Around The World

With One Laptop

Aug 15, 2023

You know my love for travel, dear reader. From rainforests and beaches in India, to concerts and parks in Europe, to an urban adventure in the UK, I’ve shared with you my experiences as I find the time and money to go fill my heart with experiences that new places have to offer.

Now there was a time not so long ago when travel experiences were hard to come by. And being stuck at home lent itself to many daydreams about traveling across the world. One way I coped with these feelings was to play games like Sporcle and Geoguessr.

There was this one quiz I found on Sporcle called “Countries of the World”, which immediately captured my fancy. The premise is simple - you are presented with a map of the world with question marks instead of country names - all you have to do is type in all 197 country names within 15 minutes.

And boy oh boy, was this ever so fun! I became obsessed, with long hours spent perfecting this game - remembering each continent’s countries one at a time, and then finally acing the game so that I could get all 197 in one go. It was exhilarating when I first nailed it. Soon after, the novelty of the game wore off, and I stopped playing it.

Recently, when a couple of my friends visited me, I pulled this game out of my bookmarks, and we put our minds together to crack it that afternoon. What followed was a delightful rediscovery of an old favorite game, and all the fun feelings it brought along. Since then, I’ve played it at least once every week, and have now cracked a score of 187!

So today’s poem is about this newly rediscovered old pastime, and how it makes me feel. Let’s go around the world.

Alright, poem starts in 3… 2… 1!

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I click to start the countries game.
A simple pastime, tough to tame.
The time says, "Fifteen minutes to go!"
My brain is strained to overflow.

I start to type with hurried pace
What names of places can I trace?
My fingers rush, the countries flow,
some easy, some I barely know.

Nauru, Iceland, and Morocco,
places I have never seen, no!
Thailand, Holland, and the UK,
I smile and think of times I've spent there!

'round the globe my mind now soars,
once done, I'll play the game once more!
187 typed today,
I hope someday to find a way.

To travel wide, and fill my heart,
with beaches, hills and precious art.
I hear them loudly calling me.
These 197 lands to see.
✈️🌎✈️🌎

That’s it! Thanks for reading edition 124 of Hello Universe!

Check out Some Fun Stuff below.

I’m curious to know - what’s a game or website you have been frequenting recently? How does it bring you joy? Share your recommendations in the comments below for the Hello Universe community!

Some Fun Stuff:

This is where I share something cool to read, something cool to listen to, and something cool to watch! The underlined words are links that you can click to visit the recommended content.

1. Check out “Countries of the World” on “Sporcle”: You’ve read the poem, now play the game. Try your hand at naming all 197 countries in the world, and let me know your score in the comments. Try not to cheat! 🤭

2. Listen to “Drugs - Instrumental” by AllttA, 20syl, and Mr. J. Medeiros: Man, this track is just pure ear candy. Pop on those headphones, put on this track, and start bopping in no time!

3. Watch the Geowizard, Tom Davies: Geowizard is one of the OGs of playing Geoguessr and other geography games like Sporcle on Youtube. I have been following him for 4 years now, and his videos never disappoint. Not only does he play online games, but he also takes us on adventures like his insane “Straight Line” series, where he tries to walk across countries in as straight a line as possible. I especially love how he flexes his detective capabilities in the “Geo Detective” series where he tries to pinpoint the exact location of a fan just from one photograph. He is well travelled, well read, and an overall top lad. Totally worth subscribing to.

That’s all for this week, see you next Tuesday!