Tell Me About Your Country

[Tequila Sunrise]

I may be relocating from the USA sometime soon out of medical necessity, so tell me about your home. What do you like? What don't you like?

I hope that's not too political for anyone.

[Arakune]

One thing strange I hear is that people think Brazil is a land of courteous people.

Ironic, since my country had a very high (up until the 70s) blood/century rate with civil wars one sided slaughter, a war agains paraguai one holocaust one and 1/8th (Canudus) holocaust.

[Eldan]

Uhm... we have 1200mm of rain per year and the sky is usually grey. I like that, at least, but some people complain about it all the time. Apparently, we are rich. We have mountains, but, different from the cliché, few people actually live in them. We also don't have many farmers, and they all need government funding.
What else do I like... adults are polite in an awkward way that mostly involves being silent and trying not to stare at each other. I'm not sure if I like or hate that. Teenagers are like everywhere else.
Our chocolate really is that good, and better than the stuff we sell you as souvenirs at the airport.
We haven't had any real armed conflict since the last civil war, which is quite some time ago, but WWII was close to that. Still we have one of the highest rates of soldiers per capita. (In the seventies, when my father was young, it was 800'000 soldiers on five million people. Now it's, I think, less than 100'000 on seven and a half million).
Our biggest city has half a million inhabitants, or slightly more than a million with all suburbs. Nice size, not too big.
We have trains everywhere, for everything. Every twenty minutes in the city, every half hour everywhere else. Two minutes late is enough to make a fuss about it.

I'll try and think of more.

[charl]

Sweden is a prosperous modern country. Large parts of it is covered with forests and dotted with small lakes. The summers can get pretty warm, and the sun basically doesn't set properly (in the far north you get 6 months of sunshine in the summer). The winters are the exact opposite, being cold and very dark (you go to work before the sun rises, you go home from work an hour after it sets).

The people may seem frigid and emotionally cold, but they are usually quite friendly once you get to know them a little. They may seem pretty humble and shy to foreigners, but it's just part of the national character to not praise yourself or use hyperbole, part of the "lagom"* spirit.

As with all of Europe there's a lot of history around, especially in the cities. There is a lot of old buildings and places to look at, from Viking grave sites to medieval city centres and castles and more. Some weird old traditions still live on, notably the midsummer festival, where people engage in communal dancing and singing in circles around phallic symbols.


*Lagom is a Swedish word that means roughly something like "just the right amount" or "good enough". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagom

[Kobold-Bard]

Apparently in the last 200 years we've had just three where we weren't at war with someone or another. Not particularly relevant to you, I just learned that on my first day of uni, and use it everytime someone asks.

[Tiger Duck]

Belgium is nice. I can't think of any reason why you wouldn't want to live here. :smallbiggrin:

Then again I can't think of that many why you would. ^^

[Astrella]

Belgium is nice. I can't think of any reason why you wouldn't want to live here. :smallbiggrin:

Then again I can't think of that many why you would. ^^

Whow, you're from Belgium too? Sweet. :smallcool:

(Waal of Vlaming? Of misschien zelfs Duitstalig? / Wallon, Flamand ou Allemand?)

[Tiger Duck]

Vlaming, and there are a few of us here :smallsmile:

[Jack Squat]

Well, there's a lot to say about the country. It's expansive enough that you've pretty much got a bit of everything climate-wise, from frozen tundra to tropical paradise, to inhospitable desert. The people are also very diverse, guaranteeing you to find somewhere to fit in.

Our TV isn't the best, and movies are only a bit better, but what really nails us down is the food. I suppose being an immigrant haven for a majority of the existence of the country helps with that, but I'd say that we've got some of the best food around - if only because if we find something better, we "borrow" it.

[Tequila Sunrise]

One thing strange I hear is that people think Brazil is a land of courteous people.
They’re probably hoping to avoid more fighting.

Uhm... we have 1200mm of rain per year and the sky is usually grey.
England?

Some weird old traditions still live on, notably the midsummer festival, where people engage in communal dancing and singing in circles around phallic symbols.
Let’s party like it’s 686! (Actually my mother still raves about her younger years spent in Sweden.)

Apparently in the last 200 years we've had just three where we weren't at war with someone or another.
Hm, if I weren’t a US citizen that’d be my guess. I give up…?

Belgium is nice. I can't think of any reason why you wouldn't want to live here.

Then again I can't think of that many why you would. ^^
Belgian waffles!

Well, there's a lot to say about the country. It's expansive enough that you've pretty much got a bit of everything climate-wise, from frozen tundra to tropical paradise, to inhospitable desert. The people are also very diverse, guaranteeing you to find somewhere to fit in.

Our TV isn't the best, and movies are only a bit better, but what really nails us down is the food. I suppose being an immigrant haven for a majority of the existence of the country helps with that, but I'd say that we've got some of the best food around - if only because if we find something better, we "borrow" it.
Australia?

[Jack Squat]

Australia?

Heh...check the location bar :smalltongue:

[Shraik]

I live in New Jersey. And that part of Jersey that every one thinks of when they think Jersey:Big suburban area filled with commuters, highways, and stores.
It's different from the rest of the country where I am. Big difference is that everyone in this section of the US is roman catholic, not common to most other areas of the US.
It's busy as all hell. We live the fast, semi-distant lifestyle of New Yorkers. We talk fast because we're always rushing to somewhere we could've been to fifteen minutes ago, or somewhere we don't really need to be at all. We live fast, we talk fast.
I always hear about how people hate it here. The people who live here say they hate it, the people outside make jokes about how dismal of a thought it is that NJ is the light at the end of the [lincoln] tunnel. I like it here. It's convenient. You get a big mix. some parts of the US are very this or that. Where I live(which is bergen county, btw, right by NYC..sort of.) it's more like that in towns.
Trivia: Paramus, sort of cultural center of county, has more commercial sales and retail property then any zip code in the US. That's in a 6 day week too, because Bergen county is one of very few counties in the US with blue laws still. Bergen County also has more people then the states of Wyoming, Vermont, Delaware, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, and Alaska.

Not a country, America differs Greatly depending on where you live.

[Eldan]

England?


Switzerland.

[Thufir]

Hm, if I weren’t a US citizen that’d be my guess. I give up…?

Your ability to read the 'location' text is weak, old man*.

*Disclaimer: The author of this post is not actually aware if Tequila Sunrise is old or a man.

[Eldariel]

Finland is an enjoyable, sparsely settled country up here in the north. Cold winter, warm summer, Lapland for trekking, a thousand lakes, thoughtful and honest, if silent and introverted people, just the way I like it.

Population of mere 5.1 million means the cities aren't too big but Helsinki and its million inhabitants do ensure that we have at least one global-scale city in here. Other than that, the country's towns are low-built as a rule. No need for skyscrapers when you have space all around you.


Oh yeah, and free education and health care for what that's worth. Social democracy FTW. Though the idiots at the government seem to be spending the money in everything but preserving this. Oh, and Finnish cops are actually nice people.

Oh yeah, and the most saunas in the world, for obvious reasons. I'm actually fresh from sauna as I'm writing this. Pretty unimpressive traditional cuisine, but you can find just about anything to eat here anyways so it doesn't really matter.

[KuReshtin]

They’re probably hoping to avoid more fighting.

England?

Let’s party like it’s 686! (Actually my mother still raves about her younger years spent in Sweden.)

Hm, if I weren’t a US citizen that’d be my guess. I give up…?

Belgian waffles!

Australia?

Wow. So many failed spot checks crammed into one post. :smallsmile:

I'll second Charl's post. Sweden's not too bad a place to live.

[Calmness]

Mexico is somewhat traditionalist. We put a lot of emphasis on family values and the like and take lots of days off because of traditions. The food is great as well, and is one of the main reasons I don't want to leave. :smallbiggrin:

Aside from that, well there is a lot of poverty, and some people say we are lazy.

[charl]

I'll second Charl's post. Sweden's not too bad a place to live.

Correction: Sweden is an awesome place to live. :smallsmile:

[Rettu Skcollob]

For Australia, 'pends if you're living in city Australia, rural australia or REALLY rural Australia. And you don't want to hear about the last one. I'd like to tell you about all the DEADLY DEADLY flora and fauna, but then you might not want to come.

Suffice to say that we're pretty good people, overall. And we have our seasons the right way up. :P

What else... If you say it's hot before it's 40-45 degrees C here you're a pansy, and if you take more than a 5-10 minute shower here you're a water wasting bastard.

[Rutskarn]

I'm going to continue the tradition of talking about my part of the USA, despite it not being in the spirit of this OP.

Southern California is pretty much everything Europeans don't think America is like. People where I live are generally polite, fit, educated, and moderate. If I needed to fly someone over from, say, New Zealand in an attempt to convince them Americans aren't all racist butterballs, this I where I'd start.

[Arakune]

They’re probably hoping to avoid more fighting.


Nah. The goverment sold all the rights for bloodsheed to criminals those days.





Uhm... we have 1200mm of rain per year and the sky is usually grey.

England?


Erm... Wrong guy XD.

[Mystic Muse]

we have "Steak and shake" pizza and Bacon cheeseburgers.

yet I still manage to stay underweight somehow.

[Arakune]

we have "Steak and shake" pizza and Bacon cheeseburgers.

yet I still manage to stay underweight somehow.

Where do you live, my fair lady? :smallbiggrin:

[ForzaFiori]

My part of the US (the rest of it doesn't matter :smalltongue:) is separated into a few different styles depending on where you live. In the rural parts of the south, it actually is like what movies and stories say, only slightly less so. We have rednecks and hillbillies (though not everyone is), about half of us spend their days dipping, cussing, and hunting, almost everyone is baptist, and there is more racism than in the rest of the country (but its not like you find Klan meetings on every culture). However, its not like those are the only things around here anymore. In the cities its kinda weird. To quote the movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (when talking about Savanna, Georgia) "Its like Gone With The Wind on Mescaline".

The exceptions are Florida (which is like the North East in the north and Cuba in south) and Atlanta (which, despite being in Georgia, is more like a smaller NYC)

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

Canada.

It's big.

And, on the most part, pretty empty.

We're your generic western society, but we have many striking differences from America. Actually, so many I can't really list them. We are, however, very polite, and one of the all-round best countries out there. Oh, and it gets cold. Unless you're from somewhere also cold *finland, sweden*, you will be cold.

[Jack Squat]

I'm going to continue the tradition of talking about my part of the USA, despite it not being in the spirit of this OP.

Southern California is pretty much everything Europeans don't think America is like. People where I live are generally polite, fit, educated, and moderate. If I needed to fly someone over from, say, New Zealand in an attempt to convince them Americans aren't all racist butterballs, this I where I'd start.

What part of SoCal are you from? That doesn't sound at all like where my cousins are (which, admittedly, is near LA)

[Quincunx]

JFK rose from the grave (perilously alike to the nose of a missile, in irony, as the top of the tomb sheared aside to let him rise) and spoke to you. Tell me what you will bring to my country, whichever country that will be.

[Eldan]

Canada.

It's big.

And, on the most part, pretty empty.

We're your generic western society, but we have many striking differences from America. Actually, so many I can't really list them. We are, however, very polite, and one of the all-round best countries out there. Oh, and it gets cold. Unless you're from somewhere also cold *finland, sweden*, you will be cold.

Oh yeah! You bastards beat us again in the best city competition!

[thorgrim29]

Oh, and it gets cold. Unless you're from somewhere also cold *finland, sweden*, you will be cold.

Pansy, Toronto is tropical compared to where I live, freaking great lake.....

Canada in two songs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlQeW2HN0U0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_RPp4dbam8&feature=related

Oh yeah and we totally burned the white house down

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ety2FEHQgwM&feature=related

[Solaris]

I'm going to continue the tradition of talking about my part of the USA, despite it not being in the spirit of this OP.

Southern California is pretty much everything Europeans don't think America is like. People where I live are generally polite, fit, educated, and moderate. If I needed to fly someone over from, say, New Zealand in an attempt to convince them Americans aren't all racist butterballs, this I where I'd start.

Point of order, almost no Americans I've met meet the stereotype.

I really gotta bite my tongue. I've taken enough anti-American crap to make me touchy about the subject.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Ok, I've only been out of the country once... and that was to eat at a Canadian McDonalds so that doesn't really count.

HOWEVER, I am a technician for the US's leading international satellite company provider, so mostly what I do all day is meet people from other countries that I enjoy comparing I representative birthplaces.

These are a few peoples of note I've had at least several dozen dealings with, and though it may differ from your experiences, I can only say what I've dealt with.

Top of the list, Brazil.
Except for the gay guy who exposed himself to me, every Brazilian I've yet met is awesome. The women in particular. They are so sweet and cuddly and completely lacking in the haughty attitude so prevalent these days.

Bottom of the list, Russia.
Oh. My. GOSH. I don't know why but Russia just seems to make some very cold, picky, snappy people. They are almost always very unpleasant in regards to me. Both genders. That is, when they've stopped b*tching at each other to remember I'm in the room.

Then there are the Greeks... every greek guy I've done business with has been the biggest *censored* ever. The woman however tend to be sweet-natured and gracious. I really don't know what's going on there.


Point of order, almost no Americans I've met meet the stereotype.

I really gotta bite my tongue. I've taken enough anti-American crap to make me touchy about the subject.
Same here.

[Quincunx]

The ones you've met don't appear to fulfill the stereotype to us because we've learned to tune it out. Put yourself in a group of mixed nationality and, when the group encounters idiots of the same nationality of the group, the idiocy will be obvious to all. ("Did. . .did he just say that we could best suppress our neighbors because we don't have an active military?" "Yep. You never told me the moral high ground came equipped with bulletproof glass." ". . .[untranslatable*]")

[EDIT: Well, ninja me with a feather. . .Vorpal, you are the stereotype! Well, one subset of them at any rate--the backwoods backward child. Nashville has broadened your horizons quite a bit.]

*I know what he said, but why it was a proper retort escapes me. The tone left no doubt that it was a retort.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

[EDIT: Well, ninja me with a feather. . .Vorpal, you are the stereotype! Well, one subset of them at any rate--the backwoods backward child. Nashville has broadened your horizons quite a bit.].
Ummm... what?

[Arakune]

Top of the list, Brazil.
Except for the gay guy who exposed himself to me, every Brazilian I've yet met is awesome. The women in particular. They are so sweet and cuddly and completely lacking in the haughty attitude so prevalent these days.

Arrogance in this country? That's asking to be linched :smallwink:

There is nice and bad people everywere, maybe my definition of nice and jerk is a little of then. Can you tell more about that story of the gay guy? Seens soo... weird.

[Felixaar]

We ride kangaroos to work, and the spiders are so big they have health bars.

[Syka]

The exceptions are Florida (which is like the North East in the north and Cuba in south)

Lies!

Here's the breakdown of Florida:
East Coast: New York
West Coast: Retirees
South Florida: Mainland Cuba
Middle Part of Penisula and Panhandle (including Jax to a degree): The South.

Anyone who says Florida ain't the South hasn't been west of 95 or to the north part.


