Sometimes people say, "hey Becca, how many countries have you visited?"
And I want to know exactly because it would be nice to have a definite answer instead of "Um...I'm not really sure...60ish?"
There are just some places I've been that aren't really countries but aren't just territories either.
Like for example:
Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales...Wikipedia calls these all countries. Some people don't consider them countries but just say that they're part of the UK and count that as one country. So, I don't know whether to count England, Northern Ireland, Wales, and Scotland as one country or as four.
Isle of Man...considered a British Crown Dependency. This is not a territory. The Isle of Man has its own government, own currency (sort of), own healthcare system, own tax laws, own welfare system. They just rely on England for military protection (and pay them for it). So, it's not a territory, but is it a country that just hires out the dirty work of war or just a nice place to spend a summer day?
Vatican City...some list this as a country others call it a city-state. I call it awesome. Vatican City is so cool. I even saw the Pope when I was there. And, the pope-mobile, of course.
Liechtenstein...most list this as a country but some list it as a microstate. It's so tiny (and beautiful) but is it a country or just a little bit of land smashed between Switzerland and Austria?
Some places are more obvious and easy to categorize.
Like Guam or Puerto Rico. I wouldn't count those as countries I'd visited if I ever went there, because, even though they are very different from the United States, they are still territories of the United States. So, you might feel like you're in a different country, but you aren't...as is the case with Texas.
Or, Antarctica...that is obviously a continent and not a country. And although several different countries have made claims on portions of Antarctica, those claims aren't recognized universally. Even though Antarctica wouldn't count on my list of visited countries I really, really, really want to go there. Someday...
Anyway, I know I'm getting technical with all of this and that it really doesn't matter. But, I just get asked the "how many countries have you visited?" question a lot and I'd like to have an answer.
So, what do you think the definition of a country is? How would you count some of the places I listed above? What makes a country a country?
3 comments:
I don't know the answer to your questions, but I say you might as well count anything you dang well please and round up. Who's going to check? (Unless you are trying to get a job with the CIA.) OR I could go with the age-old suggestion of "Do what you feel in your heart is right."
That's true MOM. I guess I'll just count things how I want and then if someone wants to get technical they can.
Maybe you should clarify the asker and say, "Are you meaning to ask me how many different boundaries of land I have been in? If so, I have been in XX different boundaries." Or, you could really blow their socks off and give them detailed information, like, "I have been in XX internationally-recognized countries, XX territories, XX city-states, lands where XX different languages were spoken, XX different ethnic groups lived, lands that have seen XX wars, lands that have witnessed XXX civilizations rise and fall. Oh, and lands with really great raspberries. That last one'd be Idaho." I think they'd get the point.
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