I just wanted to give a thank you to a friend who helped to make learning about world geography fun.  He suggested five ways in which most anyone could get interested in countries where you likely are never to visit:

1. Visit the country in the Earth-based metaverses, Google Earth, and virtual land platforms (like Metablox)
2. Learn about great-tasting foods & dishes
3. Watch their unique sporting events
4. Find out if they have really unique and compelling music
5. Touch their official currencies

Regarding the last one he indicated to find places online which sell low-cost, authenticated currency from countries where you can't easily get the notes (bills) from your local bank. So long as the purchase is legal then he said it is a great way to learn about a country because holding the currency makes a physical connection to that country which can be done from thousands of miles away. The image attached is the dinar note from Wikipedia's page on Iraq's currency, issued by the Central Bank of Iraq. Wiki link here.

Reach out if you have additional ways for someone to learn about new & unique countries. Again, just a thank you to him for these suggestions as these helped me learn more about these countries without having to travel to them right away. I wish that I had learned these suggestions back in school when I was a kid!