That said, y'all aren't doing anything to help my travel bug. :smallwink:

[Rettu Skcollob]

We ride kangaroos to work, and the spiders are so big they have health bars.


http://i36.tinypic.com/2z99jqu.jpg

[GallóglachMaxim]

What else... If you say it's hot before it's 40-45 degrees C here you're a pansy, and if you take more than a 5-10 minute shower here you're a water wasting bastard.

5-10 minutes, where do you live? I'm on the coast and we still have ads saying everything but 'if you're in the shower past three minutes, we're switching the water with honey and releasing the bees'.

Edit



http://i36.tinypic.com/2z99jqu.jpg


You're going to have a hard time getting into the pouch of that male kangaroo, but good luck trying, foreigners.

[BizzaroStormy]

If by "medical necessity" you mean "swine flu" then you may want to read up on the disease immediately. Be sure that you get FACTS, a.k.a. no media sources.

[Arakune]

If by "medical necessity" you mean "swine flu" then you may want to read up on the disease immediately. Be sure that you get FACTS, a.k.a. no media sources.

Like, most of "normal" cold in some contries is already all swine flu?

[Crimmy]

Mexico is somewhat traditionalist. We put a lot of emphasis on family values and the like and take lots of days off because of traditions. The food is great as well, and is one of the main reasons I don't want to leave. :smallbiggrin:

Aside from that, well there is a lot of poverty, and some people say we are lazy.

Depends on which part of Mexico...

You can always come to the Central/southern part, since the North is filled with "narcos", and streetfights with guns.
Also, in the center we don't have hurricanes! (And there's lot's of things in the center, from nice food, to great places to visit!)

[BizzaroStormy]

Like, most of "normal" cold in some contries is already all swine flu?

exactly. Swine flu is just a load of BS which was created because people got sick of hearing about every single child who went up in a weather balloon

[Serpentine]

The concern about swine flu is its high potential to mutate and THEN become a big problem.


Australia:
Binge drinking is generally accepted, even encouraged, behaviour. Attempts to fix this are going poorly.
Ingrained "good-natured" racism is rampant. I still like to believe that it's generally not malicious, if you know what I mean, but recent discoveries have me doubting this. That said, not everyone is like that.
There are certain ordinary safety precautions we take on a regular basis that other countries might not assume. For example: avoid swimming alone, avoid swimming on unpatrolled beaches, NEVER swim alone on an unpatrolled beach, watch where you're going if you have to walk in long grass in spring-mid autumn, don't stick your fingers into places you can't see (I'm talking about under rocks and in holes in the ground, you filthy person), take plenty of water if you go into the bush and let someone know where you're going and when you should be back and so on.
Everything is a long way from everything else. It's a good week or two solid driving to get from the east coast to Uluru, and my dad's place on the Gold Coast is further away from Cairns in the same state as it is from Melbourne two states away.
We tend to be lazy. This is not necessarily a bad thing - if nothing else, it means we have more public holidays than (almost?) any other country.
Christmas is in the middle of summer, and in the middle of holidays (2 months or so for school kids). It is the major holiday, and the time of year when everyone meets up. It marks the end of one (school) year and the start of the next.
Water is our most precious resource. Turn the tap off when you clean your teeth, fill up a sink to do the dishes, etc. This is kind of a big deal here. Some places are putting in water restrictions (things like only water plants in the morning or evening, clean cars and boats on a lawn with a bucket rather than a hose, etc) permanently.
As far as I can tell, our healthcare system is pretty good. Not the best in the world, but probably up there-ish.
Another 19 native animals have been put on the endangered species list. Hurrah.
Most people, within the limits of human variability, are pretty easy-going. You might get made fun of a bit, but people'll generally be willing to help and the like.
Country > city.

[Solaris]

The ones you've met don't appear to fulfill the stereotype to us because we've learned to tune it out. Put yourself in a group of mixed nationality and, when the group encounters idiots of the same nationality of the group, the idiocy will be obvious to all. ("Did. . .did he just say that we could best suppress our neighbors because we don't have an active military?" "Yep. You never told me the moral high ground came equipped with bulletproof glass." ". . .[untranslatable*]")

[EDIT: Well, ninja me with a feather. . .Vorpal, you are the stereotype! Well, one subset of them at any rate--the backwoods backward child. Nashville has broadened your horizons quite a bit.]

*I know what he said, but why it was a proper retort escapes me. The tone left no doubt that it was a retort.

Bwuh?


Bottom of the list, Russia.
Oh. My. GOSH. I don't know why but Russia just seems to make some very cold, picky, snappy people. They are almost always very unpleasant in regards to me. Both genders. That is, when they've stopped b*tching at each other to remember I'm in the room.

I think the question would be answered quite eloquently if you visited Russia. The place, from what I've heard and read, is pure concentrated suck.

[Trog]

In Capitalist America, product own YOU!!

That about sums most of it up. Oh and we have football that isn't football, different measurements than everyone else, and er... something else... oh, Troglodytes. That was it.

[Miklus]

Denmark is pretty nice overall.

The good:
*We managed to shoot all the wolfs and bears before it got politically incorrect to do so, thus making the contryside safe. There are very few poisonous snakes too.

*Flat as a pancake, but with lots of coastline and beaches.

*We lack skyscrapers, but we got a number of nice bridges. Lots of wind turbines too.

*Lots of green areas in Copenhagen and lots of bicycle lanes too.

*More than 1000 years of history.

*No earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados, tsunamis, volcanos, forrest fires or other such nonsense here, thank you very much.

The bad:
*Denmark is small and very densely populated. Good for mobile phone coverage, bad for personal space. (Unless you count Greenland...Greenland is HUGE).

*The inner part of copenhagen is in a state of civil war.

*The weather is awful. Meet "Slud", a Danish speciality. It's not quite rain, it's not quite snow, it just goes *splat* when it hits you. It's very windy too.

*Did you know?: Due to a combination of heavy rain, cold weather, salt on the roads and a relative long coastline with salt spray, cars rust faster in Denmark than anywhere else. Combined with a 180% car tax that forces most people to buy second hand cars from eastern europe, this makes danish cars a sad sight indeed.

*We did not invent the "danish" pastry. We blame it on Wienna, who I'm told, blame it on Spain.

*There are no polar bears in Copenhagen, expect in the Zoo. The horns on the viking helmet was not used to chase those bears away.

[Solaris]

In Capitalist America, product own YOU!!

That about sums most of it up. Oh and we have football that isn't football, different measurements than everyone else, and er... something else... oh, Troglodytes. That was it.

Heheheh.
Also, we're the only ones who speak/spell English correctly.

[Wizard of the Coat]

I think the question would be answered quite eloquently if you visited Russia. The place, from what I've heard and read, is pure concentrated suck.

Actually from my experience it all depends on whether or not you are some-one's guest. They are an extremely gracious people if you are a guest. Walking around outside people seem less friendly, but once you get through a door it's generally very warm and welcomming.

Regarding my own country, the Netherlands, we're a strange small country with a very clear cultural division. We have the western capitalist fast talking and living merchants, then there is the bible belt running though the center containing some extremely calvinistic villages where a lot of the young people tend to be binge drinkers, and finally there is the wonderfull south and east of the country full of soft spoken and generally relaxed and kind people. (I'm originally from the west, but I very much prefer my current habitation in the east)

Still in general I'd say the country has a solid foundation of social christian values, reflected in a wellfare state that tries to ensure no-one is excluded. This is combined with christian liberalism, generally based on the idea that you are responsible for your own sins and thus we are fairly tolerant on many social aspects, which stangely seems to limit exessive behaviors.

Out climate is mild, being a temperate sea climate, and one of the largest government organisations is Rijkswaterstaat, the watercontrol authority, which should give an indication as to the general amount of excess water that we have to manage...

[Yora]

Germany is a very odd country. We are extremely wealthy and compared to most other countries in the entire world, we have very good education, healthcare, public security, and social stability. Very few people have it as good as we have, yet we like to bitch and complain all day and night! :smallbiggrin:
I study culture studies, communication, and german culture, and apparently, bitching has been a great part of german culture for at least 200 years, probably even longer. If you listen to the news, it's always the end of the world as we know it, and there's even a great deal of people who make such big deals about things, that are not really a problem and can be fixed without troubles. Not that we don't do anything to change things. Just bitching. But if you manage to learn to just ignore all the whining and enjoy all the good things you have here, live can be very great. :smallsmile:

With 80 million people, we're a big country (though obviously not as big as the USA, China, or India), even though it's rather small on the map. There's not really anything like "ethnic germans" or a "german nation". Currently we are a federation, but Germany has always been a gathering of hundreds of smaller countries and people. Different parts of germany can have very different local culture and even the language spoken by the local populations can be so different that you can have severe problems talking to other germans from another part of the country.
After world war two (which is always just "the war" around here) national patriotism has become kind of taboo, but when you get them to talk about their "region", you can get a germans heart going! :smallbiggrin: It's hard to draw the boundaries of a region, which is probably why germans love the term so dearly. The people who talk you, who eat similar food, buy there groceries from the same local store chains, visit the same events in the summer, that is "our region". :smallsmile:
Because germans rarely identified themselves as germans, we have a shared german culture, but also our countless small local culture. In the north, we I am from, we're almost a skandinavian country. In the South, culture is very similar to Austria and France, and in the east, many regions have slavic influence. The german stereotype with Oktoberfest, Bratwurst, and Lederhosen is actually the stereotype of the Bavarians, which is actually mostly true. :smallwink:

As a foreigner in germany, things can go very smoth, but also be quite tough. I'm no expert on the field of integration of foreigners, but I think it mostly depends on you're social group and education. If you seek the contact with germans of the higher groups of society, like buisinesmen and academics, even elderly conservatives will be quite welcomming and your peers will largely treat you as a full equal. But foreigners with poor education will often have a hard time finding work and often stick to the company of their fellow imigrants. And for them it's very hard to appear "as one of us" and they face a much higher degree of discrimination, which can be quite bad.
Generally, the amount of foreign born people and their children in Germany is huge. It's estimated at about 20%. It's not much for americans, of course, but for other western countries, that's very high.
As another oddity, I'd say that germans hate America, but don't have any bad feelings for americans. After all, if they leave their country and travel to europe, they have to be from the enlightened and liberal "good americans". Those are okay. :smallbiggrin:

A great thing about being german is, that few people hate you. You often hear racist slurs from the Brittish and there's frequently some ranting from far right conservatives from eastern europe to gain more voters, but generally, most people seem to like us. We totaly failed at colonialism, so there are no bad feelings from ex-colonies. In the early 20th century, we had good relations with many central asian countries, and people there seem to remember us dearly. After world war two, Germany became very pacifistic, so we didn't piss anyone off in the last 60 years. Instead we send our troops only to peacekeeping and reconstruction missions. Yes, it's cowardly, and we totaly admit it. :smallbiggrin: But it also made us many new friends.
I always think it's somewhat amusing when you read about terrorist leaders ranting about the war against the western powers and how they should all be destroyed. Except the germans, they are nice guys. Those are okay.

The real downside about germany, in my oppinion, is that it's very boring. But that's most probably from being born here. If you're not from here, it's probably a very nice place to move to. And if you want to really integrate yourself into society, and not stick to small emigrant enclaves, almost everyone is quite welcomed here.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

*No earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados, tsunamis, volcanos, forrest fires or other such nonsense here, thank you very much.
But... but... we've got all that. It's what makes the U.S. interesting!



The good:
*We managed to shoot all the wolfs and bears before it got politically incorrect to do so, thus making the contryside safe. There are very few poisonous snakes too.
We also got an abundance of wolves, bears and snakes...


Hey Australia, let's have it out! Right here, right now! Let's see your poisonous spiders and crocs go up against a grizzly and pack of coyotes in the middle of a hurricane/volcano eruption!

[Emperor Ing]

if this thread doesn't turn into an America vs Europe flame war I will be shocked. :smallbiggrin:

[Yora]

Why? Everyone knows Europe is better in everything? :smallbiggrin:

[Emperor Ing]

Why? Everyone knows Europe is better in everything? :smallbiggrin:

I was just about to say that between the EPIC political divide in this country (The Youessevay!*) and the politics politics politics and moar politics, the whole nation is in an epic leveled flame war with itself and the world.
*USA's pronounciation spelled out with a V added

[Serpentine]

Hey Australia, let's have it out! Right here, right now! Let's see your poisonous spiders and crocs go up against a grizzly and pack of coyotes in the middle of a hurricane/volcano eruption!Sydney funnelweb v. coyotes, done, our way. Brown snake v. grizzly, done, our way (though I wouldn't be surprised if the grizzly took out the snake before it died).
We don't have volcanoes, and destructive earthquakes are very rare. Hurricanes, on the other hand... And droughts. We've got plenty of those. Droughts and floods! Good ol' Oz :smallbiggrin:

[Quincunx]

What about tornadoes? I don't know which continents other than North American are afflicted by those, though it stands to reason there would be other hotspots.


I was just about to say that between the EPIC political divide in this country (The Youessevay!*) and the politics politics politics and moar politics, the whole nation is in an epic leveled flame war with itself and the world.
*USA's pronounciation spelled out with a V added

Bullets! The cause of--and solution to--all of life's problems! (slightly mangled from The Simpsons original quote)

[KuReshtin]

Correction: Sweden is an awesome place to live. :smallsmile:

Well, I can't really say that and justify moving abroad, can I?


Oh and we have football that isn't football, different measurements than everyone else, and er... something else... oh, Troglodytes. That was it.

But your type of football is AWESOME. Also, there's still a very prevalent use of the different measurements over here in the UK as well. Miles (1,609 meters), Pints (about half a litre), inches (2.54cm), gallons (differs between the UK and the US).


Denmark is pretty nice overall.


Main problem with Denmark is that it's full of Danes, though. :smallwink:



Also, we're the only ones who speak/spell English correctly.

That's a subject for debate.



Out climate is mild, being a temperate sea climate, and one of the largest government organisations is Rijkswaterstaat, the watercontrol authority, which should give an indication as to the general amount of excess water that we have to manage...

Isn't that because about 78% of the country is actually below sea level?

[Emperor Ing]

Bullets! The cause of--and solution to--all of life's problems! (slightly mangled from The Simpsons original quote)

Unless you're willing to get the entire Earth oblitherated, that won't help. :smallwink:

[Serpentine]

What about tornadoes? I don't know which continents other than North American are afflicted by those, though it stands to reason there would be other hotspots.We have plenty of willy-willies, which are like mini tornadoes. APPARENTLY, there are sometimes huge ones out in the middle of the desert that are basically full-blown tornadoes, but they're nowhere near any people so they don't really get noticed.
I think there's something about the big mountains right next to a big, hot, flat plain that makes the US prone to tornadoes, right? We have the big hot flat plain, but not so much the big mountains, so I don't know how true this is.

[Eldariel]

Heheheh.
Also, we're the only ones who speak/spell English correctly.

You mean you speak American (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv9yZM5PrSo#t=1m30s) correctly?

