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Poll Where do you come from?

Where do you come from?

  • North America

    Votes: 203 40.8%
  • South America

    Votes: 8 1.6%
  • Northern Europe

    Votes: 45 9.0%
  • Eastern Europe

    Votes: 11 2.2%
  • Southern Europe

    Votes: 12 2.4%
  • Western Europe

    Votes: 94 18.9%
  • Central Europe

    Votes: 17 3.4%
  • Australia New Zealand

    Votes: 83 16.7%
  • Asia

    Votes: 11 2.2%
  • Africa

    Votes: 14 2.8%

  • Total voters
    498
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
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At this point, I think we may assume you are from the Emerald Isle....but, we’ll just keep it a secret so as not to upset your mum
Ha ha
Click on his avatar....says he's from Derry
Derrybiketours might be a clue to where he lives
He has you running around in circles methinks!!!!
 
The poll was posted by the OP and the location choices were entered by her.
The “Poll Template” only allows for 10 choices which are all filled.
i think perhaps it may have been surprising that there are so many members from outside of Europe.

It may be surprising to some that Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, etc. are all in North America. The dividing line is between Panama and Columbia.

I have been looking at my Spanish textbook, Dicho y hecho, published in the USA, which teaches that only Mexico, of the Spanish speaking countries, is in North America; the countries of Guatemala to Panama, including Puerto Rico, are located in Central America. I am not aware of whether there is an international geographical organization which determines such matters with authority.
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
I have been looking at my Spanish textbook, Dicho y hecho, published in the USA, which teaches that only Mexico, of the Spanish speaking countries, is in North America; the countries of Guatemala to Panama, including Puerto Rico, are located in Central America. I am not aware of whether there is an international geographical organization which determines such matters with authority.
Hmmm, I live in the United States and always understood Central America as including Mexico and countries south through Panama.
 
I have been looking at my Spanish textbook, Dicho y hecho, published in the USA, which teaches that only Mexico, of the Spanish speaking countries, is in North America; the countries of Guatemala to Panama, including Puerto Rico, are located in Central America. I am not aware of whether there is an international geographical organization which determines such matters with authority.

The confusion is caused by the fact that “Central America” is not a continent and is simply geographic/political description. It is however more defined then the various “divisions“ of Europe in the poll.
 
Um, usually not a pollster.

However.

Born in Philadelphia.

Six months to twenty-one raised in and around Los Angeles.

Eleven moved to Culver City, California.

Sixteen back to Los Angeles.

Twenty-one moved to New York, New York.

Twenty-one moved to Astoria Queens, New York.

Twenty-three Moreno Valley, California.

Twenty-six Venice Beach, California.

Twenty-eight Los Angeles.

Thirty-five Astoria Queens, New York.

Thirty-five New York, New York.

Forty, invited to remain as an indefinitely permanent hospitalera in Ponferrada, Spain.

Forty, after too long as hospie in Ponferrada, New York.

Forty-one to Fifty-two, a wash back and forth East to West.

Fifty-two to nearly Fifty-five Brooklyn, New York.

Nearly fifty-five to present, now residing with mom in Los Angeles in same house in which we lived from my fourth year to eleventh year of life and off an on since then.

Oh my goodness.

Never before put in black and white.

A rolling stone.
 
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Hmmm, I live in the United States and always understood Central America as including Mexico and countries south through Panama.
My understanding: South America commences at Mexican
Mexico is and has always been part of North America. Remember NAFTA? The North American Free Trade Act, which includes Mexico, Canada and the US since they are all part of North America
 
Mexico is and has always been part of North America. Remember NAFTA? The North American Free Trade Act, which includes Mexico, Canada and the US since they are all part of North America

Gosh, I want to edit my post.

Show my acumen off.

But, then subsequent posts will be rendered null and void.

I cannot do that to either you or Chrissy.

Remember.... Nope: forgot all about NAFTA.
 
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I thought it was more members from a Europe here (because we are mostly talking about walking in Europe) that’s the reason why Europe is more represented. As well is my experience from other forums that there might be a maximum time limit you have to be under when posting a poll so when I realized I just had 10 alternative answers to use I took away Central America.
:)
 
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Um, usually not a pollster.

Me neither, but . . .
If we’re going that route . . .

Born in England

Eighteen lived in Germany

Nineteen lived in Scotland

Twenty lived in Channel Islands

Twenty one lived in Rhodesia (oops sorry, Zimbabwe)

Twenty two lived South Africa

Twenty three lived in New Zealand

Twenty four lived in Australia

Twenty five lived in Germany

Twenty six lived in England, but my heart was back in South Africa

Thirty Nine and 364 days married a South African

Been here ever since ❤
 
Me neither, but . . .
If we’re going that route . . .

