We learn about geography in school. We have a basic understanding, or at least we should, of where places are, how they got there, and why they are that way. We piece together an image of the world in our heads based on maps and globes, things we hear in the news, and facts and figures we hear in pop culture. So when we actually look at and learn about where things are, or their relative size, or even how many people live there, the reality can be vastly different than the internal picture we had.