| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
John Hall
Joined: 16 Mar 2004
Posts: 452
Location: San Jose, Costa Rica
|
 Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 5:56 pm Post subject: Who has the record? |
 |
|
I recently read about Charles Veley, who claims to be the world's most travelled man.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/09/25/CMG31EF1H51.DTL
That gave me this idea for a thread:
Who has the record for having taught English in the greatest number of countries?
Feel free to post your own tally, no matter how small or large it may be. I, myself, have only taught in three countries. |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
basiltherat
Joined: 04 Oct 2003
Posts: 952
|
| Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 6:38 pm Post subject: |
|
|
5
basil  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Ai
Joined: 02 Jun 2006
Posts: 154
Location: Chile
|
| Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 6:39 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| I'm also at three, but I'm not done yet! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
guangho
Joined: 16 Oct 2004
Posts: 476
Location: in transit
|
| Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 6:57 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Teaching EFL: 4
Teaching: 5 |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Justin Trullinger
Joined: 28 Jan 2005
Posts: 3110
Location: Seoul, South Korea and Myanmar for a bit
|
| Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 9:12 pm Post subject: |
|
|
4. But one was only a fairly brief stint teaching. Long term EFL, three. But have lived in 6 total, including previous professions...
Justin |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
japanman
Joined: 24 Nov 2005
Posts: 281
Location: England
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 12:47 am Post subject: |
|
|
518 countries? I didn't read the article but I didn't know there were 518 countries.
I think though that such tallying up huge numbers is pathetic and childish. You can gain happiness and wisdom sitting in the same house all your life if you approach the world arond you correctly. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
TravellingAround
Joined: 12 Nov 2006
Posts: 423
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 1:24 am Post subject: |
|
|
It seems to be down to an inconsistent (read dishonest and hyperbolic) reporter.
"The title, "World's Most Traveled Man" may be contested, but covering 518 countries in five years should put Charles Veley on the map"
Is it just me or is there, in fact, nowhere near like the 518 countries on earth mentioned? Or even near half that? 
Reading further on..."He has, by his own count, set foot in 518 different countries, territories and islands"...hmm! So when did island = country? If so he must still have another 17,000 odd "countries" in Indonesia alone!
Despite that dodgy reporting his list of sites visited is very impressive. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
canuck
Joined: 11 May 2003
Posts: 1921
Location: Japan
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
naturegirl321
Joined: 04 May 2003
Posts: 9041
Location: home sweet home
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 1:29 am Post subject: |
|
|
| I thought there were less than 200. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
furiousmilksheikali
Joined: 31 Jul 2006
Posts: 1660
Location: In a coffee shop, splitting a 30,000 yen tab with Sekiguchi.
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 1:38 am Post subject: |
|
|
A very dogmatic answer. Doesn't the number of countries depend upon your sympathies?
Western Sahara, Israel, Palestine, Taiwan, Abkazia...
For some they are countries and for some they aren't. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
John Hall
Joined: 16 Mar 2004
Posts: 452
Location: San Jose, Costa Rica
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 1:45 am Post subject: |
|
|
From the article about Charles Veley:
| Quote: |
| Deciding what is and what isn't a separate "country" can keep collectors arguing halfway to Bashkortostan. There are generally accepted to be 193 sovereign nations in the world -- the 191 members of the United Nations, plus Taiwan and the Vatican. But consider, for example, Tahiti: It is fully a part of France, yet most would say it is a separate place. If you've been to Tahiti you haven't really been to France, and vice versa. Once you start down this road it just becomes a matter of how finely you want to parse things. For the purpose of collecting you start with those 193 sovereign nations and begin adding their overseas possessions, colonies, territories, autonomous regions, protectorates, trusteeships, enclaves, mandates, geographically separate island groups and all the world's other "discrete geographical, ethnological or political entities." To keep the nomenclature simple, many collectors call each of these places a "country." |
That's how they arrive at a count of over 500 "countries." |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
naturegirl321
Joined: 04 May 2003
Posts: 9041
Location: home sweet home
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 1:46 am Post subject: |
|
|
| furiousmilksheikali wrote: |
A very dogmatic answer. Doesn't the number of countries depend upon your sympathies?
Western Sahara, Israel, Palestine, Taiwan, Abkazia...
For some they are countries and for some they aren't. |
Agreed. But where is Abkazia? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
japanman
Joined: 24 Nov 2005
Posts: 281
Location: England
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 2:04 am Post subject: |
|
|
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abkazia
Wikipedia, the modern Oracle at Delphi. The amount of trust that people put in this site is astonishing. It could all be utter rubbish. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
furiousmilksheikali
Joined: 31 Jul 2006
Posts: 1660
Location: In a coffee shop, splitting a 30,000 yen tab with Sekiguchi.
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 2:21 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Yes, Abkhazia is a real place (I spelt the name wrong earlier). About the only people other than the Abkhazians who recognize Abkhazia are the Chechens. But, unfortunately no one recognizes Chechnya either. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
John Hall
Joined: 16 Mar 2004
Posts: 452
Location: San Jose, Costa Rica
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 2:39 am Post subject: |
|
|
We seem to have gotten off-topic. May I remind everyone of the original topic?
Who has the record for having taught English in the greatest number of countries? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
