The Katie Chronicles: Geographically Challenged Edition

 
Katie likes to watch The Great Food Truck Race on the Food Network and we realized that we somehow missed a season, so we've been catching up on episodes recently. If you don't know, the show involves seven or so food truck teams who all go to a state, are given a truck and other accessories, and they compete to see who can sell the most in a given city, who can make the best dish with a specific ingredient, and so on. The season we're watching takes place in Alaska, so Katie and I have been talking about Alaska during the commercial breaks. Last night, the teams had to go out on boats and fish. Katie was talking about the water and seafood and she said something to the effect of, "Well, Alaska *is* an island so..." I looked at her and waited for the punchline. She gave me a "what?" look.

"Katie...Alaska isn't an island. It's attached to Canada."

"No, it's not. It's an island!"

We went back and forth about this before I googled a map and showed her. Yep, there it was, attached to the west coast of Canada. She was flabbergasted.

"How come they always show it as an island when they show a map?" she said.

"Katie, they don't....oh wait. Is *this* the map you're talking about?"

I figured out that she sees maps that are America-centric, meaning they only show the lower 48, Hawaii, and Alaska, leaving out Canada and Mexico, like when they show a weather map of the US on TV. When I showed her just such a map, and asked her about it, she said, "YES! That's what they always show!" To be fair, those maps do make Alaska look like it's not attached to anything. So I had to explain that it's an edited map designed to only show the US, not a geographically accurate map. She was relieved and I felt better, too. I was beginning to see this as a parenting failure and was glad when we found the explanation.

The funny part of all this is she's actually been to Alaska. We went on an Alaska cruise a few years ago (I recommend it) and she *did* see Alaska from the water with shore excursions, just as on the other cruises we've taken...which were all to island destinations.

One of the really fun parts of parenting has been those moments when I get to see the world through her eyes and I realize that sometimes her view is totally her own. It was nice to be reminded of that and be able to solve a geographic mystery. (Mom still knows a few things, emphasis on few.) So, remember, if anyone asks, Alaska is a peninsula, not an island.

(I am contractually obligated by my youngest child to say that she blames the cruise companies. Royal Caribbean, you can expect her lawsuit to arrive directly).