That brings up an interesting question that has always baffled me, why do Spaniards call all Asians "Chinos"?
jer, the same thing happens in the States. Many times people just assume that someone with "Asiatic features" (almond or slanted eyes, broad/flat face, straight black hair, yellow toned skin, etc) is also "Chinese". I can�t tell you how many times I have had asked me.. "what are you? Part chinese?"
Anyway, back to the question at hand. If a continent is considered to be a continuous land mass, then why is Asia considered a continent when actually several Asian countries are a conglomeration of islands (for example, The Philippines)?
Hey, that reminds me the Carlsberg commercial :cheers: in which you see two asians in a club chatting and one says: "Carls, why is it that all Westeners have the same look?"
I guess Europe and Asia are two different continents because the division is not only geologic but geo-POLITICAL and the historical and cultural differences between these continent had its weight in the decision of separating them, so they said: let's cut the map along the Urals.
Posts: 46 | Location: Madrid | Registered: 30 May 2003
Hey, that reminds me the Carlsberg commercial in which you see two asians in a club chatting and one says: "Carls, why is it that all Westeners have the same look?"
Those Carlsberg :cheers: commercials crack me up!
Castiza, are you back in Spain now or are you still in Florida??
I just think Europeans don't want to be included with Asians. It's not being biased or racist but it's wanting to retain modesty and the uniqueness that Europe has. As far as Europeans viewing America as 1 continent I think it comes from their views as being the ones who colonized us. To Europe we're just America. However, I believe you should apply that view equally and realize the differences b/t North and South America and give them the privelege of belonging to unique continents. Besides, big blocky landmasses don't sound that inviting.
It would be interesting to find out from someone educated in an Asian country what they were taught.
BTW This topic and the inability of bulls to see red (or any color) are my favorite 'get under your sking' topics while I'm in Spain :jeje:
"He who hath not a dram of folly in his mixture, hath pounds of much worse matter in his composition".
Posts: 334 | Location: New York, USA | Registered: 06 June 2003
I'm not an expert in geology, but I think the continents are related with the mass lands theories. Asia and Europe are different continents because they move separately in different ways and Urales is a mountain chain that comes from the pressure between both. You could also go walking from Africa to Asia before the Suez chanel was constructed (Moises did it), so that doesn't mean anything. I've studied America as one continent, and I think it's true as the several mountain chains cross it from Alaska to Tierra de Fuego. Although South America is supoussed to come from a separation from Africa and I don't remember where North America comes from, also India subcontinent came from a different place than the rest of Asia and it's pressure makes the Himalayas. If you want to know the truth you should study it a bit deeply in books about it.
Posts: 153 | Location: Madrid (Spain) | Registered: 10 June 2003
Chica, I'm in Madrid now, finishing exams and so on, but preparing to leave. In 10 days I'll go to the Cadiz province to do an internship until January.
Posts: 46 | Location: Madrid | Registered: 30 May 2003
It would be interesting to find out from someone educated in an Asian country what they were taught.
I live in Tokyo and asked several of my Japanese co-workers what they were taught and they all said 7. (But they didn't know which continents comprised the 7.)
Posts: 14 | Location: Tokyo, Japan (San Antonio, Texas) | Registered: 17 September 2003
ok, i know this is a little late, but the comment about not distinguishing in between countries when it comes to asians and americans, i totally understood. when spaniards asked me "de donde eres?" i would say, "soy americana" and that would start the list of every latin american country on the map. the next step was trying to explain how a person can be american, or from the united states, and be of mexican, native american, etc. roots. that was an interesting conversation, one which i still don't have a really good answer for yet any suggestions?
Posts: 26 | Location: Madrid | Registered: 02 October 2003
You could also go walking from Africa to Asia before the Suez chanel was constructed (Moises did it), so that doesn't mean anything.
Well, Moses did cheat a little by parting the Red Sea.
~-~ Jesus, Moses and an old bearded man are golfing. Jesus tees up, hits his drive straight toward the hole, only to find it bouncing toward the lone water hazard on the course. It flys to the water, stops and hovers just above the pond.
Jesus approaches the pond, walks to its middle, and hits the hovering ball to within inches of the cup. Moses steps up to the tee, and finds his drive approaching the same water hazard. He raises his club, the pond waters part, and the ball comes to rest just shy of the cup. The older man hits a poor drive, it screams onto a nearby road, ricochets off a truck, and hits the water. A frog intercepts it, only to be picked up by a passing eagle.
Frog and ball are lifted skyward, only to be dropped by the eagle to within inches of the cup. In his scramble to get away, the frog hits the ball, knocking it into the cup for a perfect hole in one.
Moses looks to Jesus, and says, " Boy, I hate golfing with your dad!!"
Posts: 289 | Location: Madrid via DC via Mexico via ... | Registered: 01 August 2003
'm not an expert in geology, but I think the continents are related with the mass lands theories. Asia and Europe are different continents because they move separately in different ways and Urales is a mountain chain that comes from the pressure between both.
This page on plate tectonics has some helpful graphics that show how the continent land masses are theorized to have moved from the Permian age to today.
As you can see, north and south America are separate to begin with and gradually come together after the Cretaceous Period. The really interesting fact is that Europe and Asia are not separate continental land masses. It is in fact India which is the separate land mass that came crashing into Eurasia thus forming the world's tallest mountain range. Geologically then India should be called the continent of India. Geologically, half of California is also on a different continent which would explain a lot!
So once again politics wins out, India gets lumped into Asia and Europe is a "separate" continent from Asia.
Posts: 289 | Location: Madrid via DC via Mexico via ... | Registered: 01 August 2003
There�s no tectonic distinction between Europe and Asia. Interestingly, the Med basin is oceanic, that is the Med is arguably an ocean despite its size. Indeed it�s very deep in places.
The word you�re all looking for is "contiguous", that is "all in one piece".
In the old days things were simple. There was only one continent: Pangaea. And you could leave your front door open...
Posts: 319 | Location: Ferrol (Coruña) and Ambridge (Borsetshire) | Registered: 08 March 2003
- rent or buy a cell phone from me for your stay in spain, more info at 
- already have a cell phone, get a spanish SIM card for it at 
that was an interesting conversation, one which i still don't have a really good answer for yet 
any suggestions?![[search]](graemlins/search.gif)
is "contiguous", that is "all in one piece".
