Teach me about your country! :3

[Ayane]

To be honest, I don't know a thing about any other country, I barely know anything about my own(USA/Jamaica)! xD So, I'd like to hear from others about their country and it's culture/language/food/etc...<3

[Nattfall]

Well, I'm from Norway. It's a boring place, really, but has got a lot of beautiful landscapes and stuff.

Just to kill some myths right away:
- there are no polar bears in Norway (the exceptions are the northern, close to unpopulated islands to the far north, like Svalbard and Jan Mayen).
- it is NOT the capital of Sweden xD
- not all of Norway is fjords and midnight sun. The fjords are located to the west, while the midnight sun is in northern Norway only.
- Norway is not supercold and snow-covered all the time. Right now, in summer, the temperature might rise to about 30 degrees and more.
- the vikings didn't wear hats with horns on them.

Uhm, well, what else? Norway's economy comes from mainly oil and fishing industry, I think. The capital is Oslo, other large cities are Bergen, Trondheim, Tromsø, Kristiandsand and Stavanger, among others. Our national costume is called bunad and differs in look and decorations depending on where in Norway you're from. My bunad is the Lier bunad, and looks like this:



Also, as mentioned in the Norway thread, we have two written languages: bokmål and nynorsk. Nynorsk is mainly used in the western areas. Bokmål is used by more people than nynorsk. The language itself has similarities to Swedish, Danish, Icelandic and "Færøysk" (really, I have no idea what it is in English! But you know, the language they talk at the islands north of England and west of Norway... I don't know what they're called in English, and I much less know what their language is called in English!), and derives from Norse. I guess some words look unpronounceable to someone speaking English, like "angstskrik" (as PomPom mentioned in the Norway thread) and "skjelmskt", but it's really not that hard when you know the language

Uhm, yeah, in case you didn't know, it is located to the north of Europe, bordering to Sweden, Finland and Russia.

If there's anything else you want to know, just ask! Or let the other Norwegians on AsiaJam post it :]

[Ayane]

That was a lot of good info, Nattfall! :'D I have a 'few' questions...xD
30 degrees celecius? What is that if fahrenheit? xD What's a fjords? ;3; Do people still wear the bunad? Do you have to know Nynorsk to visit Norway? O: What is the thing a tourist has to see when they go to Norway?

[Nattfall]

Yup, it's Celsius. Gah. I tend to forget that there is Fahrenheit as well x) So relax, it's not THAT cold xD
A fjord is... erm... it's difficult to explain. Let Wikipedia deal with it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fjord
Yeah, we still wear them, but only on special occasions, like weddings, the 17th of May (Constitution Day), confirmations etc.
And no, you don't have to know Nynorsk to visit Norway. It's a written language only, and most public signs or other public written... things... are written in Bokmål. And Norwegians in general are rather good at talking English, so don't sweat
Hmmm... I've read that Geirangerfjorden (pictured on the Wikipedia link) is a popular tourist choice. Hurtigruta, a ferry that goes from Bergen to Bodø and makes it possible to view the midnight sun, is popular as well. And of course is our capital Oslo a much visited tourist spot! Every time I go there I see all those tourists taking pictures of seemingly random stuff, such as signs, streets, flowers or whatever I guess I act just as stupid whenever I visit another country, though... xD
And by the way, this is maybe a bit off-topic, but while we're at it, I recommend you to check out this fantastic Norwegian band Gåte. They use traditional instruments (such as the Harding Fiddle) in their songs, but mix it up with electric guitars and synthesizers. They're awesome! They sing folk songs and traditional poems. This song rocks out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mes1pKLax-Y

[laura-aap]

well, Im from holland.
it's tiny but mega famous about windmills, tullips and those horrible wooden shoes.

holland is a multiculture country, meaning you can find anything you want from other countries everywhere. and off course there are people from all around the world living in holland.

holland is pretty expencive though. the euro is too high making it all so expensive to buy stuff here.

need more =3 ?

