http://www.lostinthepond.com/2014/02/197-english-place-names-americans-might.html?m=1#.VWVmg0aWTRb
197 English Place Names Americans Might Have a Hard Time Pronouncing
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This page is a guide you can use to impress the locals, who would no doubt be surprised to hear anyone - much less an American - pronouncing the name of their town or city correctly. Furthermore, you can use it simply just to blow your mind.
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I have never heard 'the pond' as meaning Britain.
Was it an American or Englishman who first called the ocean that? It sure sounds like a straight faced expression by an English gentleman.
My guess is that the writer is referring to his expatriate status by using the "lost in the pond" wording.
"The pond" as a joking reference to the Atlantic as well as the Pacific seems to date from the mid-1800s
and also may be originally British in origin. I know the phrase but would probably not use it except in
in a joking manner.
I have visited venues where there were references to "leftpondia" and "rightpondia", referring to the Atlantic.
For some reason Californians refer to Oregon and Washington as being "North Coast" which is confusing. Ohio does has a North Coast, but Oregon and Washington are West Coast.