[Emperor Ing]

You mean you speak American (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv9yZM5PrSo#t=1m30s) correctly?

My name is spelled with a frickin' Z and it is not a typo.

[SMEE]

Arrogance in this country? That's asking to be linched :smallwink:

There is nice and bad people everywere, maybe my definition of nice and jerk is a little of then. Can you tell more about that story of the gay guy? Seens soo... weird.

Please, give me a hug! :smallwink:
We seem to think alike about this country. :smalltongue:

[Dispozition]

I'll back up everything Serp said. Binge drinking is pretty rampant, I've seen it in action a bit too, since about half my friends are still underage.

We get almost everything later...Movies, games, whatnot. Some things we get early, but not most. We also have some of the worst internet by first world country standards, which is a shame. Most of our technology is way overpriced too.

Melbourne has far too many 7/11's. There's actually a corner in town that has three. And a few that have two directly opposite each other. We love our convienience. We also love our coffee. Within a 15 minute walk, I have at *least* 6 cafes., about 3 of which have good coffee, and one that's excellent. Within 20 minutes of public transport, I have at least 40 cafes. Yeah, we love coffee.

Not much else to say really...Locals are mostly friendly. Asking for directions will get you them for the most part. We may not know the exact way, but we can always point you in the general direction.

[charl]

Well, I can't really say that and justify moving abroad, can I?

Well, if you chose to settle for a second rate brand that is your choice. :smallbiggrin:

I agree on your views on Denmark. They can't even enunciate properly. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-mOy8VUEBk)

[Eldariel]

Melbourne has far too many 7/11's. There's actually a corner in town that has three. And a few that have two directly opposite each other. We love our convienience. We also love our coffee. Within a 15 minute walk, I have at *least* 6 cafes., about 3 of which have good coffee, and one that's excellent. Within 20 minutes of public transport, I have at least 40 cafes. Yeah, we love coffee.

This reminded me...we Finns are quite into coffee too. According to many sources, we drink the most coffee per capita on the entire planet. 11.2kg per person per year, while Japan runs at 3.3kg and Australia at 2.4kg. Italy was at 5.4kg and I've heard Sweden is actually close to Finland; 8.2 or so.

But yeah, cafeterias are everywhere here and I haven't yet entered a house without a coffeemaker. Apparently Finns like their coffee comparatively very dark too. A friend of mine spent a year in the US and complained that they sell colored water as coffee there.


Of course, we drink tons of alcohol too, but that's neither here nor now. Though there may be a correlation; coffee is the best thing cure for hangover.

[charl]

This reminded me...we Finns are quite into coffee too. According to many sources, we drink the most coffee per capita on the entire planet. 11.2kg per person per year, while Japan runs at 3.3kg and Australia at 2.4kg. Italy was at 5.4kg and I've heard Sweden is actually close to Finland; 8.2 or so.

Swedes drink a lot of coffee, yes. I can confirm that.

[banjo1985]

Ahhh England. We drink too much, eat too much, smoke too much, and we're miserable all the time, which somehow makes us content. It rains all the time, except when it snows, which is n't as often as it used to be. In my particular neck of the woods (Birmingham) we seem to attract small tornado's, which apparently happen more often than anywhere else in Europe. Every now and again one will get a bit bigger and rip the chimneys off a few houses, and you'll get us locals showing up on news programs with our silly accents, saying 'Well, yow doh expect that round ere.' Everything costs too much, we have no confidence in our banks, our politicians, and definitely not in our football team. We like sport and the excuse it gives us to be violent. We are proud of achievements of the past, but attempts at emulating them in the present have worked poorly. We have free national healthcare that people still complain about. We are a nation of hyperchondriacs, eternal worriers and people called Dennis and Arthur. We din't have afternoon tea and scones as a rule, despite what the rest of the world may think. We're both multi-cultural and xenophobic, and this understandly causes issues. Everywhere is concrete and built up, and public transport is both perpetually late and extortionately expensive....did I mention it rains a lot?

:smalltongue:

[KuReshtin]

Of course, we drink tons of alcohol too, but that's neither here nor now. Though there may be a correlation; coffee is the best thing cure for hangover.

Now, I don't drink coffee myself, but apparently, there are lots of people who like 'kaffekask' (also known as 'kaffegök').
Coffee and alcohol. Mix the two, and you have 'Kaffekask'/'Kaffegök'. There are a few different descriptions on how to make it, several being a variation of the following:

Put a 50-öre (0.5SEK) copper coin in the bottom of a coffee cup. Fill the cup with coffee until you can no longer see the coin. After that, pour 'brännvin'/vodka into the cup until you can see the year the coin was made*, then fill the rest of the cup with coffee.

*If you follow these instructions slavishly and the coin is accidentally (or not so accidentally) turned the wrong side up in the cup, the cup will be filled with mostly vodka...:smallsmile:

[Wizard of the Coat]

Isn't that because about 78% of the country is actually below sea level?

Seems about the right number. But also because there are a lot of mayor rivers all over the country. Essentially we live in what used to be a swampy delta of the Rhine, Meuse and Schelde. In fact one of our provinces used to be part of the sea floor untill we dammed it off, drained it and turned it into an agricultural region. It was quite an intertesting site for marine archeologists when it first became dry. It was littered with old shipwrecks, sunken villages and lot's and lot's of mammoth remains.

It also should come as no suprise to people why on average we have fairly decent olympic swimmers...

[KuReshtin]

It also should come as no suprise to people why on average we have fairly decent olympic swimmers...

And speedy ice skaters

[Wizard of the Coat]

And speedy ice skaters

True, but that's more of a historical thing. These days we're lucky if we have ice thick enough to skate on for more then a few days each year. Now it's usually an indoor sport, though still quite popular. In fact there is a movie soon to come out about skating in the old days, I believe it's about a very cold winter in 1962 or something when we held the 'elf steden tocht', which is a long distance event in which 11 cities have to be covered in one day. There's thousands of participants usually, but in 62 only a hand full of them finished due to the extreme conditions. It's turned into somewhat of a legend since.

[Anuan]

Sydney funnelweb v. coyotes, done, our way. Brown snake v. grizzly, done, our way (though I wouldn't be surprised if the grizzly took out the snake before it died).
We don't have volcanoes, and destructive earthquakes are very rare. Hurricanes, on the other hand... And droughts. We've got plenty of those. Droughts and floods! Good ol' Oz :smallbiggrin:

And when it isn't drought, it's floods! My hometown knows this all too well :smalleek:
And yes, Cyclones (I for somereason despise 'hurricane.') are the scariest things that happen in Australia that aren't caused by people.
"Hey, Anuan, you're a hydrophobe right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"LOOK AT THE TV WITH ITS COVERAGE OF THE CYCLONE AND THE FLOODING AND THE MILLIONS OF GALLONS OF WATER FLYING THROUGH THE SKY AND EVERYTHING BEING BLOWN OVER"

"FFFFFFFFUUUUUU-"

[Totally Guy]

Heheheh.
Also, we're the only ones who speak/spell English correctly.

And have you ever noticed that you and your town don't have an accent and people from elsewhere do?:smallwink:

[infinitypanda]

And have you ever noticed that you and your town don't have an accent and people from elsewhere do?:smallwink:

I was wondering about that! It all makes sense now!

[Eldan]

I haven't. Because my parents moved after I was born, so my parents had one accent, everyone else another, I had my own strange mixture and then I went to university and every person talked differently.

[Calmness]

Depends on which part of Mexico...

You can always come to the Central/southern part, since the North is filled with "narcos", and streetfights with guns.
Also, in the center we don't have hurricanes! (And there's lot's of things in the center, from nice food, to great places to visit!)
Heh. I'm pretty sure Mexico City isn't really safe either, but I'll take your word for the rest. I like Jalisco though. It is big, there's little pollution and our beaches are very nice.

[potatocubed]

In my country binge drinking is rampant, everyone is socially backward, and we're so mired in our own history that we're incapable of dealing with the present. On the plus side, we have the best sense of humour.

(Read Watching the English by Kate Fox - it's fascinating stuff and completely accurate, if you allow for the fact that it was written almost 10 years ago.)

Sweden is probably the nicest place I've been. It's just a bit empty for my personal tastes.

[Miklus]

I agree on your views on Denmark. They can't even enunciate properly. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-mOy8VUEBk)

It's no joke! People from Copenhagen can not understand what people from southern Jutland are saying. Northern Jutland is not much better.

I once knew a guy from New Zealand who had lived in Denmark for 20 years. He could still not get the basic sounds right.

Here is a sample of good danish for your enjoyment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VA1hyo97NuE

[Kneenibble]

So, nobody's done Canada yet, eh...

Actually about 'eh'. To me, it's a kind of low-class thing to say, it goes along with a dumb-sounding blue collar accent in these parts. I haven't travelled around Canada except for small periods on trips, so I don't know too much about how it works elsewhere: like the US, Canada is pretty huge, and there are definitely regional differences in speech, in tastes, in mores, &c. But that's how it is in Manitoba. It's certainly a rural or working class affectation. No offense to the rabble and all, but I find it grating. :smallyuk:

The Prairie summers are usually very hot and sunny with lots of thunderstorms: the midsummer 2-week heatwave peaks in the mid 30s. I know that's not terribly hot, and that's just fine with me, having enjoyed the supersaturated 50 C in south India to know the difference. The Prairie winters bring heaps of snow, and this year we went not even five months without snow on the ground: the midwinter 2-week coldsnap drops to -40, with the windchill occasionally dragging it to -50. In this city, the rivers freeze deeply enough to plow smooth and have miles of walking and skating paths, christmas trees, and shelter huts along their lengths.

People who are fortunate escape to the lake on summer weekends. The wilderness outside of the grain-growing areas is gorgeous and largely pristine, with only bears to fear, and we have a beach with some of the finest powder-soft white sand in the world. Mostly they barbeque, drink beer, fish, and drive obnoxious vehicles through the woods. White middle-class Canadians are easy-going (at its worst, apathy, not having any opinions, pushovers; at its best, open-minded, free of spirit, accepting), generally polite and sometimes friendly, but suspicious of strangers, and it is more often cool politeness than warm politeness. There are also many many immigrants in varying states of arrivedness (there always have been) and their children born here act far more Canadian than as whatever their parents' culture.

In this respect, just like the US, I can eat delicious fairly authentic food from just about any part of the world. I honestly don't know if there's any definitely Canadian food, since aboriginal cuisine was so thoroughly supplanted by colonization, and everything since has just been layers upon layers of different immigrants. I'm also the wrong person to ask, since I'm vegetarian and eat almost exclusively what made-up pseudo-Indian stuff I cook for myself. There's the essentialized stuff like maple syrup and salmon and I don't even know what else, but even here that **** is expensive.

South Africa once forbade Canada from the moral high ground about apartheid on account of our management of aboriginals, particularly vis a vis reserves and residential schools. That's a touchy subject and I won't get into it much, but there's a latent racism occulted with the obligatory white/middle-class guilt, and if you go to a reserve you'll wonder how you arrived in a third world country. You can't walk around downtown without somebody scruffy and smelling strongly of mouthwash or solvents asking you for change, and it's only too easy to extrapolate opinions for entire cultures from this localized urban subculture. The whole affair is, quite frankly, the shame of a great nation.

But all I really know about is Manitoba and I think Saskatchewan is pretty much the same, just fewer people. Heh, Franco-Manitobans speak a species of French that not even the Quebecois can understand. The north is a whole different story, there's tundra and polar bears and Inuit; Alberta and BC and Ontario and the Maritimes and Quebec are all their own stories too.

This thread makes for really interesting reading, I thank those posters who have shared their views on their own countries.

[Tequila Sunrise]

*Facepalm* I totally forgot about the location tags.

Canada is starting on the top of my list because most of my family lives in northeast US.


Ahhh England. We drink too much, eat too much, smoke too much, and we're miserable all the time, which somehow makes us content. It rains all the time, except when it snows, which is n't as often as it used to be. In my particular neck of the woods (Birmingham) we seem to attract small tornado's, which apparently happen more often than anywhere else in Europe. Every now and again one will get a bit bigger and rip the chimneys off a few houses, and you'll get us locals showing up on news programs with our silly accents, saying 'Well, yow doh expect that round ere.' Everything costs too much, we have no confidence in our banks, our politicians, and definitely not in our football team. We like sport and the excuse it gives us to be violent. We are proud of achievements of the past, but attempts at emulating them in the present have worked poorly. We have free national healthcare that people still complain about. We are a nation of hyperchondriacs, eternal worriers and people called Dennis and Arthur. We din't have afternoon tea and scones as a rule, despite what the rest of the world may think. We're both multi-cultural and xenophobic, and this understandly causes issues. Everywhere is concrete and built up, and public transport is both perpetually late and extortionately expensive....did I mention it rains a lot?
I've always wanted to go to England because there's something about it...ever notice how English writers write the best fantasy? Maybe it's all the rain.

....

Bitching is a part of human nature. Case in point:

Don't get me started on the English language -- English or American. I've taught English in Korea, and the two are only marginally different, and they're both a royal pain to learn. Not that the Koreans complained even once about it, but when you're constantly saying things like "No, phone is pronounced f-long o-n" you start to realize how backwards the language is. I'm actually in the process of writing a Plain English dictionary to prove how much simpler English could be.


If by "medical necessity" you mean "swine flu" then you may want to read up on the disease immediately. Be sure that you get FACTS, a.k.a. no media sources.
No, I mean the 'preexisting condition/not insured' kind of medical necessity that might just encourage a fellow American to screw me over. (I have cystic fibrosis and diabetes.) I won't say any more, because apparently explaining the hard facts of my life is too political, and might upset someone.


In Capitalist America, product own YOU!!

That about sums most of it up. Oh and we have football that isn't football, different measurements than everyone else, and er... something else... oh, Troglodytes. That was it.
Haha, tell me about it. I'm in an engineering program, which would be so much simpler if we just went metric like the rest of the world. We also have daylight dumb@ss time, because ya know you've got to be a............to think that turning our clocks back does anything but p!ss everyone off for a week every year while we adjust to sleep deprivation. I shouldn't say that actually; might be too political. And my mother likes DST too.

[Elves-as-People]

Sydney funnelweb v. coyotes, done, our way. Brown snake v. grizzly, done, our way (though I wouldn't be surprised if the grizzly took out the snake before it died).
We don't have volcanoes, and destructive earthquakes are very rare. Hurricanes, on the other hand... And droughts. We've got plenty of those. Droughts and floods! Good ol' Oz :smallbiggrin:

Does this mean, since I'm Cherokee and Shasta, that I have to fight an Aussie Aborigine to prove some kind of point?

Where's the love gone, people?


You mean you speak American (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv9yZM5PrSo#t=1m30s) correctly?

There's another important point in that clip - everyone from England is a spaz. :smallwink:

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Dunno what offhand cause so many tornadoes in the US... but I live on the east coast in the mountains and still get hit almost a dozen times a year.


Does this mean, since I'm Cherokee and Shasta, that I have to fight an Aussie Aborigine to prove some kind of point?

