In the UK, when it comes to buying plane tickets, travel insurance, etc, Russia is considered a part of Europe. Although you do get your passport stamped, which you often don't in other parts of Europe Because it's not in the EU, perhaps?

Turkey's the same, part is considered Europe and part Asia, this led to some confusion when sorting out visas and insurance since I was crossing the country. You'd think the authorities on our end would have figured it out by now, but apparently not.

maybe Russia is considered Europe cause the capital is in Europe I don't know, I suppose it doesn't really make a difference either way it's one country so it doesn't really matter what continent it's on

So speaking about continents, my high school spanish teacher once told us that depending on where you're from, students are taught that there are either 5, 6, or 7 continents in the world (because you can combine North and South America as the Americas, and then you combine Europe and Asia as Eurasia)... Sounds odd, but is that the case for you?

here in Russia, you are usually taught there are six continents, Europe and Asia are often combined

I'm from Australia but here we're taught (and teach) that there are 7 continents in the world - the Americas are separate, as are Europe and Asia.

My family eats sunflower seeds here (in Canada) as well, I think they are fairly common.

As a teenager in Vancouver, we used to call them 'spits', and everyone had a bag in their shirt pocket for a couple of years in junior high.

The point was to try and look like a cowboy in a Western movie, chewing tobaccy, leaning back and giving the correct "phht" sound as you ejected the shells from your mouth.

Here in Taiwan people eat them, but they're not nearly as popular as licorice-flavoured watermelon seeds.

wild rose wrote

here in Russia, you are usually taught there are six continents, Europe and Asia are often combined

Well, that makes sense from a Russian point of view

What's funny is the way that flat maps divide up the Earth.

In Europe, Europe/Africa is shown in the middle, with Asia to the right and the Atlantic and the Americas on the left.

Here in Taiwan, China is in the middle with Asia/Europe to the left and the Pacific and then the Americas to the right.

Weirdest of ll was the way it used to be in America/Canada (and maybe it still is),
with the Americas square in the middle and Eurasia split down the middle and pasted on opposite ends of the map.

As a teenager in Vancouver, we used to call them 'spits', and everyone had a bag in their shirt pocket for a couple of years in junior high.

The point was to try and look like a cowboy in a Western movie, chewing tobaccy, leaning back and giving the correct "phht" sound as you ejected the shells from your mouth.

Haha, that is neat! I wonder how the parents appreciated that?

I personally like best the maps that have Great Britain right in the middle, but to be honest I haven't looked at many Canadian-produced maps to see what continent is in the middle.

Weirdest of ll was the way it used to be in America/Canada (and maybe it still is),
with the Americas square in the middle and Eurasia split down the middle and pasted on opposite ends of the map.

I have never seen a map like that and I live in the US and have been to Canada. The only kind I've seen have Europe and Africa in the middle.

There is a good reason for maps having the country of origin in the centre. That is where the person understanding the map is. There. Or here. That is the world from their perspective and in classes, from the perspective of those who have to study their own country first. Normally in Australia we have a map with Australia in the centre, and with Europe and the Americas arranged on either side. We normally are meek enough to realise that China, Japan and Russia are at the top of the map. And it is annoying to see maps which portray Greenland as bigger than Australia, which it isn't. The problem with most maps is that nothing ever shows Antarctica correctly.

Here is a really good map from a Southern Hemisphere point of view :

It really does show which hemisphere is the important one, doesn't it?

Weirdest of ll was the way it used to be in America/Canada (and maybe it still is),
with the Americas square in the middle and Eurasia split down the middle and pasted on opposite ends of the map.

I have never seen a map like that and I live in the US and have been to Canada. The only kind I've seen have Europe and Africa in the middle.

http://www.maps.com/map.aspx?cid=1,24&pid=1997

This is the kind I mean- hung in every classroom when I was growing up- of course that's a looong time ago- maybe they've stopped using them, which is good, because they're really a bad projection.

I've seen those, though not as often anymore, now most maps center over the Altantic. But I've always found them rather annoying

To be honest i have seen so many maps and I have no idea which continent is put in the centre normally in the ones I have seen but I am sure most of the time it was asia.

Ugh. The maps with the Americas in the centre just look ridiculous and needlessly split Europe from Asia. Not cool.

Ugh. The maps with the Americas in the centre just look ridiculous and needlessly split Europe from Asia. Not cool.

Agreed. It also annoys me when they cut off only that eastern end of Russia... or Alaska... or repeat them. I typically see a lot more maps like that. Similar to this:
http://www.worldmapphotos.com/wp-conten ... ld-Map.jpg
That always confused me as a child. And I don't really like how the maps have to stretch Iceland and Antarctica. I much prefer globes.

Yes, but then what is the "right" way to center a map???