[phren]

kukuk i will tell about england ! xD ask more though o 3o 'cause i don't know much of what to say. also i live in south west england, which is quite rural (although i live in a city) and not so many big cities like london etc etc here...

i'll say myths first like nattfall did ne ~
1- everyone knows the queen but she really does not do anything. she has little to no power over politics or atleast it seems that way.
2- it does not rain all the time xD however the weather is quite variable so it can rain a lot in summer etc etc. right now it's summer but still springish weather. last year's may was much hotter than this.
3-there are sooo many regional accents. i think uk has the most regional accents for it's size? not many people talk like the english butlers on films haha.
4-i don't know what other myths there are about england hm hm ~

i think england is really relatively fairly similar to the US aha. so i dunno what else to say kukuk. ask meee huhu

[Casi Leigh]

This is such a freakin' cool idea for a post. I always see all the different countries Jammers are from and think, man, if we ever got together, we'd NEVER run out of things to ask each other, haha.


Laura, I'm going to run away and come visit you in Hollaaaaand!! I've always wanted to go there. I've only been to Europe once and we ran out of time before we made it there.

Phren, I love you for living in my favorite country EVAR. When I'm done with my literature degree, I plan to take some time off to live in England for awhile. <33333 Plus, you know what they say about Yanks...we're bonkers for a pretty accent.

So let's see, if you live in Jamaica, that's pretty far from where I live in the U.S. so I'll tell you about it too!! I live in Arkansas and have for my entire life.

Myths: Not EVERYONE is missing the majority of their teeth, sitting on their front porch barefoot and strumming a banjo. (Okay there are some of these people but not ALL, hehe)

We do not deep-fry ALL of our food. Well, a lot but not all of it, haha. Ever had fried pickles before? Mmmmm.

Truth: It does get unbearably, swelteringly hot down here. The humidity in the south is so thick in mid-summer that you could cut it with a knife. My fiance is from South America and he swears up and down that a lot of our denser forest areas look and feel quite a bit like South American rainforests. Same general temperature and air consistency.

If you get away from the towns and cities (Ehh, what we call cities anyways, even the state capital isn't that big), the scenery is absolutely incredible. We have some of the best fishing and hunting in the world. We also grow rice and have diamonds!!! Most people don't know that, hehe.

Northern Arkansas is the nation's leading producer of chicken. (Tyson's is based here.) So all along the outskirts of the towns there are huge, enormous chicken farms. Everywhere. You get used to the smell if you live here long enough. o_O

The odd thing here in northwest Arkansas is that Walmart is based here. They have built up the business college at the University of Arkansas here in Fayetteville and poured endless amounts of money into the local community. Now, this might sound like a good thing because now we are actually experiencing art, theater, and culture in a place that previously was almost entirely rural. However, it's very strange to see a place that was almost entirely farm land when I was a child becoming a metropolis. We still have such odd extremes here. You can still see old farmers driving their rusted pick ups through town with a shotgun in the floor board and a couple of bales of hay in the back. Then you can look across the street and see the billing for the upcoming theater and symphony season. It's kinda strange.

It makes for a really fun lifestyle if you're big on outdoor stuff.

Note: The actions and statements of the Clinton family in no way represent the opinions of the residents of the state of Arkansas. Hehehe. Seriously, though, it does get aggravating sometimes. Last time I was in Venice, I was attempting to communicate with a clerk in a glass shop (I speak really rough Italian) and when he asked where I was from and I said Arkansas, he spread his arms, grinned really big, and yelled," BILLY!" (As in "BILL clinton") I was mortified.

[diadori]

so i'm from canada. yay-ish.

myths about canada:
- no, we do not all own pet moose, beaver, deer, etc. that would be quite dangerous.
- polar bears only live in the far north and in churchill, manitoba. they can't survive anywhere else in canada.
- we live in houses, apartments, condo, etc not igloos.
- penguins don't live in canada.
- no one says "aboot". that's a silly myth that is completely and utterly untrue unless speaking about rural newfies.
- our accents aren't weird, yours are

haha, there's alot of silly myths about canada. here's some facts:

- canada is the second largest country in the world, in regards to land. we have a fairly tiny population.
- canada played a major role in WWII.
- we're a bilingual contry, but we have only one bilingual province.
- there was a law enacted that made it that any canadian broadcasting, such as radio and tv would have to play a certain amount of canadian content (something like 80% of broadcasts). this was because there was concern over the loss of canadian culture to american culture.)

iunno.. it's hard to think about things special about your country because everything seems kind of boring.