Where's the love gone, people?
*waves to fellow Cherokee*

[Dracomorph]

That's a subject for debate.


If I recall correctly, the American accent from the Boston area is more like Elizabethan/Shakespearian English pronunciation than any other current accent.

And the Midwest American accent is the most comprehensible, basically bar none.

I mean, 'best' is subjective, as long as it's not cockney. Does it even count as English at this point? I mean, come on, 'apples and pears' != stairs. It's four times as long!

[Serpentine]

Does this mean, since I'm Cherokee and Shasta, that I have to fight an Aussie Aborigine to prove some kind of point?

Where's the love gone, people?Hrm. You might actually win that one... Australian Aboriginals weren't particularly warlike. Violent at times, but not... organisedly so.
If you have it out in the desert, though, they'll get you before you even see 'em. Apparently living out on the big flat plains actually changes the shape of their eyes, so they can see things right on the horizon that others can't see a few km away.
And yes, Cyclones (I for somereason despise 'hurricane.') are the scariest things that happen in Australia that aren't caused by people.Excellent point, they're cyclones in the Southern Hemisphere.

Something else I forgot: Aussie Cuisine
Most pies in Australia are meat. These range from cold, dry and full of suspicious tubey bits, to hot, exotic and delicious. We have plenty of fruit pies and the like, but they're not the default.
We have a good variety of foods, and are getting more all the time. In my own town, we have 0 Spanish restaurants (see below), 1 French, 2 noodle joints, 3 Chinese, about 4 Thai (one of them used to be Spanish and delicious, now it's Thai and boring :smallannoyed:), 1 Italian (3 if you include the "gormet" pizza places, 6 if you include the normal chain pizza places), 2 Indian, 1 Mexican, and probably others I'm not aware of or have forgotten. It's also not uncommon for there to be "cultural" festivals with a whole lot of different foods, including traditional Aboriginal (and sometimes Maori hungis).
Although it is possible to buy ketchup, tomato sauce is the default (it's my understanding that the main difference is consistency). We also have a "Ridgy Didge" pie shop run by a Canadian :smallconfused:
Kangaroo is delicious, nutritious, much better for the environment than domesticated meats, and is slowly gaining in popularity. It is also not too difficult to get emu or crocodile meat (I'm told you can get at least the latter at a local wholesaler, gotta check it out sometime). Apparently we're the only people who eat their coat of arms...
It's my understanding that Australian lamb and beef are of exceptional quality. I've also never heard of feedlots in Australia, or "free range" meat (I think all ours is "free range").
Fishing is pretty popular, but take note of local restrictions and laws.
Mangoes are incredible. Also macadamias - a native Aussie - are brilliant.

[_Zoot_]

Snip, about England and how it rains.

So, that made me less keen about returning to the home land.... =/

Oh well, about Australia!

Every thing that Serpentine has said is true, but I don't think that in the talking about dangerous animals part it was mentioned how very poisonous some of the sea critters are...

[GallóglachMaxim]

Every thing that Serpentine has said is true, but I don't think that in the talking about dangerous animals part it was mentioned how very poisonous some of the sea critters are...

Poisonous or bitey!

[_Zoot_]

Poisonous or bitey!

Some of them are Poisonous AND bitey. Sea Snakes, for example.

[Anuan]

Completely related. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNEeq5qGh8I)

[bosssmiley]

You know when Gandalf talks about "...the grey rain curtain of the world rolls back, the seas turn to silver glass, and then you see it. White shores... And beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise." in LOTR:ROTK. That's not really Valinor, it's England. :smallcool:

edit: @v Sorry wut? :smallconfused:

An England. Yesterday.

http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/00/13/63/07/white-cliffs-of-dover.jpg

(needs more Elgar (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUgoBb8m1eE))


If I recall correctly, the American accent from the Boston area is more like Elizabethan/Shakespearian English pronunciation than any other current accent.

You do know Shakespeare spoke with a Brummie accent? "Awroight chook?"


And the Midwest American accent is the most comprehensible, basically bar none.

Are you sure? I mean, BBC English is supposed to be the easiest to follow for non-native speakers. How much of that is due to the BBC World Service and/or MTV, rather than actual clarity of accent, I couldn't say...


I mean, 'best' is subjective, as long as it's not cockney. Does it even count as English at this point? I mean, come on, 'apples and pears' != stairs. It's four times as long!

Rhyming Slang isn't a dialect, it's just an obnoxious affectation designed to bemuse and annoy everyone else. Londoners are good at that though. :smallamused:

[Anuan]

...Except I thought Gandalf's description included what sounds like a good beach. From what I understand, England has none of these.

[Serpentine]

Oh yeah, our beaches squeak. I'm told that's unusual.

[charl]

Oh yeah, our beaches squeak. I'm told that's unusual.

Is this a reference to some kind of weird mineral sand that makes an odd sound when you step on it, or are Aussie beaches full of weird animals that dwell beneath the sand and make noises?

[Adlan]

...Except I thought Gandalf's description included what sounds like a good beach. From what I understand, England has none of these.

What rot, england has lovely beaches. Come to Sunny Norfolk (Rains less than half the time!).

My England is a Land of Rolling gentle slopes, great flat fields, huge reed beds and open water on the broads. A Winter Gale smashing onto the shore, the lazy wind straight from the arctic circle, but the fishing biting on your lure. Blackberrying among the hedgerows. Pheasent beating towards the guns, Roe deer in the morning mist. Bright Red Jackets and sounds of the baying hounds as the hunt goes by (or, in as has been, chases me). Mushroom picking, potato lifting, summer work picking fruit in an orchard.

The smell of Roast Beef, Real Ale, Woodsmoke and coal tar soap.


However, that isn't what england is actually like. Thats what my Rural Norfolk Childhood was.

England is Bleching cities with moterways connectin them, chav's on street corners making most people so fearful they treat all 'youth' like criminals. Burned out cars on the moterway, and the smell of pollution on the rain. Rural england still exists. I've just grown up and moved to the city.

I don't like it, can you tell?

[Serpentine]

Is this a reference to some kind of weird mineral sand that makes an odd sound when you step on it, or are Aussie beaches full of weird animals that dwell beneath the sand and make noises?Our beach sand is exceptionally fine and clean. This causes it to squeak when you walk through it. This isn't normal?

[charl]

Our beach sand is exceptionally fine and clean. This causes it to squeak when you walk through it. This isn't normal?

Well, all sandy beaches I've been to in Sweden do make squeaky sounds when you walk on it.

[Dracomorph]

You do know Shakespeare spoke with a Brummie accent? "Awroight chook?"

I guess my memory was off, then. Or my source was unreliable. Either way.


Are you sure? I mean, BBC English is supposed to be the easiest to follow for non-native speakers. How much of that is due to the BBC World Service and/or MTV, rather than actual clarity of accent, I couldn't say...

BBC English is right on par with it, yeah. Most foreigners I've known found the Midwest accent a little easier, but that could pretty easily be biased. It also depends on which part of the Midwest you're in; up north it's more like Canadian.


Rhyming Slang isn't a dialect, it's just an obnoxious affectation designed to bemuse and annoy everyone else. Londoners are good at that though. :smallamused:

HA! Yeah, I remember on my trip to England, London was the crankiest place we visited. If the food hadn't been so good, it would have been the worst part of the trip.

I still kind of miss rural England, though.

[Trog]

The U.S. is pretty darn big, even for a country, so when I think of my country I think first of my home. On that note I give you some local flavor:

Around here we have the Mississippi River:
http://www.brennanmarineinc.com/LaCrosseHarbor_Large.jpg
https://media.salesaspects.com/salesaspects/Core/41/Personnel/848/ImageLibrary/La-Crosse-Riverfront-at-Gra.jpg
Those are the bluffs in the background there, btw.
Some cool bluffs:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1324/1465752184_10f9b2318f.jpg
My house is located there between the crook in the stick and the bluff, in the background.
And, of course, the world's largest 6-pack of beer :smalltongue::
http://c0170351.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/20421_6569_m.jpg
Yes, those are actually filled with beer.
Any other "world's largest" oddities from your country?

[Tiger Duck]

I think we have the world largest iron crystal, it's magnified 165 billion times.:smallcool:

[Kneenibble]

Our beach sand is exceptionally fine and clean. This causes it to squeak when you walk through it. This isn't normal?

Even Grand Beach here, which is accounted among the top ten finest beaches in the world, doesn't squeak.
I actually prefer to credit what Charl said, about little animals living below the sand who make the noise. I wouldn't put that past Australia, either. :smallsmile:



]
And, of course, the world's largest 6-pack of beer :smalltongue::
http://c0170351.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/20421_6569_m.jpg
Yes, those are actually filled with beer.

Whoa.
But is it good beer?
*attacks with a lager auger*

Ummmmm,
Well we might not have any world's biggest stuff (tsk, how American :smallwink:) but we do have a Legislative Building that's actually a temple of the occult.
http://www.chrisd.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/manitoba_legislative_building.jpg
It has bison sphinxes, a Hermes and an Aphrodite, an altar of black marble whose chamber resonates at a precise major fifth, hermaphrodite statues, an ark of the covenant, a holy of holies with a blue curtain, and a whole bunch more stuff. It's pretty awesome actually.

A local fella wrote his masters thesis on it, and published it as a book, and even gave guided tours of the building -- but then he became a Mason, and he's not allowed to talk about it anymore.

[half-halfling]

My country -Poland lie in central Europe, with Germany on tehe east and Belarus , Ukraine and Russia on the east. So is our culture and mentality -mix of eastern and western. People are generally friendly to foreigners ,sometimes they wonder why anyone wants to come here :smallsmile:. We have very good food , and many traditional dishes like bigos or pierogi (You may know it from "Man in Black" movie :smallsmile:). Our climate changes during year -ni winter it can be -20 C and almost meter high snow cover, and in summer it's sometimes more than 30 C. We have sea on the north, and mountains in the south. On seaside there are wide, sandy beaches, where You can safely swim. Only disadventage is it can rain for few weeks. If You like skiing or climbing, or walking in the mountain there are plenty of great places. We don't have any dangerous animals -maybe some bears in national parks, and few wild boars in forests, but nothing really threating. Poland was a communist country to 1989 ,and traces of this are still visible. Many people live in massive concrete blocks of flats, there are whole districts of this. Also roads are mostly in fatal condition, although recently it's getting better. Fortunatelly people's mentality changed -only some of elder people miss communism:smallsmile: There is also much less corruption and beaurocracy than in other post-commmunist countries. Now country is one big construction site (at least in my region, Silesia), thanks to funds from EU and preparations for Euro 2012 football championships.

[Miklus]

Well, all sandy beaches I've been to in Sweden do make squeaky sounds when you walk on it.

It might be because it is granite sand. I was once on holiday on the island of Bornhold south of Sweden and the sand squeaks there too. It does not squeak elsewhere in Denmark. Bornholm has a granite underground while the rest of Denmark has limestone.

BTW have you seen these YouTube videos?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66fULfwb2X4




Any other "world's largest" oddities from your country?


We have the world longest containership!

http://i36.tinypic.com/2ih8l0h.jpg
NOT overcompensating for anything!

[charl]

BTW have you seen these YouTube videos?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66fULfwb2X4


Yes. Literally years ago, but they came as mp3-files back then.

[Serpentine]

Any other "world's largest" oddities from your country?...
Seriously?

http://www.richardandjo.com/images/banana.jpg
(Australia's first "big thing")

http://linus.it.uts.edu.au/~don/big/prawn.jpg
(under threat of being pulled down)

http://linus.it.uts.edu.au/~don/big/avocado.jpg
http://linus.it.uts.edu.au/~don/big/guitar.jpg
http://linus.it.uts.edu.au/~don/big/knight.jpg
http://linus.it.uts.edu.au/~don/big/merino.jpg
http://linus.it.uts.edu.au/~don/big/oyster.jpg
http://search.it.online.fr/BIGart/wp-content/the-big-pineapple-1971.jpg
http://www.richardandjo.com/images/marlin.jpg
http://linus.it.uts.edu.au/~don/big/cask.jpg
http://www.richardandjo.com/images/mango.jpg
http://www.richardandjo.com/images/nedkelly.jpg
http://www.richardandjo.com/images/bigrockinghorse.jpg
http://www.richardandjo.com/images/biglobster.jpgHa! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World%27s_Largest_Roadside_Attractions#Aus tralia) HA I say! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia%27s_Big_Things)

[THAC0]

I get to see America's largest mountain every day on my drive to work.

I love the place I live. Wish I never had to leave.

[charl]

Any other "world's largest" oddities from your country?

Oh, yes.

http://agilitydream.blogg.se/images/2008/bock_hsida_gavle_22553448.jpg

World's largest Yule goat (replaced each winter). There's a tradition of the locals (illegally) setting the goat on fire each year, sometimes successful and sometimes not. Last year someone did manage to dodge the security fences, police patrols and camera equipment and light it on fire... twice.

We also have the world's largest city by area, depending a bit on how you define what is an isn't a city in the context of administrative divisions. That's not much to see though.

[THAC0]

How about Snowzilla?

http://s9.photobucket.com/albums/a70/hlm184/Christmas2012.jpg

[Miklus]

Not to be outdone...(Warning: Product placement)


http://i34.tinypic.com/2usyecx.jpg


Nice collection there, Serp. What is that bull-thing, number six from the top? It looks hella scary.

[Trog]

What is that bull-thing, number six from the top? It looks hella scary.
You took the words right out of my mouth.

EDIT: @v *squints at picture, turns sideways, turns back upright, squints harder* Oh! Okay I see it now. Somehow the muzzle looked like some sort of misshapen head at first.

[Anuan]

That'd be a Ram, guys :smallwink: Marino, if I'm any judge/rememberer.

[Eldariel]

We've got this here:
http://www.kemi.fi/Kuvagalleria/nahtavyydet/lumilinna/isokuva/ll_300.jpg

Yes, it's the world's largest snow castle

[Johel]

Vlaming, and there are a few of us here :smallsmile:

More than you think... :smallamused:

Comments on Belgium :

Weather is similar to England, people are (usually) friendly as long as you don't bring up politics. Might be hard to learn two languages but you can get by with only one, or even with English if you stay in the big cities.

Just don't work here, taxes are aweful. A third of your earnings will go into a public social program that, unless you settle in Belgium for several years, you'll never see the benefit of. Then, if you're moving for medical reason... :smallwink:

The multiple languages thing isn't a real issue, at least for the common citizen, unless you're the commercial B2C type. I grew up in the Flemish area but can't speak more than a few sentences in dutch, yet I'm doing fine and the only problems I get are with the administration.

[Yiuel]

We've got this here:
http://www.kemi.fi/Kuvagalleria/nahtavyydet/lumilinna/isokuva/ll_300.jpg

Yes, it's the world's largest snow castle

Well, we have a copy of that as well here. Here being my country.

---

It is said that "my country is winter". Now that I plugged the obvious reference, I can describe it in full details without revealing anything else, especially obvious geographical references.

(And no, my own location will not give you any clue, unless you are really good at geography and linguistics. And then again, the references are too obscur, and only partially related.)

