I've had a map of the world on my wall for as long as I can remember.
It's a 'Hema maps' 1:30 000 000 scale, Pacific centered work of cartographical art.
The various sovereign states, special administrative regions and overseas territories are neatly placed in their respective locations, coloured in muted shades of green, yellow, blue, pink and some kind of gray? Time has taken its toll on the old lady and some of these colours have started to fade into eachother. It won't be long before the tea green of the United States of America blends into the powder blue of Mexico, with blatant disregard for the "greatest wall the world has ever seen".
I reckon every kid's bedroom should have a map on the wall.
It inspires curiosity about the world we live in: Why are some of the borders in Africa straight lines? What is life like in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan? Where should I go next?
It reminds you that the world has so much more to offer than your day to day reality, there is so much to learn, to see and to do. It's exciting.
In a weird way, places on the other side of the world don't seem so foreign, scary or different anymore - simply because you've seen them at the foot of your bed every night.
Ironic that something built to show you the divisions and separations of our world can open you up to just how similar we all are.
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