[Sweet_Lolita]

Sweden:

*Stockholm is the capital city

*Sweden has a royal family(King & Queen + 2 princesses and 1 prince). The second oldest, princess Madeleine, is said to be one of most beautiful princesses in the world.


*H&M and IKEA has swedish founders ^^


*In the summer, it has started to be very hot(wich I don't like), and we're invaded by german and dutch tourists. The national animal is moose, and tourists loves to buy souvenirs with moose print(and vikings!)


*In the winter we often have lots of snow, it's cold, and it gets dark earlier.



More info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden

[Nitsue-chan]

Cool thread!
So I'm from Puerto Rico (I haven't seen anyone else in AsiaJam from here. =[) Oh well...Few facts about us.

-Puerto Rico is an island. You can probably get from one side to another in 3 hours. Which isn't a bad thing. Lots of malls etc.etc.
-Puerto Rico is bigger than Singapore.
-Spanish is our first language but we don't use it right. We talk waaay different than the normal spanish. We don't pronounce certain words right so even people that know spanish have a hard time understanding us... xD
-We're Puertoricans but we call ourselves "Boricua".
-Puerto Rico is part of USA but we're not a state.
-Puertoricans are very proud people. =\
-We don't have any snow. It's always summer here. Lowest temperature being 75 and highest around 110.
-We call USA citizens "gringos" lol...I've seen some of them get offended when we call them that. xD
-Ricky Martin's from here.
-Reggaeton was originated here. [Daddy Yankee]
-We're known for being party people. We seriously do parties for anything and everything! xD
-Puertorican woman are supposedly the most beautiful. [which is not true] because of their curves and big hips.

In my opinion...I absolutely love this place. I love the people. I used to hate living here but now I've come to love my little island xD

If you anybody wants to know anything else, feel free to ask!

[demoipourvous]

Philippines

- We have over 7000 islands here...not all are inhabited though.
- The Philippines is called "The Pearl of the Orient Seas" I don't really know that came about.
- We're called Filipinos (singular being Filipino), not Filipinoes, not Philipinoes and all the other ways you can think of spelling it ...we call ourselves "Pinoy".
- We have over 180 dialects and languages. Most Filipinos can speak 2, plus because of exposure to Western influences, we can also speak English.
- We can't live without rice...all meals must have rice!
- We only have two seasons here. Hot and Rainy. Right now we're in Rainy :P
- A lot of the provinces here are known internationally as tropical getaways.

Hmmm...as for myths about Filipinos to debunk...I don't know of any. It makes me wonder what other people think or assume about us.

Anyway, if you have any questions about the Philippines, just ask.

[Nattfall]

Originally Posted by diadori

- no one says "aboot". that's a silly myth that is completely and utterly untrue unless speaking about rural newfies.

I actually thought that xD I think I've watched too much South Park...

[qiaoer]

_Portugal_

- Is funny to realize that a lot of people don't know where it is or what it is. - It happens mostly with people outside Europe! :P
- Some people think it is a province of Spain, some other people think it is some latin american country.
- Actually is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east.
- The capital is Lisbon (Pt: Lisboa)

- However, nowadays a lot of people know Portugal thanks to Football (a kind of a religion here)

- Anyway, it is ok not to be known because it is a very small country with no major events. Except during the XVI century. At that time, the portuguese navigation through the sea discover a lot of places and made a lot of cultural connections - the first Europeans to arrive on Japanese soil were portuguese (Francisco Xavier) and Portuguese allways had a strong connection with the contact between Europe and Asia because of the jesuits. I'm sure you know about Macau (ex-portuguese colony); Vasco da Gama detecting the sea way to India and Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral that discover Brazil...