So yeah, my country has that long winter. Everybody around, except for those who like to ski, will whine endlessly about how long, how cold, how dark is their winter. Meters of snow, mix of snow and rain and worse weathers are also possible. So you'll generally have to endure four to six months of said weather, six in the northern most part of my country's ecumene. Then you'll have spring, which is further divided into two parts, the first one being when we eat TONS of sugar, the second one being a tiem to prepare for summer. And summer, while not as hot as it may be elsewhere, is insanely hot when you compare it to our winters. So, everybody tries to get as naked as possible without being thought indecent. And we love to have pools, and we swim a lot during that time. It is due to our intimate relation with some huge river near where everybody lives. Then comes fall, and school begins so rush hour gets worse, and then all the trees turn yellow, orange, red or brown, and we like to walk around in the nearby mountains.

In the south, you have that large city. Its culture is very different from the rest of said country, because it mixes so many things. You have the tower forest like many cities on the same continent, but you have a cute little old part which looks more like the place where most of our ancestors come from. And you have that odd tower on the east side, that huge church on the west side, and, right in the middle of the city, a hill, that looks tall and huge from anywhere within the city.

Then, you have two other cities, one to the west, and another to the east. Not much hapenning there, but the one to the west is also a little-sister city to another one, across a river. The eastern city is built on hills, so going anywhere around by foot makes you do some pretty good exercise. Oh, and near that city, you have that telescope, now protected from light pollution by a sky-reserving zone, the first of its kind, or so I heard. Then, there are many more small towns along the way, but you eventually end up in the second largest city, but it really has more of the Big Village feeling than anything else. (Not even a town, really) And in that city, you have that old-looking neighborhood, with that huge castle-like hotel, the most pictured hotel in the world. And then, if you go further east or north, mostly nature, and some towns around. You have a fjord, that doesn't look like any other fjord because it isn't surrounded by tall mountains, and you have plenty more to visit.

People are friendly, but if you go outside the Big City, you might have problems making yourself understood if you only speak English. (In the Big City, however, it's not a problem, but then, you might irritate some of the locals if you stay too long that way.) Nature is great, and never too far away, but because transit is badly designed, those like me who depend mostly on public transportation have a hard time getting around anywhere. (One of the reasons why I want to move away from there, actually.) Services aren't that bad, but they aren't that good, and things got worse since I first became aware of the services I am given.

Well, that be my country. Somehow, because there are other parts in my State, but I don't know enough about them to be able to describe them anyway as well as what I have done here. Others already did it before me.

[Serpentine]

Here's a better picture of the Big Merino (sheep):

http://newlyweds.fragar.id.au/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/598428-the-big-merino-0.jpg

[charl]

It is said that "my country is winter". Now that I plugged the obvious reference, I can describe it in full details without revealing anything else, especially obvious geographical references.


Are we supposed to guess? Because it so totally is Quebec you are describing, with Montreal being the big city.

[Kneenibble]

Are we supposed to guess? Because it so totally is Quebec you are describing, with Montreal being the big city.

Yes, I also read the country of Quebec.
Are we correct?

[Erothayce]

My neck of the woods are amazing. Only a few hours drive from everything. The mountains, the ocean, the forests, everything is close. The people here are great and open minded. I don't ever plan on leaving. if you couldn't guess it I live in Northern California. I don't consider California as part of the USA in case you were wondering, were too cool.

[KuReshtin]

On the subject of 'the World's Biggest' stuff, the place I come from is the home of the world's largest wooden ladle.

Pictured here. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tors%C3%A5s_Municipality)

[toasty]

No one has done Bangladesh yet. Unsurprising, but good. :D

Disclaimer: I am an American teenager living in Dhaka, Bangladesh, my descriptions may not be entirely accurate. I will focus on Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, because frankly, I've seen very little of the rest of the country.

Bangladesh is the world's most densely populated country. Its... tiny, and has over 150 million people in it. Dhaka, the capital has 12 million people crammed into it. Yes, this means we have more people in OUR CAPITAL, than some European countries. Personally, I think thats amazingly awesome. :smallbiggrin:

The traffic is horrible. The traffic is beyond horrible, or at least it will be in a few years. I predect that the government will fail to fix the traffic situation and eventually all the businesses that are causing all the traffic will move out of the city, thereby removing all the private cars filled with businessmen and, quite possibly, their children who go to school in cars and buses as well. This may fix the problem, but not before it gets worse.

Dhaka is corrupt. Bangladesh, actually, for several years, was the world's most corrupt nation in the world. Whether or not this is amazingly awesome or amazingly sad I can never tell. Our former Prime Minister's Son, Tarique Rahman, was called "Mr. Ten Percent" because, supposedly, 10% of all profits in the company went to his pockets. Currently, he is in a self-imposed Exile in England. I assume he'll return in a few years, seeing as he still has lots of power in the government.

Bangladesh in general is poor, Dhaka has its fair share of beggars and poor people. *shrugs* you get used to them. Though it can get annoying to be accosted by beggars who will sometimes, grab your arms demanding money.

However, despite all these things, Dhaka is awesome. The Street food might kill you, but it also tastes like heaven. Pooris (deep fried dough with potato or lentils inside) is a goodsend, as are many of the various, usually fried, snacks one can purchase.

Also: the country is 90% Muslim. It shows a lot. First of all, lots of men here wear long, untrimmed, beards, which is of course, awesome. :smallbiggrin: you can also almost always hear the Azam going off at the correct times no matter where you are in the city. We live near a mosque (there must be like a million in the city) so ours is pretty loud. Not being Muslim, this can be annoying, but we deal with it.

Oh, and the people are short. My brother, who is 6'2" (I know, he's tall) is a good 6-8 inches taller than most MEN here. We go outisde and its very easy to see a reddish-brown haired, wiry, white boy amongst a the teaming masses of short, brown people.

Oh, and no one (well, very few people) speak good English. My friends do, but they are by large the minority, privileged few who have managed to get an education in the British system (GSCEs and A levels in High School), which, of course, is in English.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Excellent point, they're cyclones in the Southern Hemisphere.

The southern hemisphere is not exactly favourable for tropical cyclone development for the simple reason that Low pressure spins anti-cyclonicly down there.
this is also why a tropical system will never transition from the north to the south hemisphere (Or vice-versa), because it will have to stop spinning at the point where it crosses the equator. This is where the storm dies a horrible death.
They're "Typhoons" WEST of the International Date Line, and Hurricanes EAST of that same mark.

[Cobra_Ikari]

Well we might not have any world's biggest stuff (tsk, how American :smallwink:)

...I'm certain I must be misinterpreting this from lack of sleep, but is there an innuendo in there somewhere? >.<



Where I live? Peaceful. Stereotype-filled. But you can see all the stars at night. It's my favorite place to be with good friends.

[Serpentine]

The southern hemisphere is not exactly favourable for tropical cyclone development for the simple reason that Low pressure spins anti-cyclonicly down there.Eh? :smallconfused: No... If I recall correctly, it just means ours spin the other direction. Australia is regularly hit by tropical cyclones - they normally develop on or near the equator, sure, but in the south.

Cyclone paths:
http://www.ema.gov.au/www/ema/rwpgslib.nsf/GraphicFilesPersonal/(A96D9A49EA98CFE780B96F6EE5A027F4)~Cyclones+in+Aus tralia+Large/$FILE/cyclone_australia_map_large.jpg
http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/images/tropical_cyclone_map_lrg.gif

[ambu]

Well, Greece.

Where to start.

I am pretty certain that everybody has some stereotypes on their heads but most of the time they are not the correct ones. We are a tiny country of ten million, almost half of which live in two cities, Athens and Thessalonika. We have plenty of sun, a ragged terrain, hundreds of islands and good weather mostly. We are the archetypical Mediterraneans. We have wines like the Spanish and the Italian, a splendid cuisine that has borrowed heavily from the East, cheeses and we love all of these. Eating is a big thing in Greece. Is not refuelling, it is a social exercise.

We have thousands of years of history. We have fought in this soil for almost three thousand years. We had colonies as far as France and populated a great deal of Italy. We have fought with the Romans, the Egyptians, the Turks, the French, the English and almost everyone else this side of the world. We seem to have civil war in our blood.

We talk a lot, shout a lot, love a lot and give a lot.We seem to think that we are the smartest people in the world, which is unfortunately not true. We can't for the life of us understand how other countries can stay organized. Everything in Greece is chaos, but we manage to get things done somehow.

We have some of the best looking girls in the world but they do seem to know that this is so. We believe we are the world's bets lovers, but nothing conclusive so far. We love and stick with our family until the bitter end, unless we have fought over something.

And no, we don't pray to Zeus or Neptune. We have been Christian for thousands of years. In a way, this is significant, in other ways... not so much.

Hope that makes sense.

[Nerd-o-rama]

Texas.

It's big, and it acts like it's its own country. Most of the other stereotypes are untrue, but that one is actually pretty pervasive.

[Dallas-Dakota]

Hey! The cheese is OURS!
*is dutch*

[ambu]

Hey! The cheese is OURS!
*is dutch*

No its not! Itssoursandalwayshasbeenandalwayswillbeandwehavest atuesofSocrateseatingit!

That will teach you!

Started, the Cheese Wars have

[Dallas-Dakota]

Peh, maybe in ancient times, but back then we were the troglodyte community.

Our swamps were awesome.

Ask any non-dutch/non-greek person to which country they associate cheese most with, and they'l see the netherlands.

Well maybe not any, but most people.

I remember the times of Trog's great old grandpa living here..../cranky old man.

[Eldan]

Switzerland. Hah.

Funnily enough, about half the cheeses here are french.

[Trog]

Peh, maybe in ancient times, but back then we were the troglodyte community.

Our swamps were awesome.

Ask any non-dutch/non-greek person to which country they associate cheese most with, and they'l see the netherlands.

Well maybe not any, but most people.

I remember the times of Trog's great old grandpa living here..../cranky old man.
Grandpa never could resist a woman in wooden clogs.

Made 'em easier to chase, he always said.

[KuReshtin]

Ask any non-dutch/non-greek person to which country they associate cheese most with, and they'l see the netherlands.

Well maybe not any, but most people.


Switzerland. Hah.


My first thought was Switzerland as well.
And it seems that a lot of people are still convinced that Swiss cheese is from Sweden. :smallconfused: Sure, we have some nice cheeses in Sweden, but it's not something we're internationally known for.

That's what we have IKEA, ABBA and ice hockey* for.


*Cause everyone knows that Sweden has the best ice hockey players. The Canadians are only in denial.

[Eldan]

That reminds me of our genetics professor. Whenever he needed an example, he would use ice hockey players.
"So, if we want to breed a certain characteristic, let's say size in ice hockey players..."

And so on. For every subject.

[Yiuel]

Are we supposed to guess? Because it so totally is Quebec you are describing, with Montreal being the big city.


Yes, I also read the country of Quebec.
Are we correct?

It was easy. And yes, it is. What I can call home as well.

(Wasn't born here, though. That would be northern Ontario)

[Yiuel]

Ask any non-dutch/non-greek person to which country they associate cheese most with, and they'l see the netherlands.

Well maybe not any, but most people.

I would also argue for Switzerland (like other posters before me), if I didn't eat so much Camembert and Brie, both of which are from France. But then, I was given the taste to eat those kinds of cheese by my former girlfriend, who was, well, from France (Normandy, actually, making things more obvious. But she did prefer a Dutch cheese over her local cheeses).

[Hannes]

Here, in Estonia, we have....

Omnoms!
http://www.upload.ee/image/29414/kohuke.jpg

Also, we have this man!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Edgar_Savisaar_2005.jpg

[Eldan]

I would also argue for Switzerland (like other posters before me), if I didn't eat so much Camembert and Brie, both of which are from France. But then, I was given the taste to eat those kinds of cheese by my former girlfriend, who was, well, from France (Normandy, actually, making things more obvious. But she did prefer a Dutch cheese over her local cheeses).

Here in Switzerland, at least, Camembert and Brie are also very popular cheeses, next to our own Gruyère, Appenzeller, Emmentaler and so on. Oh, and Vacherin Mont d'Or, but few people I know like that. Actually, beyond my father and myself, I know no one.

[Yiuel]

Here in Switzerland, at least, Camembert and Brie are also very popular cheeses, next to our own Gruyère, Appenzeller, Emmentaler and so on. Oh, and Vacherin Mont d'Or, but few people I know like that. Actually, beyond my father and myself, I know no one.

Gruyère and Emmentaler I both like, though they're hard cheese, so not that suited to mix with rice (yes, I like to mix cheese in bowl of rice). And I don't know what Vacherin Mont d'Or is, probably because we don't have that cheese on my side of the Pond. I'm pretty sure I could like it.

[Eldan]

Vacherin Mont d'or...
If correctly served, it's almost liquid. You can eat it with a spoon. They wrap it in bark, usually. Most people think it stinks horribly. If incorrectly served, it can be poisonous.

http://www.poehlamnaschmarkt.at/images/uploads/02_products/2008_vacherin_02.jpg

This ain't a bad picture.

[Dallas-Dakota]

We're not very known for making it, though we do have a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot of cows.
We know ourselves as cheese eaters.

The french, yeah, french cheeses. >.> Cheese 'n wine from the french, me guesses. But I'm not really a wine person.

But as a dutch person, it seems like one of those things we have, orso.
Pretty much all of us like and eat cheese. >.> I have to be different, again.... >.>
But we're more known for it then Greece, me thinks.

[charl]

But as a dutch person, it seems like one of those things we have, orso.
Pretty much all of us like and eat cheese. >.> I have to be different, again.... >.>
But we're more known for it then Greece, me thinks.

Dutch you say? Do you eat your cheese with mayonnaise and curry sauce as you do everything else? :smallbiggrin:

[Monzach]

So, Finland, yeah... It has been done already, but it can't be bad to get another perspective on a country this large, eh? :smallbiggrin: Finland is actually one of the larger countries in Europe in terms of area covered, but has a small-ish population. This results in a population of just 13 people per square kilometer in the country as a whole. Considering that one fifth of the entire population lives in the greater Helsinki area, this means a lot of empty space all over the country. This results in about 30% of the land area of Finland being covered in forests. Of course, due to our large paper industry, a lot of the forests are commercially exploited, but there are national parks all over the country as well. Actually, one of the largest nature reserves is a mere 20 km from the center of the capital. :smallsmile:

Finland also has quite a short history as a nation. From late 11th century all the way to December 6th, 1917 we were under first Swedish rule (until 1809) and from then an autonomous Grand Duchy of Russia. This term might require some explanation, so here goes: Basically, the Czar of all Russia was the Grand Duke of Finland, and he was the nominal head of state. However, the Grand Duchy had its own parliament, with legislative power all over the Grand Duchy. We also had our own currency from the 1830s onwards, our own postal department, our own justice system and pretty much our own culture. The latter was mostly Swedish language, but that's to be expected, since the Swedes really couldn't have cared less about the Finnish culture during their 700-year rule. Of course, sometimes the Czar of Russia would give out edicts in St. Petersburg which had an effect in all the areas of his vast realm, including Finland. However, this was done very seldom during most of our time as a Russian subject, and only the last Czar, Nicholas II, who was pretty weak sauce, anyway, tried to instill Russian hegemony in Finland.

