I had said my goodbyes in Dallas, Texas. There I was standing at the ticket counter having one of those pre-programmed conversations that humans tend to have as a much too common courtesy.
People fly all around the world, paying homage to each airport they pass through, and naturally I thought that the ticket counter agent would have been familiar with destinations around the world, I thought.
In a smiling face, "And what is your destination?"
In an equal amount of smile response, "Quito."
"Quit-oh!"
Haha, yeah, I'm so excited.
"There's a place called "Quit-oh?"
Oh, it's pronounced key-toh. Quito, Ecuador.
"Ecuador! Where's that!"
Oh dear, um South America, which is South of North America, here, and it's on the Equator.
---did you take 8th grade geography
"Well, have a great time in KEY-TOH!"
--- if only I had my world map on standby like it usually is. She was not well-versed in what I thought was common knowledge, or familiarity, and I was not well-prepared to help humanity. I expected more and wasn't prepared for this dismay.
I only hope that her personal intrigue is strong enough for what she needs to participate in this wonderful thing I like to call basic observations and facts - they can get you far if you are driven enough.
I mean, geography may not be her forte, or even the oil drilling crisis on the environment, or even yet the changing of one hemisphere to another, so I mustn't be too harsh.
Nahhh, I'm totally bashing where bashing is due. I'd like to be told or informed if I was missing something, a key piece of, well, awareness. Bless her and many others who aren't curious enough to do a simple wikipedia search, or something. Exhausting. Though, I might just be hyper-strung out on random and expect others to share with equal appreciation... says the girl who wanted to be a cartographer in 5th grade.
Just for the record:
It's neither quit as in wit,
nor quite as in right.
It's qui as in key
and to as in toe
Now that wit is quite right!
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