Born in England

Eighteen lived in Germany

Nineteen lived in Scotland

Twenty lived in Channel Islands

Twenty one lived in Rhodesia (oops sorry, Zimbabwe)

Twenty two lived South Africa

Twenty three lived in New Zealand

Twenty four lived in Australia

Twenty five lived in Germany

Twenty six lived in England, but my heart was back in South Africa

Thirty Nine and 364 days married a South African

Been here ever since ❤
Jill, no wonder you love walking any camino you can plant your feet on! 😀
 
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Me neither, but . . .
If we’re going that route . . .

Born in England

Eighteen lived in Germany

Nineteen lived in Scotland

Twenty lived in Channel Islands

Twenty one lived in Rhodesia (oops sorry, Zimbabwe)

Twenty two lived South Africa

Twenty three lived in New Zealand

Twenty four lived in Australia

Twenty five lived in Germany

Twenty six lived in England, but my heart was back in South Africa

Thirty Nine and 364 days married a South African

Been here ever since ❤

Ah!

Someone else rolled their stone about a good bit too.
 
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Well how about just listing the inhabited continents (i.e, excluding Antarctica)
According to Nat Geo there's between 5,000 in summer and 1,000 in winter inhabitants on Antarctica waiting for ice to melt. I'm determined to meet one of these inhabitants someday on the CF, just need to spot the flags of New Zealand, Australia, France, Norway, the United Kingdom, Chile, and Argentina (Just discovered can't access my Pilgrim emoji on my PC)
 
According to Nat Geo there's between 5,000 in summer and 1,000 in winter inhabitants on Antarctica waiting for ice to melt. I'm determined to meet one of these inhabitants someday on the CF, just need to spot the flags of New Zealand, Australia, France, Norway, the United Kingdom, Chile, and Argentina (Just discovered can't access my Pilgrim emoji on my PC)
copy it or take a photo and send it to yourself..and keep it handy on the desktop.
 
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Words. Our friends, and our downfall. I do like that one from Glenshiro, of the new avatar, about the facts of life talk. So often that is what happens. We reply to what we think we hear, not what is actually asked.
edit: I had fun, kind of, when teaching English as a second language. It is not easy to help people of other languages get the nuances involved in answering the question 'Where do you come from?' No matter where you have just come from, nor where did you come from this morning, where do you come from? has only one answer: the place of your birth. At least, to the best of my native English speaker knowledge, that is how I see it from my grasp of the English language. The older one becomes, the more doubts creep in though!
I was born on mainland Australia but have lived in Tassie for over 15 years...still not quite long enough to be 'Tasmanian' although I claim it when advantageous to do so... 😇

I was standing in line behind some American tourists checking in at Hobart airport...
Security officer greets them in the usual Aussie way...
"How ya going?"
Slightly bewildered, puzzled looks from said group of tourists.
Me sniggering knowing full well their confusion.
Eventually one proffers a hesitant answer....
"By plane..."
😆 😉
Love it! 🇦🇺
👣 🌏
 
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Your's wasn't bad but I heard a bit of mid-west. Nothing as strong as in the movie Fargo but a tiny bit. I probably should have faked a Boston or Maine accent for you when we met but instead you got to hear real accentless English. ;)
I love Minnesota-Swedish! It reminds me of the Chef in the Muppet Show!
 
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I put Northern Europe as i'm in NW Scotland but I swithered a lot between Western Europe or Northern. It deinitely feels Northern at the moment!
I was going to put Western Europe but seeing as I'm in a more northern part of Scotland than you I'll have to put Northern Europe too. Are Portugal and Spain Western or Southern Europe?
 
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What puzzles me is what was on the other side of the globe? Just the Pacific Ocean?
The giant continent of Pangaea was surrounded by the equally gianormous ocean called Panthalassa.
Pangaea began to break up about 200 million years ago. Then it got more complicated. So much so that now we here can't get it straight how many continents there are. ;) 🙃
 
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Love this thread, it's fun ...and nice to know where people are from when they post
When we're on the Camino, it's probably the first question ....well one of many anyway as I'm Irish and a bit nosey!!......that I ask other people.
Makes for more interesting conversations if people want to chat...or not
Am I the only one who, when on Camino, often finds it easier to remember people's nationalities than their names?
 
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At this point, I think we may assume you are from the Emerald Isle....but, we’ll just keep it a secret so as not to upset your mum

Ha ha
Click on his avatar....says he's from Derry
Derrybiketours might be a clue to where he lives
He has you running around in circles methinks!!!!
Now you've upset his mum!
 
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Hmmm, I live in the United States and always understood Central America as including Mexico and countries south through Panama.
In Canada, we were taught in school that Mexico is part of North America and countries south of Mexico are in Central or South America.
 