So, anyway, now it has been 92 years (almost) of full-on independence over here. It has been punctuated by a bloody and divisive 4 month civil war in 1918, and the Winter and Continuation wars (the Finnish part of WW2). Otherwise, we have been a pretty peaceful bunch. We like our sports, mainly ice hockey, rally and formula 1. We feel inferior to pretty much everyone and try to hide this by acting very arrogant. The only people we truly feel "superior" to are the Estonians, to whom we have an older brother-type relationship.

[Elves-as-People]

Ya, history. Good stuff. Please excuse my response to a tangential friendly remark 2 pages back.



*waves to fellow Cherokee*

Just my Grandfather. And we gave up citizenship and such. No papers.


Hrm. You might actually win that one... Australian Aboriginals weren't particularly warlike. Violent at times, but not... organisedly so.
If you have it out in the desert, though, they'll get you before you even see 'em. Apparently living out on the big flat plains actually changes the shape of their eyes, so they can see things right on the horizon that others can't see a few km away.


Stick to the rivers. Got it. Huzzah for obsidian armed militias! Apparently they terrify the US gov't. Boomerang... meet Bow. WIN!

This feels wrong on many levels to discuss, yet I'm oddly drawn to it.

EDIT: Wait, "you might actually win that one...?" That sounds like a slight...

[GallóglachMaxim]

Stick to the rivers. Got it. Huzzah for obsidian armed militias! Apparently they terrify the US gov't. Boomerang... meet Bow. WIN!

Be careful with the rivers, that's where the salties (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saltwater_crocodile) are.

[Elves-as-People]

Be careful with the rivers, that's where the salties (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saltwater_crocodile) are.

RETREAT! THEY HAVE MONSTERS!!!

[Anuan]

And in our southernmost jungles we have these (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwhJ9ZMHAFo&feature=related) beautiful little demons. They can exert 5100 pounds per square inch of pressure with their jaws.

For reference, 1200 psi can crack a human skull >.>

[GallóglachMaxim]

And in our southernmost jungles we have these (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwhJ9ZMHAFo&feature=related) beautiful little demons. They can exert 5100 pounds per square inch of pressure with their jaws.

And they're cute, which is just unfair to the tourists. At least most of the other scary things look scary.

[charl]

And they're cute, which is just unfair to the tourists. At least most of the other scary things look scary.

You should visit Sweden. All our dangerous animals look cute or silly, from the wolverines, who hop instead of run and look fussy and cuddly, all the way to the boars and moose (who are very aggressive if you get close. Seriously, if you find yourself face to face with a moose, back away slowly).

[Anuan]

You should visit Sweden. All our dangerous animals look cute or silly, from the wolverines, who hop instead of run and look fussy and cuddly, all the way to the boars and moose (who are very aggressive if you get close. Seriously, if you find yourself face to face with a moose, back away slowly).

There is nothing cute about boars.
Or wolverines, who just emenate badassitude.

...Moose, on the other hand...

[charl]

There is nothing cute about boars.
Or wolverines, who just emenate badassitude.

...Moose, on the other hand...

Wolverines? Oh come on. They are the silliest creature I have ever seen. They look like large badgers with very short hind legs, and they can't even walk properly, instead they hop around. They are very dangerous though. And boars are very cute, at least the kids.

[Serpentine]

My friend's tiny little aunt in New Zealand was attacked by a huge feral boar, while armed with only a knife. She won.

Elves-aren't-people: They had more than just boomerangs, y'know. And even of those they have a whole lot of different ones. For example, there's one or two that's designed to get between the legs of a kangaroo or emu and not only trip it over, but break its legs in the process. So ner :smalltongue:
Anyway, our desert people would beat you soft plains-folk just on survival in a desert :smalltongue: As for the rivers... Well, I think Gallo covered that. Although he failed to mention the boisterous bunyips, swimming snakes and poisonous platypuses.

[Anuan]

Also Malaria and Dengue Fever bearing Mosquitos >.>

[Serpentine]

We have malaria?

[charl]

If it's mosquitoes you want visit Lappland in the summer. You'd be eaten alive by them. Literally. No joke. Occasionally people, and especially pets, die from them. There's so many. It's like black clouds.

[GallóglachMaxim]

You should visit Sweden. All our dangerous animals look cute or silly, from the wolverines, who hop instead of run and look fussy and cuddly, all the way to the boars and moose (who are very aggressive if you get close. Seriously, if you find yourself face to face with a moose, back away slowly).

Silly, maybe, but I wouldn't call any of them cute (moose have that long-faced dopey thing going for them, but it's not quite the same). And what kind of insane person would try to cuddle a wolverine, they're like a cross between a bear and a chainsaw!

[Ashen Lilies]

Hmm... let's see...
We're famous for our food, which is incorrectly prepared in restaurants all over the world, and we're famous for never being colonized by a European power, and we're famous for currently having the longest ruling monarch. Strangely enough, we're also (somehow) semi-famous for our beer, which locals seem to hate, and foreigners seem to love.
Despite having a king, we democratically elect a prime minister as well, but we haven't seemed to have gotten the point of it, seeing as we tend to kick our prime ministers out soon after they are elected. In fact, the only prime minister to have ever lasted a full term is now in exile in a neighboring country (with which we have... strained... relations).
We are also one of the most devoutly Buddhist countries in the world, and enjoy an incredibly high level of literacy compared to surrounding countries.
We also have the smallest serving aircraft carrier in the world, which is kinda cool.
Lastly, we're famous for our hospitality, though aside from hotels, which should have excellent hospitality in the first place, I've yet to really see it. :smalltongue:

On Food:
What most people think of when they think of our food is probably the food from the Central region of the country, and never cuisine from the other, more interesting regions. For example, food from my home region in the North-East (with one famous exception) often gets commented on for not seeming like the 'typical' national food one would think of, which is a shame, since it is (of course) the best. :smallcool:

[Elves-as-People]

Hmm... let's see...
We're famous for our food, which is incorrectly prepared in restaurants all over the world, and we're famous for never being colonized by a European power, and we're famous for currently having the longest ruling monarch. Strangely enough, we're also (somehow) semi-famous for our beer, which locals seem to hate, and foreigners seem to love.
Despite having a king, we democratically elect a prime minister as well, but we haven't seemed to have gotten the point of it, seeing as we tend to kick our prime ministers out soon after they are elected. In fact, the only prime minister to have ever lasted a full term is now in exile in a neighboring country (with which we have... strained... relations).
We are also one of the most devoutly Buddhist countries in the world, and enjoy an incredibly high level of literacy compared to surrounding countries.
We also have the smallest serving aircraft carrier in the world, which is kinda cool.
Lastly, we're famous for our hospitality, though aside from hotels, which should have excellent hospitality in the first place, I've yet to really see it. :smalltongue:

On Food:
What most people think of when they think of our food is probably the food from the Central region of the country, and never cuisine from the other, more interesting regions. For example, food from my home region in the North-East (with one famous exception) often gets commented on for not seeming like the 'typical' national food one would think of, which is a shame, since it is (of course) the best. :smallcool:

Are you in Thailand?

[charl]

Are you in Thailand?

What he describes really can't be anything else, considering he specifically mentions the Thai king (that's the longest reigning monarch in the world today).

He also mentions the... unstable nature of Thai politics, which also can't be much else. The smallest carrier thing... I'm not sure that is actually true, but Thailand still has a small repurposed cruiser (I think) that they use for a helicopter and VTOL carrier, so it fits. Also: Buddhism. Not many countries has it as a majority religion, and of those that do the only one with a constitutional monarchy is Thailand.

It's Thailand. No question about it.

[Felixaar]

I actually have a question for those in European countries - is it possible to get work in your country with only English as a language (this question, obviously, discounts countries were English is the primary language), or would I have to learn the native language if I wanted gainful employment?

[Serpentine]

I have a question for all countries: How easy would it be to get once-off work at a library there, similar to the way many people "bartend their way around the world"? :smallwink:

And Flix's question, too, would be rather handy for that...

[KuReshtin]

I actually have a question for those in European countries - is it possible to get work in your country with only English as a language (this question, obviously, discounts countries were English is the primary language), or would I have to learn the native language if I wanted gainful employment?

In Sweden, even if most people know English, unless you seek work at a bigger company (industrial with international connections most likely) the employer would expect you to at least have a decent knowledge of the Swedish language for you to be employed.

I'm pretty sure that you'd not be able to get a job in a retail store with a customer facing job if you only know English.

Of course, it could depend on the area of the country you apply to. It would possibly be easier to get a job in the bigger cities (Stockholm or Gothenburg for instance) than in the smaller towns (like Karlstad or Kalmar).
Again, University towns might be a bit easier as well, if the university has an extended exchange student program.

[SatyreIkon]

@Felixaar: In Germany, it's possible, but I do not recommend it. If you work in Frankfurt, for example, you'll handle very well with only English. Hell, my university teacher "survived" for years on Spanish! But it depends where you work: Banks and most companies will greet you with open arms if you bring the necessary qualifications in addition to your language skill.
Still, most jobs still require fluency in both English and German. But these qualifications can be wavered depending on the job. Just try! :)

@Serpentine: As a short-time job? Would not work. Maybe in school libraries, but not at a city library or the Deutsche Bibliothek. Forget about it, sorry. They're more likely to cut down personell than getting new people.

[GoC]

Colombia has beautiful mountains and jungles you can explore now. It's got some of the most friendly and hospitable people in the world and the traditional cuisine is absolutely amazing* (at least the central and northern that I've tasted, sadly my mother wasn't a very good cook). Just don't go too far to the south-east or north and keep a hand on your wallet.:smallbiggrin:

* Fruit freshly grown in the tropics? Yes please! There's a huge variety to choose from too.

[Kazimierz]

My country -Poland lie in central Europe, with Germany on tehe east and Belarus , Ukraine and Russia on the east. So is our culture and mentality -mix of eastern and western.

To correct and expand: that would be Germany to the West, along with Czech Republic to the Southwest, Slovakia to the South, Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, and Lithuania (and then Russia again,) to the East, going counter-clockwise from the Baltic at 12:00.

I'd go on and tell you more, but chances are, you don't speak Polish. And if you don't already by this point, then chances are that you never competently will. Polish is a Slavic tongue, not a Latin or Germanic one, and as such holds, apart from some 'borrowed' and adapted words, little in common with English apart from the Latin alphabet. And even that has the additions of: ą, ć, ę, ł, ń, ó, ś, ź, ż, all of which are true characters, not accentuated ones. But that's nothing; the true horror is in the conjugation, of which Polish probably boasts the most absolutely convoluted rules and designs of any other language besides, from what I gather, Hungarian, and numerous exceptions to those rules to boot.
But if you can find employment here without needing a firm grasp on the language*, then it's truly an excellent place to live once you put aside the (mostly) minor inconveniences like the roads (which are getting better rather quickly anyway,) the AC for your house, the gas prices, and the sub-par healthcare.** It is widely acknowledged*** that our beer is on par with the German's, and our vodka is a cut above the Russian. I can't speak for Russian vodka, but I'd have to agree on the first part myself...

*You can, theoretically, and a good deal of people do. Thing is, the overwhelming majority of these people are either journalists, or English teachers. The latter, apparently, pays quite well.
**Got a cold? Your (private) doctor is more malicious in his billing than his counterpart in the States, drink some tea and stay in bed. Broke a leg? Hospitals are free, and not at all unreasonable with speed as well as (arguably) quality of service.
***In Poland.

[GolemsVoice]

I actually have a question for those in European countries - is it possible to get work in your country with only English as a language (this question, obviously, discounts countries were English is the primary language), or would I have to learn the native language if I wanted gainful employment?

In Germany, it really depends on who you talk to, and where. English is mandatory at all schools, so, theoretically, everyone should speak it. Truth is, if the person in question is older than 30, it is up to his own interest if he speaks this language, and many will only have a very loose grasp of English. Another (sad) truth is, that the quality of English depends heavily on the type of school the person has visited. People from Gymnasiums, the "best" schools, are supposed to speak English well enough to study complex English texts, and often do, while the other schools only teach basic English, and in no way enough to have a conversation with a real native speaker.
Generally, though, people are very eager to try out their English, which, depending on how much you value the purity of the English language, can be from range from fantastic to funny, or painful.

So: if you work in some of the better paid jobs, where education is key, you'll get around, but if you get a job that requires little education and relies more on vocational training, and is therefore open to people who don't want to or can't study at universities, you may find that you are not understood. Most people are willing to accept foreigners who do not speak German, and will be helpful, however.

[VeisuItaTyhjyys]

"Right down the street a prostitute is selling the closest thing to love that this country has to offer."

Also, The Great Gatsby.

[Gullara]

It would be pointless for me to describe my whole country because I live in Canada, so instead I'll describe my province, Saskatchewan. I live in the south of Saskatchewan so it is pretty flat, although where I live there are more hills than average. We have hot summers, 20 to 30 degrees C (80 degrees F?), and cold winters, -20 to -30 degrees C (Umm very cold). It can be very windy, and usually is. It rains occasionally and there can be a lot of snow in the winter. It is very dry and pretty much never humid. There are very few trees. Low population and clean air.

I enjoy living in Saskatchewan and I don't think there is anywhere else I'd prefer over Sask.

[Serpentine]

20-30oC is a "hot summer"? :smallconfused: I'm in a relatively mild part of Australia (it's no Tasmania, but the region's called New England, all the towns are named after Scottish places, and on the map that shows the drought we're always right in the only green splotch, to give you an idea), and Google tells me it's now 34oC (a colleague said 33, and yesterday the RSL sign said 31 and it was cooler than today). And we're still in spring.

This summer is gonna suuuuuuck :smallyuk:

[Anuan]

I agree, 20-30 c summers are fine. I'm currently in a mild area (south of Sydney, constantly out of drought instead of constantly in, which is what I was used to) and we've been hitting mid-thirties for a while.

One of my cousins in my hometown told me it hit 46 a while ago. I kind of miss it for the lack of humidity...

[Elves-as-People]

*You can, theoretically, and a good deal of people do. Thing is, the overwhelming majority of these people are either journalists, or English teachers. The latter, apparently, pays quite well.
**Got a cold? Your (private) doctor is more malicious in his billing than his counterpart in the States, drink some tea and stay in bed. Broke a leg? Hospitals are free, and not at all unreasonable with speed as well as (arguably) quality of service.
***In Poland.

Polish beer is, undeniably, better than German beer. I've been to Germany. I tried many beers. The best were from Poland and Czech.

[GolemsVoice]

Then you've obviously been to the wron PARTS of Germany. After all, everybody but Franconia is in some way stupid! :smallwink:

[charl]

In my experience there are a lot of fine and very nice German beers around, but when you are visiting Germany itself all the Germans drink is Becks. :smallfrown:

[Kazimierz]

Polish beer is, undeniably, better than German beer. I've been to Germany. I tried many beers. The best were from Poland and Czech.