And now we are just trying survive to an economic crisis. A lot portuguese people live outside the country, especially in France and Switzerland.

[diadori]

Originally Posted by Nattfall

I actually thought that xD I think I've watched too much South Park...

mmmmm.. as long as you know now. it can be very annoying when you say to someone "oh, yeah i'm from canada" and they say "oooooh reaaaallly? where ABOOT in canada? AhaAHhahaHAhahA i'm so funny". try to avoid ever brining it up with a canadian.

[Pimpom]

I love this thread! ♥ It's very interesting to read.
I can't think of anything more to say about Norway... I'll think about it for a while!

[AmyLou]

England!

- We are very into our sport here especially football which is soccer in America! There are 4 "main" teams - Man United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. I support Man City though, so... >_> (and they suck)

- Our school is split up into years, not grades like in America... but I think 9th grade is year 10? I'm in ninth grade if that's correct xD

- We english do not: know the queen or david beckham, everyone does not drink tea (though I do) and we don't have posh accents.

- We have chavs D= They are the worst people in the world... x-x

- The three biggest cities are Manchester (WOO!! I am from here), London (capital city - I may be visiting here soon) and Birmingham (where my cousins are from)

- We have annoying TV presenters such as Philip Scofield and Steven Mulhern.

- We are seriously lazy when it comes to learning languages.. D=

I did have more.. I'll add it on later

It's dead interesting learning about everyones country!

[forsheezy]

USA: New York
- We have the best pizza and hot dogs in the entire country. Yes, that is a FACT
- We're also one of the most diverse areas of the country
- Crazy people are quite common in the city
- All the stuck up rich kids live on Long Island (The Gotti's anyone? Went to summer school with one of those guidos)
- Guidos and Gangsters are mainly the problem with NY. Druggies too.
- New Yorkers hate New Jersey people because NJ smells and its citizens can't drive
- I could prove the "Angry New Yorker" stereotype wrong, but I am quite an angry person...
- We're WAY cooler than Californians, we're just not as obnoxious about it

I guess that's about all I can think of XD
BTW I don't truly hate New Jersey or California... that much.

[Lee Je Ah]

Romania- Video about some Romanian symbols http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzcuB...eature=related

* It's known as the country of Ceausescu (the communist dictator), Hagi&Mutu (the footballers) and Dracula (the vampire)

* We are latins together with Italians, Spaniards, Portuguese, French, Catalans (Romanian language resembles so much with the other latin languages- Romanians understand easily Spanish, Italian and sometimes French)

* Our capital is not Budapest, it's Bucharest
* Bucharest is also known as "the little Paris"- because its architecture resembles with the French one and because of the fact that there is a Triumphal arch both in Paris (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...DeTriomphe.JPG) and Bucharest (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...st_Triumpf.jpg)

* the population of my country is not made of orphans, poor people, gypsies or thieves (this is due to bad publicity)

* we are not vampires!
A summary of the legend: Vlad III the Impaler (his name comes from the method he used in order to torture and execute thieves,murderers, criminals) is known as Dracula even though recent research suggests that Bram Stoker (the author of the book "Dracula") knew little about him. Some have claimed that the novel owes more to the legends about the Hungarian Countess Elizabeth Báthory (known also as Blood Countess and Countess Dracula)- she was bathing in the blood of virgins in order to retain her youth.
* Bran Castle is also known as Dracula's castle http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ran_Castle.jpg

*We have a merry cemetery in the north of the country (this is quite unusual)

And another presentation video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Byczv...eature=related

If someone else is Romanian, feel free to add extra information
If you have questions about Romania feel free to ask

[Nattfall]

Originally Posted by AmyLou

- We have chavs D= They are the worst people in the world... x-x

What are chavs?

Btw, I love this thread! That castle is beautiful, Lee Je Ah! I wish we had castles in Norway too... ><

[phren]

@casi; aha the accent really depends where you go, although really to non-english people they sounds more similar. personally i think some uk accents sound awful > x<

@amy; woo fellow english person ! it's interesting if stuff varies around the country too (i'm down in devon/ southwest with the farmers and devonshire tea woooo)