In Canada, we were taught in school that Mexico is part of North America and countries south of Mexico are in Central or South America.
[edited] As a seafarer, we consider the Panama Canal the divide. In fact, the only first of three bridges spanning the canal is called the Bridge of the Americas.
 
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The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
It´s a funny tread

I come from Germany, about 100km northeast of Cologne and live in the large cluster of industrial cities in the Ruhr area.

We are only 90km away from Holland, but would never say that we live near the border. This could be related to the size of the country and the related explanation of the words "near" and "far away".

These words might be used a little bit different in countries like Australia or Canada;)

I would say that in everyday use in Germany, when we use the term Central Europe, we exclusively have Germany, Austria and Switzerland in our mind. Of course we know that Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary are also in Central Europe in the geographical sense, but this division has been retained from the time of the Iron Curtain. East of the German-speaking countries began Eastern Europe. Kind of crazy.

North America consists for most of us only of Canada and the USA, at the Rio Grande begins Middle America and ends at the Colombian border.

And I will never understand where in the news the Near East ends and the Middle East begins🤔

Arabs are not Asians, although their countries are in Asia and an American is always a citizen of the USA, otherwise he would be Canadian:cool:

Is Germany the only crazy country?
 
... and an American is always a citizen of the USA, otherwise he would be Canadian:cool:

Is Germany the only crazy country?

It is different in Spanish. When I was living in Madrid I learned that an "American" is someone from the Americas. For someone from the United States of America you would describe them as "North American" in Spanish. Which was a source of endless irritation to us Canadians!
 
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We are only 90km away from Holland, but would never say that we live near the border.

Sorry to be pedantic, but you are not 90km away from Holland, but from the Netherlands. :)
Strictly spoken, Holland only refers to the two western provinces of the Netherlands (south Holland and north Holland). Being from Holland, this never bothered me, but I have had friends from other provinces who strongly object when our country is referred to as Holland. I know it may not make sense, as the song to cheer on the national football team is 'Hup Holland Hup'.

Anyway, I am from Amsterdam, probably Western Europe. Although one line in our national anthem says that "we will always honour the king of Spain" which suggests being a little bit Southern European.
 
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@Marc S. Sooorrryyy😇
Of course you are right and most of the Germans know the difference between the Netherlands and Holland but in normal speeking all the dutch people are "Holländer", even if they live in Maastricht or Groningen.

But also my friends from Emmen in Drenthe, have always said on the Camino that they come from Holland, probably because also in Spain often the whole country is called Hollandia.
 
As a seafarer, we consider the Panama Canal the divide. In fact, the only bridge spanning the canal is called the Bridge of the Americas.
I believe there is another one, a fairly new one, the Centennial Bridge. I’ve been reading up on Panama; I was supposed to go there at Christmas time, but had to cancel at the last minute. 😢😢
 
Looking at the time zones. It is easy to understand why especially the question of Western and Central Europe is answered differently by everyone.

used time zones vs geophraphicals time zones

1579287875845.png

The sunset in summer is in Britany, France 1 hour and 40 minutes later than in the southeast of Poland, even if these two points are nearly on the same latitude - but they use the same time.

I wonder every year on my Camino how dark it is at 6 in the morning in Spain. but its also the difference between north and south. Anyway - I love our long summer days in the north🥳🥳🥳
 
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I believe there is another one, a fairly new one, the Centennial Bridge. I’ve been reading up on Panama; I was supposed to go there at Christmas time, but had to cancel at the last minute. 😢😢
Yikes...! I just looked it up and there are now actually 3 bridges over the canal... Guess that tells you how long it's been since I've transited the canal... where do the years go???
 
Yikes...! I just looked it up and there are now actually 3 bridges over the canal... Guess that tells you how long it's been since I've transited the canal... where do the years go???
😀 Yes, but that third bridge is a little one that has to close down when the ships come through - not really recommended for travellers going across. 😊
 
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I can certainly see where you are coming from And since I don't come from one of the ambiguous areas I don't have to change my answer to reflect the continents as you intended them.

But stepping back a bit, it seems to me that one can look at continental borders from a socio-political point of view or simply at the land masses. If the latter, which you seem to be doing, then there really isn't a divide between Europe and Asia, since they are fundamentally one land mass and, of course, one is left wondering where the lines are between north, east, west, south and central Europe are. If one accepts that the concepts and divisions are fundamentally socio-political, then countries that are part of the European Union and their constituent parts are included in Europe.
 
In Europe only the middle part is divided into three different subzones: western, central and eastern, but there is only one southern Europe and therefore Finisterre (Galicia), Palermo (Sicily) and Patras (Pelopponesus) are more or less the same thing.
 