Personally, the only German beer I've ever significantly partook of is Heineken, as it was the only beer in North America I found to be simultaneously available, affordable, and at all drinkable. And since it's not even remotely difficult to find beer in Poland that compares favorably with Heineken, usually for a cheaper price, I defer to your experience. :smallsmile:
Haven't tried much Czech beer, either - just a few times while accompanying family members on business trips, and of course the goodness of truly top-notch brew varies by the bottle. Also great beer by my mark, though.

[Tiger Duck]

Heineken is Dutch not German.

[Gullara]

20-30oC is a "hot summer"? :smallconfused: I'm in a relatively mild part of Australia (it's no Tasmania, but the region's called New England, all the towns are named after Scottish places, and on the map that shows the drought we're always right in the only green splotch, to give you an idea), and Google tells me it's now 34oC (a colleague said 33, and yesterday the RSL sign said 31 and it was cooler than today). And we're still in spring.

This summer is gonna suuuuuuck :smallyuk:

Well when its 20 out its not hot, when I said hot I actually meant the 30

[Miklus]

I hold this truth to be self-evident: Denmark has the best beer!

20 c is considered warm in Denmark. The winters are ususally +5 to -5 c. It thaws in the daytime and freezes again during the night. It makes for fun driving! It is also very windy.

[charl]

I hold this truth to be self-evident: Denmark has the best beer!

Oh please. You guys couldn't make a good ale if your life depended on it, and your lagers are not much to get excited about either, even if they make for good chugging beer.

Not that my own countrymen do any better. Though at least we make the best snaps. :smallamused:


20C (which we by the way invented :smallsmile:) is a heat wave in Sweden. The winters go from just around 0 all the way to -20, the northern parts are of course much cooler than the south, though last year we had the most snowfall here in Uppsala which is relatively speaking in the south of the country, though closer to the middle. It was like a metre deep when it was at its worst.

[Kazimierz]

Heineken is Dutch not German.

Hot damn! I stand corrected. :smallfrown:

[Kneenibble]

Well when its 20 out its not hot, when I said hot I actually meant the 30

And 30 is plenty hot for the Prairies, thanks very much, it's hot and relaxing without being disgustingly sweaty-draining-muggy. It also feels all the hotter in apposition with Prairie winters.

So
Hey. There's this amazing brewery in Quebec, I wonder if they do exports and whether all you euro-malties have heard of it? Unibroue? They make extra-strong beers from a colonial recipe.

Canadian beer -- excusing/excluding the big commercial operations -- is great.

[SatyreIkon]

Small homebreweries might be the cream of the crop when it comes to vol-% - but taste THIS (http://www.rothaus.de/html/02biere/biere/022_tannenzaepfle.htm) and you'll never want anything else.

Because, seriously - I am open for all cultures and their special knacks, but when it comes to beer, German's my favorite :smallbiggrin:

Still, I'm open to suggestions... :smallamused:

[Serpentine]

Well when its 20 out its not hot, when I said hot I actually meant the 30I stand by my statement. For most of Australia, a summer that doesn't get higher than the 30s is a very mild summer.

[Dispozition]

I stand by my statement. For most of Australia, a summer that doesn't get higher than the 30s is a very mild summer.

This. Melbourne expects at least a few days of 40C each summer, with plenty over 30. We're lucky if it's not above 28 most days once it gets going.

[Felixaar]

20-30oC is a "hot summer"? :smallconfused: I'm in a relatively mild part of Australia (it's no Tasmania, but the region's called New England, all the towns are named after Scottish places, and on the map that shows the drought we're always right in the only green splotch, to give you an idea), and Google tells me it's now 34oC (a colleague said 33, and yesterday the RSL sign said 31 and it was cooler than today). And we're still in spring.

This summer is gonna suuuuuuck :smallyuk:

I know. If I ever become a politician...

*waits for laughter to die down*

*still waiting*

*okay, seriously.*

I'll make a bill for allowing people to walk around in their underpants all summer long.

[Thufir]

20-30oC is a hot summer. Australia's just weird. :smalltongue:
As are all those other hot countries. And the ones with the strange food... the weird other languages... the disgraceful disregard for proper spelling... the odd accents...
Everywhere apart from England, now I come to think of it... :smalltongue:

[Miklus]

Oh please. You guys couldn't make a good ale if your life depended on it, and your lagers are not much to get excited about either, even if they make for good chugging beer.

Ya know, the horde of swedes that visit Denmark with sack trucks just to haul stacks of beer crates back home would suggest otherwise...:smallamused:

Are you guys even allowed to buy beer in Sweden or do you still have to go to that wierd "Systembolaget" place? I saw one of those once, it looked like a pharmacist or something. I think you need a prescription to buy beer in Sweden.

[charl]

Ya know, the horde of swedes that visit Denmark with sack trucks just to haul stacks of beer crates back home would suggest otherwise...:smallamused:

Are you guys even allowed to buy beer in Sweden or do you still have to go to that wierd "Systembolaget" place? I saw one of those once, it looked like a pharmacist or something. I think you need a prescription to buy beer in Sweden.

Systembolaget is exactly why Swedes go to Denmark to buy booze (though it's just the Scanians, and those people are weird. As far as I am concerned you can have Scania back. The people barely speak Swedish down there anyway). Yes, the government monopoly on alcohol does suck, as they jack up the prizes and tax it to no end, but at least they have awesome service. If you go to Systembolaget to buy any drink and they don't have it in stock they are obliged by law to try any and all methods of getting that drink for you, no matter how obscure. Not that the stores themselves are badly stocked, quite the opposite. You can get any number of different brands. Hundreds.

As for the pharmacy thing that used to be the case, but nowadays basically all Systembolaget are more traditional liquor store types. You go in, look around the shelves and sections for your choice of poison, put it in your cart, and go to the cashier to buy it. Just like at a food store, except they only sell booze.

And yeah, anyway, Swedes don't buy alcohol in Denmark because Denmark has good alcohol, but because Denmark has cheap alcohol. Not that my fellow countrymen have good taste in beer anyway. In fact most of them just drink that horrible bland lager slush that you guys like down south. Horrible taste.

[Shas aia Toriia]

What's up with all this beer talk?

Anyways, my country is awesome, because we all follow the stereotypes of ourselves.

[charl]

What's up with all this beer talk?

Anyways, my country is awesome, because we all follow the stereotypes of ourselves.

The availability of good beer should always be a large factor in choosing a location to settle. :smallamused:

[Kazimierz]

20-30oC is a hot summer. Australia's just weird. :smalltongue:
As are all those other hot countries. And the ones with the strange food... the weird other languages... the disgraceful disregard for proper spelling... the odd accents...
Everywhere apart from England, now I come to think of it... :smalltongue:

Lulz at Britain-food. =p

[Dallas-Dakota]

I actually have a question for those in European countries - is it possible to get work in your country with only English as a language (this question, obviously, discounts countries were English is the primary language), or would I have to learn the native language if I wanted gainful employment?
Yes. Depending on what you want/have in qualifications.

Most dutch people speak atleast a little bit of english, if not decent.
They're all usually very willing to switch to english if you don't speak dutch.(On short-term, dunno about long term jobs)

I'd recommend jobs that don't involve customers, though.

But I'd just recommend getting a basic grasp of dutch first. Some things in our language are just weird.

Heineken: Yes, it's dutch. Yes, we mainly export it for a reason.
We also have pretty cheap bad beer.

Also a big change between pretty much any big country and the netherlands.
Here, everything is closer to eachother.
You consider 3 hour drives ''not long'', you can get from anywhere to anywhere here in the Netherlands in 3 hours by car.

Also, if you don't have a car, no problem, our train system is pretty good(compared to some other countries, apparently) and well connected.

Also, if you're a student, studying inside of the netherlands for more then a year/planning to stay after. I'm don't know, but you could apply for ''ov'' which gives you free public transport in either the week or the weekends.(40% off in the other time and for people you buy tickets for and travel with you)(Weekend if you live in the city you study, week if you live in a different city.)

And there are educations which are done entirely in english.

[Johel]

I hold this truth to be self-evident: Denmark has the best beer!

No, they don't. :smalltongue:
http://www.beerparadise.be/emc.asp?pageId=727#Belgian_specialities
I've never tasted beers from Denmark, by the way, so I can hardly judge.

@Felixaar :
For Belgium :
If you speak only English, you can find a job in Brussel or Antwerp.
But your options will be narrowed to highly qualified jobs, preferably in the finances, insurances, administration or international trade. Some low-end jobs require only English in these cities : I know that some of the barmen of the Delirium café (and of several english/irish pubs) speak only english. But since the customers are mostly students and tourists, that's fine.

If you are fluent in English and can get by in either French or Dutch, you can get a job but usually, you'll be asked to speak perfectly in either French or Dutch. Doing so in both languages is rare and you'll get a job immediately. English is a plus in some sectors but not all.

[hawkboy772042]

Well... Israel has really nice weather year around (similar to California, which is where I'm from originally). Just about everyone speaks English so you don't have to learn Hebrew, but it helps. (I've lived here for 9 months so far and really haven't had that much trouble without knowing it)

Also, you can easily get a job only knowing English too. I got a job working as an engineer here and could've easily gotten a job working as a waiter (at a tourist restaurant though).

[thorgrim29]

Hey. There's this amazing brewery in Quebec, I wonder if they do exports and whether all you euro-malties have heard of it? Unibroue? They make extra-strong beers from a colonial recipe.

Unibrou is alright for the basic beer, their red ale and their pilsners are palatable, also I'm told their fruity beers are alright if that's what you like. But their strong beers suck balls. They taste like someone poured moonshine in a beer, the alcohol taste completely overpowers the rest. Plus they've been bought by Sleemans so.... My personal favorite brewery in Québec is the Trois Mousquetaires microbrew. They make mostly central Europe inspired beers with a twist. for example, two days ago I drank a 10% Imperial Weisen. It was crazy good. They also make a 10% baltic style Porter with smoked hops (it's too sweet to drink more then one glass but it's good), and many others. What I like about them is that they have their big sellers that they always brew, and then they experiment a bit.

[Miklus]

For your amusement, here is my electric bill. It is very typical danish, I trust you can see why:

Electicity: 100Kr
Electricity subscription: 30Kr
VAT: 33Kr
Electricity transportation: 87Kr
Public Service (???) 32Kr
Net subscription: 162Kr
Electricity Tax: 167Kr
Electricity distribution fee: 12Kr
CO2-tax: 27Kr
VAT (Again): 122Kr

Total: 772Kr

So 100Kr worth of electricity costs 772Kr...I have no idea what most of those posts are, least of all "public service" (Offentlige forpligtelser).

[Kneenibble]

Unibrou is alright for the basic beer, their red ale and their pilsners are palatable, also I'm told their fruity beers are alright if that's what you like. But their strong beers suck balls. They taste like someone poured moonshine in a beer, the alcohol taste completely overpowers the rest.

Er, pardon your French? :smallwink:
I haven't found the alcohol taste in their strong beers overpowering. It's got a delightful fire to it.

I'm going to check for the Trois Mousquetaires the next time I'm browsing. Sounds tasty.

[thorgrim29]

Every taste is in nature I guess. They have 3 lines of products, first the ''common" beer, in regular sized bottles. 4 kinds of these, red, blond, white and black. Then you have bigger bottles in many varieties.

[Gaelbert]

Well I'll be moving in the next few months so I'll describe where I'm going. It's a very modern and urban place, not much farmland or unused countryside. It's also very current with trends, and has excellent music. It is fairly cool and foggy throughout the year, partially due to it's location by an ocean. People are nice, and it has nice mass transportation (at least compared to neighboring regions). All in all, I can't find many reasons one wouldn't want to live in the Republic of Berkeley. :smallcool:

[13_CBS]

I've lived in three places all of my life. Grew up in one, was born in and visited another a few times, and I currently study in the third.


The first: suburbs of Norcross and Alpharetta, Georgia, in the USA.

Weather: Hot and humid summers. North Georgian summers typically range from about 80 (mild) to, at worst, 100 or so Farenheit (about 26 to 37 degrees Celcius). Winters are, especially compared to that of northern USA or most of Europe north of Switzerland, are very very mild, and snow is a rarity that people love due to Georgia's capital, Atlanta, being incredibly sensitive to snow days--a light snowfall results in almost all businesses and schools closing. (Though, there was that one ice storm ten or more years ago that turned chunks of Georgia into a winter wonderland. THAT was awesome.) The hot and humid summers usually aren't so bad since most (suburban) folks have easy access to air conditioners, and if all else fails there are plenty of pools to go to, or shade to sit under. In short, people rarely complain about the heat too much (aside from, "Woah, hot out today!"), although the sun tends to turn the inside of cars into miniature ovens. I've taken to a habit of "airing out" heated cars because of this: superhot metal seat belt buckles are...unpleasant to touch. Until fairly recently there's been a drought that caused the state to begin imposing water restrictions, especially for car washing and lawn watering, and our only (and artificial) lake of any real significance, Lake Lanier, dropped to worryingly low levels, but this seems to have become less of a problem nowadays.

People: my experience with people from my hometown is somewhat skewed, mostly due to my ethnicity. I'm ethnically fully Korean, and I grew up going to an all-Korean church and living in a culturally Korean house, but my schooling was entirely American. That, combined with my asocial nature, laziness, and the distance from which my middle/high school was from my home (it was a private school in Atlanta, while I lived just outside of the city in Alpharetta or Norcross), meant that I never really got to meet and get to know the people right around me, who were primarily Caucasian. My impression is that the people who live in Georgian suburbs within easy reach of the capital city of Atlanta are rather friendly people. If you happen across your neighbor while you're out for a walk, chances are high that he or she will give you a big smile and wave you a hello. All of the neighbors I've had so far rarely, if ever, caused problems or complained about us causing problems. Thus, the stereotype of "Southern Hospitality" applies here, especially when compared to my 3rd area. I can't say much about the "intelligence" of folks from my hometown, partly because, as I said, I've rarely had to opportunity to meet them, but also because I went to a private middle/high school with very high academic standards, so pretty much everyone I ever hung out with (that is, my classmates) were either goofy, fairly intelligent, or geniuses. (This exposure to mostly educated, knowledgable, and smart people has caused me to disfavor the usual, cynical, "all people are dumb" attitude that pervades youth and young adults nowadays.) In the suburbs, homeless people are a rarity. I've heard rumors, though, that certain parts of the urbanized areas of Atlanta are heavily populated by homeless folks, especially around a certain park that I forget the name of. A friend of mine who sometimes had to walk through the area claims that they have sort of a hive-mind: if one of the homeless asks you for change, and you decline them rudely or violently, the others immediately know and descend upon you like a swarm. :smalleek: One more thing of note: Alpharetta, Norcross, and counties such as Gwinett and Cobb seemed to have an unusually large Chinese and Korean population. One of the high schools that my friends have gone to had so many Asian students that it offered Mandarin Chinese and, if I recall correctly, Korean as foreign language classes. Where I'm from, outside of colleges, that sort of thing is very, VERY unusual (especially compared to my high school, which dropped German, Russian, and Japanese due to their unpopularity, and Latin is about to be axed. People only want to take Spanish and French, it seems. :smallannoyed:) Said groups of Asians tend to cluster around their churches and Super H Mart supermarkets: Super H markets can be accompanied by dozens of Asian restaurants, cafes, and miscellaneous stores.

