think about it. It just shows how not everyone every where has to think and believe in the same things. But i also wonder what other places think about the amount of continents or other things like that. I am not the expert on South America, but after today i think i might want to learn a little more on my personal time, it was very interesting and mind bobbiling.
    Kevin Ferrari 701

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  5. i never knew that Spanish speaking countries went by a 6 continent map. i think that, at least to me, i always thought states and countries that where called north something and south something was kind of weird. i find that just calling it america.

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  6. I really like all the culture involved in just one planet. it makes me feel that we are so diverse and that there are an infinite amount of things that i can learn about other cultures. I really liked how the Hispanic countries are so different. All this learning about spanish culture that we're doing really makes me want to visit one.
    Jake 704

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  7. It's so fascinating that Spanish speaking countries use a 6-continent map. I didn't know that! I wonder how North America and South America can be considered the same when there are so many cultural differences between them. It's amazing how people can see things one way and other people see it another. It shows how different cultures really are, and how sometimes we don't know enough about each other. I would really like to learn more about Spanish culture. are there any more differences between American culture and Spanish culture like this?

    -Mikaela K.
    704

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  8. Even though it has been a while now that I have been in Spanish class, I started off terrible with geography, especially South America because I hadn't even heard of anything there before class. Now I've learned so much and come so far in Spanish culture. I love how different and interesting it is compared to America. I haven't seen anything like it before.

    Emily Zimmerman

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  9. I was fascinated that there is so much diversity all over the world. There are so many cultures in this world I had no idea.

    (I did very poorly on this quiz, I do not know much about South America)

    -kyle 704

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  10. I tried the quiz and got 17/20 right. I was very surprised that Southern Americans believe that North and South America to be one continent. It is just like how it is common for young adults to live alone in the US, but it's common for young adults to live with their family in Spanish countries.

    -James Stinnett 704

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  11. I tried out the quiz, and got 8/20. I think I need to update on my South American, Geography. Although skimming through your blog, it seemed endless with information! There were videos, articles, pictures, etc. It's amazing how much you wrote! Also, I thought your blog was very useful and neat. I may come again!

    -Michelle N. 704

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  12. I completed the quiz and did really poorly on it, since i don't lot about south America but it is crazy to know that some southern Americans believe north and south America are one continent, and i can see where they are coming from, when i was little i thought North and South American were one country but after going to school and learning American history that all got cleared up at a very young age, but for adults to think that is alarming and concerning.

    - Catherine Kreider 802

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