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Doesn't Greenland count as Western Europe? Like the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon.

If those are considered Western Europe, do you consider Réunion and (worse) Nouvelle Caledonie as Eastern Euope? Here we are getting into a gigantic muddle offegraphic and political lines.
 
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If those are considered Western Europe, do you consider Réunion and (worse) Nouvelle Caledonie as Eastern Euope? Here we are getting into a gigantic muddle offegraphic and political lines.
Well as far as the Eurovision Song Contest (aka A Song for Europe) is concerned Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Israel, Morocco and Turkey are all allowed to compete so are surely all "European" countries?
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
Sorry to be pedantic, but you are not 90km away from Holland, but from the Netherlands. :)
Strictly spoken, Holland only refers to the two western provinces of the Netherlands (south Holland and north Holland). Being from Holland, this never bothered me, but I have had friends from other provinces who strongly object when our country is referred to as Holland. I know it may not make sense, as the song to cheer on the national football team is 'Hup Holland Hup'.

Anyway, I am from Amsterdam, probably Western Europe. Although one line in our national anthem says that "we will always honour the king of Spain" which suggests being a little bit Southern European.
Not pedantic at all. From this month your government has decreed that the name "Holland" will no longer be used officially and that "the Netherlands" be used instead.
This may come as a bit of a worry to those Parts of Holland that lie in Lincolnshire, England:

1579344259912.png

an area which is famous for its low lying ground, windmills and for growing tulips . . . (er? what?) 🌷🌷🌷;)
 
Well as far as the Eurovision Song Contest (aka A Song for Europe) is concerned
It may seem pedantic but A Song for Europe was the name of the British pre-selection competition and never the name of the Eurovision competition itself. In fact, in German for example the Eurovision Song Contest was called by its French name Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson until 2001 which made it clear that it was a Eurovision thing and not a Europe thing :D.

The Eurovision logo and melody would appear on the TV screen whenever there was a broadcast for several countries, like "international" quiz shows for viewers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. LOL. Long time ago ...
 
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Not pedantic at all. From this month your government has decreed that the name "Holland" will no longer be used officially and that "the Netherlands" be used instead.
This may come as a bit of a worry to those Parts of Holland that lie in Lincolnshire, England:

View attachment 68713

an area which is famous for its low lying ground, windmills and for growing tulips . . . (er? what?) 🌷🌷🌷;)
And the USA has Holland, Michigan!
Screenshot_2020-01-18-06-39-35.jpg
 
Just go to Maine. And this isn't all of them.
1143695415_46b6a8bf8a_z.jpg

 
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I'm from the island of Trossö, Karlskrona City, south Sweden. A world heritage baroque town, built on 33 islands in a beautiful archipelago.
 
From the small nation state Belize in Central America, so I guess that would qualify as North America. Interesting how you broke up Europe, much smaller than North America, into several areas. Just a thought :)
 
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What happened to Central America?”

😎 In Spain everything South of Texas is South America including Mexico. 😁
Hahahahah, that's funny!!
 
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The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
Yes, I realized that this was a very Euro-centric poll. 😊
Yep. I do not know where on earth people got the notion that "everything south of Texas" is South America. Actually, America includes everything from Canada to Patagonia, Argentina. North America and South America are divided at the Panama and Colombia border. So when you refer to anything or anybody as American, I ask where in America???
 
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Grew up and went to college and university on the east coast of the U.S. (suburbs of NYC, Philadelphia and Boston). Studied a year in Paris and 2 summers in Valladolid. Lived and worked in NYC, Geneva and Luxembourg then 27 years in The Netherlands.

Since this new year I´m in Spain and will be permanently moving to Villares de Orbigo in March when I take over the Albergue Villares de Orbigo from the current Belgian owner who is retiring.

I guess that you can saw that I get around:D
 
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Most of the time in NW suburbs of Chicago near two of my six adult kids, but I’m gone half the time. I’ve lived in Indiana, Florida, California, and New Jersey. In the military I spent considerable time in Antarctica, New Zealand, Greenland, the Azores, Japan, and the Philipines. I was gone for several weeks last month to Istanbul then Oman where another son and his family lives. The previous month I was in England visiting my daughter’s family and in-laws, then hiked the Via Francigena from Canterbury to Bapaume, France.
Most folks die within 25 miles of home, so I’m just reducing my exposure.
 
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If Greenland is part of Europe, then Guam is in the Americas and not Oceana, India moved from Asia to Europe and back to Asia, and the Americas were part of Western Europe (Spain and Portugal), and a whole lot of African nations were in Europe.

No wonder Europe needs so many sub-zones, it’s crowded.
 

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