Food: Heavily depends on what sort of culture you grew up in, of course, but home cooking for me has been quite varied outside of my house. My brother, who's culturally almost 100% "American", eats various foods from meatloaf, to his or his wife's versions of foreign foods (Korean, Thai, Chinese, Hispanic, etc.) A lot of homes are large enough to have a patio where one could set up a barbecue grill, so if you're inclined to do some cooking you could grill something. In urban Atlanta and he suburbs around it, stereotypical southern foods (buscuits (http://www.olsouthrecipes.com/images/biscuits2.jpg), fried chicken (http://blissfullydomestic.com/wp-content/uploads/oven-fried-chicken1.jpg), grits, which is essentially porridge or gruel made from corn (http://i.ehow.com/images/GlobalPhoto/Articles/4785684/520px-Gritsonly-main_Full.jpg), etc.) aren't really staples, as far as I know, but school lunches sometimes feature them. Traditional southern food is fatty and likes to use shortening, probably due to the South's rural roots (AFAIK, many places where manual labor is the name of game often eat fatty foods), but, compared to a lot of Northeastern USA food, it...tastes less greasy somehow. Except for low-quality fried chicken, I suppose. My brother also likes to eat at restaurants, and in Norcross there are lots of Korean and Hispanic restaurants, enough so that pretty much any Korean or Hispanic living somewhere in the area has fairly easy access to Korean or Hispanic food, respectively. My impression is that, for a Korean to not know the location of any nearby Korean restaurants is like someone not knowing where their house is. As for fast food, popular fast food chains include McDonalds (often for a quick breakfast), Burger King (also good for a quick breakfast), Checkers (I get the impression that it's popular with primarily poor Hispanic and black folks, though it might just be me), and Chick Fil A (the chicken biscuits were practically part of my high school's culture). I dunno about Kentucky Fried Chicken or similar fried chicken restaurants, though I guess they're pretty popular.

Travel: YOU. NEED. A. CAR. No no no, don't tell me that you refuse to contribute to global warming or whatever. It won't work. You absolutely need a car to get around the area. Why? It's because everything is usually too far away to bike or walk to, and public transportation is either crappy or non-existent. Take, for example, Atlanta's MARTA system. The map of where the trains go is more like a Cartesian coordinate graph than anything else: there's a Y axis going north and south, and an X axis going east and west. And that's it. You're out of luck if you live in, say, the northeast, southeast, southwest, or northwest part of Atlanta, unless you happen to have a bus stop near your house. I don't see a whole ton of taxis in the city, and definitely none in Norcross/Alpharetta. There's also not a whole lot of interesting things in the suburbs outside of the city, so to get to the city you'll need a car. Almost no buses are seen outside of Atlanta. It cuts down on the pollution, but also makes cars VITAL to everyday life. That said, the roads are pretty nice. Atlanta is ringed by the highway I-285, so people usually ride on that for a bit, then switch to another highway that actually goes through Atlanta to get to where they need to go. They're fairly easy to navigate, and are of good quality, but God help you if it's rush hour. :smalleek: A lot of people who work in Atlanta seem to commute there, so that means lots and LOTS of cars.

Misc.: The suburbs are eye candy since the lawns are usually well maintained and people often plant flower beds here and there on their property. The dirtier parts of places just outside of Atlanta aren't that dirty, I think, aside from the occasional areas stricken by poverty. There's not a whole lot to do, though, in terms of exciting places to go to and cool things to do. Our most "awesome" thing is either our aquarium (we went NUTS over that, mostly since...there was nothing remotely interesting in Atlanta until it came along), our malls (which are expansive and quite nice), and our High Museum/Woodruff Arts Center. Atlanta Symphony Orchestra For the Effing Win, bitches. :smallamused: Who's got a Grammy award and one of the best youth orchestras in the entire country, plus some of the best classical music instructors in the country outside of Juliard or Curtis? Hell yeah, ASO!

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The second: the urban areas of Seoul, South Korea.

Weather: I was surprised by the fact that it felt almost exactly like Georgia, except for the bitterly cold winters that are somehow colder than that of many NE USA cities. Hot and humid summers, cold and snowy winters. Unfortunately, air conditioners aren't as easily available: most South Koreans live in giant high-rise apartments where air conditioners are rarely, if ever, installed into the homes, so one has to buy a refrigerator-sized machine that cools the room. I hope you like electric fans. Heating is included, though it's usually in the form of heated floors, so I hope you like having your butt warm in winters, since people often sit on the floor in Korea. (Wealthier families have couches, but Korean families can get big, so if there's no more space on the couch...) Also, in the summers, I hope you like cicadas, since those things are EVERYWHERE. Fortunately, almost everything is within walking distance in Korea (no, really, almost everything aside from major business stuff is close by), so if you're feeling too hot then ice cream is close by.

People: I haven't truly lived and mingled among Koreans, so my experience is a bit skewed. They're fairly boisterous, as far as I can tell, though perhaps not to the point that Mediterranean peoples can be. People love drinking: salarymen frequently drink after work, and AFAIK they do quite a bit of it. A walk through the streets of Seoul at night means having to see tipsy men wearing business suits, unless you're in areas popular with youths. Despite the energetic nature of the people, though, there's also a level of formality among people of different "levels": kids are expected to be rather polite with adults, and the same with younger kids to older kids and younger adults to older adults. This is probably due to Korea's Confucian roots, imported from China. Foreigners are rare in Korea, and they're very easily distinguishable in a crowd. My impression is that Koreans regard foreigners in Seoul as something of a curiosity, but rarely with malice. Due to the relative lack of space (Seoul is a dense city), people seem to be pretty social: many of Seoul's "places where you do stuff to chill out" seem to be designed for couples or groups of friends.

Food: I grew up on Korean food, so Seoul's cuisine is familiar to me, and probably to others who eat a lot of Korean food. Kimchi (various kinds of spiced and pickled vegetables, the most popular kind using napa cabbages (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napa_cabbage)) and rice is the Bread & Butter of Korean cuisine, except healthier for you since kimchi is quite nutritious and flavorful. One feature of Seoul Korean food is spice: like in Arakis, spice is everywhere in almost everything you eat, except for dessert. Korean food also likes stews, and thus much of Korean cuisine consists of spicy stews, featuring mostly vegetables with the occasional bit of meat to keep things interesting. The social equivalent of a multi-person steak dinner is barbecue, served on tables that feature built-in grills. Customers are expected to cook the bite-sized meat for themselves. The most popular kind of barbecued meat is beef short ribs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galbi), marinated or unmarinated, though pork short ribs are also popular (though pork short ribs seem to be associated more with casual social meals, like an American barbecue dinner). Said bits of bite-sized meat is often wrapped in large lettuce or lettuce-like leaves, packed aling with a glob of white rice and some kind of falvoring paste (usually fermented soybean paste (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermented_bean_paste) orfermented hot pepper paste (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gochujang)). Among adults, these barbecue sessions are accompanied by alcohol, which is almost always some kind of beer or soju rice alcohol (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soju). There's also ramen noodles, ddeokbokki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ddeokbokki), or oden, frequently served in street stalls or comfort food restaurants (or even made at home) if you want the Korean equivalent of a pizza or hamburger. Alternatively, if you want something "classier", there are Korean cafes serving Koreanized coffee (which, aside from espresso and similar, is relatively light) and Korean pastries. These places are popular with youths and young adults who want a quiet, classy atmosphere to talk and hang out. Aside from Koreanized Chinese food and Japanese food, however, foreign cuisine seems to be either rare or crummy: if you're looking for a good hamburger, avoid Korean McDonalds and Burger Kings. Please. They're not all that great in America, and they're even worse in Korea. (Speaking of foreign foods, Koreanized Chinese and Japanese foods are very popular among Korean adults, to the point where they seem to be part of Korean food culture the same way that pizza, spaghetti, tacos, and burritos are all but American foods despite their foreign origins.) Finally, you pretty much trip over restaurants in Seoul. Koreans love eating, apparently.

Travel: Public transportation is AMAZING. There's literally no place in Seoul that you couldn't get to via some combination of subway, bus, and walking. A map of the subway is here (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Seoul_Subway_linemap_en.png). It looks sparse, but the dense and tangled part over to the right is really where Seoul is anyway, and the buses are frequent and fast. Best of all, public transport is, compared to Atlanta and Philadelphia, CHEAP. You could travel a significant portion of the city for less than 1 American dollar (about 900 to 1100 Korean Wons), and switching from bus to train is cheap if you do so in less than 20 minutes or so. If all else fails, there are taxis, whose drivers aren't the friendliest people in the world but they get the job done. (They can be a little pricey, but good grief they're cheap compared to Philadelphia). Biking is a little difficult since there are no bike lanes and the sidewalks are usually crowded, but that's not too bad since most things are within walking distance, and for everything else there's the public transport system. As for cars...having a car is a bit of a luxury, and isn't terribly necessary if you don't really go anywhere outside of the city. Parking is a NIGHTMARE, though, especially around the high rises, since people are forced to park so that cars are often trapped in a labyrinth of other cars. As a result, it's customary to leave your car in Neutral after you park, in case some fellow has to move your car aside to get his out.

Misc.: Seoul is a very vibrant, energetic, and fun place to be...if you have friends with you. If you don't, there are always the PC Rooms, which are like internet cafes without the cafes. In return, you get to rent good computers at affordable prices, and dear god Korean internet is AMAZING. I think 100 mb is the norm, and it's FAST. (Starcraft players can't afford to have lag messing up their games, you know. :smalltongue:) The internet and videogame culture is just as vibrant as the city life. There's also a lot of historical museums and parks to go to; there was one place that was pretty much a tourists' version of a traditional Korean village, with people selling very traditional foods and forging brass trinkets by hand, etc. (Korean candy is very tasty, if unique.) TV is different, AFAIK: most of the programs tend to be dramas (historical or modern, and I hate EVERY ONE OF THEM) talk show documentaries featuring some random aspect of Korean life, or game shows very similar to that of Japan.

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And finally, Philadelphia, USA. I've lived here for about 1.5 years thanks to college. Let me say right now that I HATE Philadelphia. So. Much.

Weather: Summers are slightly milder and less humid that Georgia's or Seoul's, but air conditioners are a hassle to get. Thus, I hope you like electric fans. Fortunately, most homes seem to feature a built in heating system. The winters are colder and snowier than Georgia's, but is still milder than Seoul's. Overall, though, it's kinda miserable and glum, since it's often cloudy and wet.

People: Hoo boy. They say that urban folks from Northeastern USA are grumpy, unfriendly people...and after having lived in the South for so long, I have to say that it's relatively true. The people here are much gruffer, blunter, and in my experience, not too terribly friendly. And this is just in the center/eastern parts of the city. West and northeastern Philadelphia, meanwhile, seem to be giant slums, fully of impoverished folks and gangs. The area where I live, University City, is populated by primarily poorer black or Caucasian people, excepting students. It's...not the friendliest of places, and my native Philadelphian friends readily attest to this. (They or their family have been frequently mugged or beaten on the streets, since they came from rough neighborhoods.) For your own safety, please don't go outside any later than midnight. I'm serious. They call it "Killadelphia" for a reason, and I'm certain they call it "The City of Brotherly Love" with heavy sarcasm. There's a reason why Will Smith's character from Fresh Prince of Bell-Air was sent out of W. Philadelphia to California. FYI, I feel cheerful in Georgia, safe in Seoul, and paranoid about getting mugged in Philadelphia.

Food: :smallannoyed: Grease. All of the food I've encountered is either cafeteria food or grease. It's actually forced me to start cooking, which is nice, but...grease. I hope you like it. And it's not the kind of Southern fattiness, either, it's the kind of heavy grease that sits in your stomach and gives you indigestion (or at least gives me an indigestion). Also, no matter what people tell you, Philadelphia Cheese Steaks aren't all that great. They're like hamburgers, except on a longer bun and the meat is less dense. There's various foreign foods, but due to me being on a college cafeteria meal plan, I can't afford to go to restaurants too much. The Korean food around my area is utterly crappy, unlike Georgia's. Thus, the Philadelpian food that I've had so far gets one big :smallannoyed: from me.

Travel: :smallfurious: If you don't have a bike, getting around beyond walking distance is a hassle in Philadelphia. There's SEPTA, which runs the buses and trains, but it's crappy. It goes on strike every year, the buses are late and infrequent, and it's relatively slow, loud, expensive, and at times dangerous (people get mugged on the platforms, and bystanders do nothing about it). If you do have a bike, it's much better. Cars are of little help, since Philadelphian drivers are either incompetent, rule-breaking, or downright mean.

Misc: I've yet to get around Philadelphia too much, so the fun spots that I know of are limited. The Art Museum and my university's Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology are pretty good if you like that sort of thing, and there's the Liberty Bell, but aside from that, I know very little other fun spots. The one mall that I know of, The Gallery, pales in comparison to the places I've been to in Seoul and Georgia, and its entrances are frequented by shady looking folks. Cost of living is fairly high, too, so don't expect excellent prices.

Yeah. Philadelphia sucks. A lot.

[Maximum Zersk]

Canadian. Depending on where you live it can be C-C-C-COLD, or OMFGWTFHOT.

The part I live in is both at the same time. :smalltongue:

Let's see, what else... Our television is O-kay for some part, and our government is immature. In music... moving on. :smalltongue: Since we're multicultural, we have lotta different foods, which is tasty.

That's it, I guess.

[Elves-as-People]

Elves-aren't-people: They had more than just boomerangs, y'know. And even of those they have a whole lot of different ones. For example, there's one or two that's designed to get between the legs of a kangaroo or emu and not only trip it over, but break its legs in the process. So ner :smalltongue:
Anyway, our desert people would beat you soft plains-folk just on survival in a desert :smalltongue: As for the rivers... Well, I think Gallo covered that. Although he failed to mention the boisterous bunyips, swimming snakes and poisonous platypuses.

I can't believe I missed this earlier - firstly, ARE TOO!

Since when do you get to choose the terrain, eh? And if you did a little research you'd see there is a mountain that shares the same name as the tribe in English, which is not coincidental. EAT MOUNTAIN WARFARE! (Amusingly enough, the mountain and the pale people who attacked us have similar names in Shasta, as the mountain tends to be snow covered.) Also, we have/had Bears, which as you may know, are godless killing machines with big, thick legs, claws, and a diet that includes anything and everything, especially invaders! Ha! Seriously, though, I'd really like to point out again how silly this all is.

Speaking of California, we have an enormous variety even within the State (enough to be our own excellent separate nation... ), especially along the borders (like our fabulous coast).