> Anyway, it's not wrong to succumb to the tendency to think of the USA as being "it." Everybody here does that. I do. It doesn't mean you're ignorant or arrogant. That would be if you didn't *care* what else is in the world.

To add to what you said, Sam, I think one's concept of the world changes the older one grows. The world is very large to a small child, yet a child's concept of the world is fairly limited. When I was a little boy, the "world" was limited to my house, back and front yards, and the few places that we would travel to from time to time like Grandma's house. The older I got, the more my world expanded.

I once had a head knowledge of how large the United States was, but until I had travelled to more than just a few of the states, I didn't really comprehend how large it actually is. And since I've never been outside this country, I have to admit that I probably lack a true comprehension of the size of or distance to Europe or Asia or any other foreign location.

Learning how to drive really opened up my mind in this area too. Before I started driving, I knew in my head how long a mile was, but once I started keeping track of how far I was driving every day, I got a better comprehension of driving distances and how far it is to various locations.