How is your country?

Jungle

Jungle

1
Hello people,

I am making this thread as a personal curiosity regarding how other countries are in every aspect one could think of, I am also sure that all of us here will learn a lot from this. Your inputs are more than welcome!

Let me start :

Algeria :

  1. Social/Cultural aspect :

    *Pedestrians love to jaywalk, even when there are big and clear pavements, as a matter of fact, police doesn't do anything about it, and there are some parts of town where roads are downright sidewalks.

    *Our dialect is a mix between butchered French and North-African Arabic, I personally hate this, and speak as little french words as I can.

    *Apart from the month of Ramadhan (the fasting month), there's almost no one hanging outside after 8-9 pm, even in the freaking capital for god's sake.

    *There is no such thing as 'hired' taxis, they pick passengers on the road even though you are inside, on the other hand, it is quite cheap.

    *The majority of people don't respect the road code.

    *You'll never see women smoking, it is utterly taboo. (in neighboring Tunisia it is not)

    *You'll hardly see Arabic as a display language on people's cellphones, everything related to technology is in French.

    *People still count in old currency, even though we've been having a new one for more than 20 years.

    *Most of people don't know how to make a proper queue.

  2. Industrial aspect :

    *The majority of food products don't even have their nutritional values displayed, let alone percentages of x (yes, local chocolates don't even have % of cacao).

    *There is a huge lack of food variety, for example, the only cereals available on the market are wheat (refined mostly), and sometimes barley.

  3. Business aspect :

    *Even though French isn't an official language, most of the advertisements are in written in French, services are provided in both French and Arabic.

    *Transport companies don't work late at night, not even the tram, metro...etc.

    *Public hospitals are free.

  4. Religious aspect :

    *During the month of Ramadhan, when it's almost the time to eat, everything is deserted, and drivers don't respect any code anymore, because getting home to fill their stomach is the only thing that matters to them.

    *Sunday is not a weekend, Friday is instead.

    *During the Friday's prayer, everything is closed, and people park their cars however they want during that time (even at roundabouts).

    *Police turn into inquisition during the month of Ramadhan, if they see you eating in the middle of the day, they'll nick you!

    *If you are a tourist (non-muslim one), well bad luck for you, because fast-foods and restaurants are closed during Ramadhan.

    *Women wearing skirts or with light clothes are strongly frowned upon.

    *You'll never see people kissing in public (on the mouth).

    *'Religion' is everywhere.
 
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AtTheGates

AtTheGates

Banned
in america people are given the freedom to do pretty much whatever they want (within bounds of the law) and most people take complete advantage of that fact.


a lot of people in america these days live there lives away from god..either because they never knew him to begin with or because they're confused as to what he's really about (or she...god might be a chick. who knows )

a lot of people these days are confused as to what christianity really is. they dont realize that its about having love and light in your heart. thats literally the fundamental cornerstone of being a christian ...and so many people just dont understand that.


im not saying that everyone in the world should be a christian but I AM saying that everyone in the world should have light and love in their heart....









.and if they DONT have that in their heart?...........well............thats going to be a problem.









but anyway I forgot to mention, america has some of worst eating happens in the entire world. lol . its like people here will eat ANYTHING.
 
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H

Hot_Tamale

Well-known member
I'm from south Texas and I feel like ATG hit the nail on the head. America does have some of the worst eating habits in the world. In fact I frequent one of my favorite restaurants and I pay almost 2.5 dollars more for a salad than I would for any other item on the menu, it's sad but it's worth it to me. McDonalds & Burger King are serving cheaper and faster food and putting people in hospitals faster than our physicians can keep up with. It's ironic to me that I'm graduating with a masters degree in exercise science soon but I work in a fattening restaurant literally right next to a frozen yogurt shop and a Krispey Kreme.

I agree with ATG that not everyone should be a Christian, Catholic, etc, etc but everyone should have love in their hearts. The good news? The world does have love in their hearts. The bad news? In America that love is for themselves only it feels like. If you have a life threatening condition then hospitals will literally give you the cold shoulder if you have no insurance. If a patients insurance runs out while they're receiving treatment and they can't take out a loan then they're put on the streets, it's sickening.

The LBGT movement in America is huge too so it's a difficult time to be a Christian because society views that religious group as bigots. I read in the newspaper recently that California is considering putting a travel ban to Texas for their residents because my states government passed a bill saying LBGT couples cannot adopt children. It's pathetic to me, states turning on one another. First North Carolina being the target of so much criticism for the transgender bathroom bill, now this.
 
Pacific_Loner

Pacific_Loner

Pirate from the North Pole
I don't understand how hospitals work in the US. Are you receiving a bill from them if you get hit by a car and spend 2 weeks there? Or you don't pay when you're victim of an accident, only when you get sick and you need treatments and medication?
 
H

Hot_Tamale

Well-known member
Pacific_Loner said:
I don't understand how hospitals work in the US. Are you receiving a bill from them if you get hit by a car and spend 2 weeks there? Or you don't pay when you're victim of an accident, only when you get sick and you need treatments and medication?
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If a person gets hit by a car then they have the right to sue the person driving the car and make them pay for the damages to the car. The physical damages the person receives (broken leg, etc) are part of the same lawsuit and the court can make the person at fault for the accident pay those medical bills. Any damages the person receives after the person gets treatment from a doctor (like an infection that occurs 2 weeks later after the broken leg is treated) then the person at fault in the accident shouldn't have to pay for those bills anymore. That's generally how it works, that's what I read.
 
Jungle

Jungle

1
Thank you for the insights guys, I always get suspicious when the price of fast food is too low, but $2.5 ??? Wow !

We don't even have international fast-food here, lack of tourism being the reason, we used to have some Belgian chain called 'Quick', it opened in 2007 I believe, the first month it was flooded with customers, then it gradually decreased, now it is closed.

I am not saying that my countrymen don't enjoy fast food, they do, but generally they settle for what is in the neighborhood, a slice of pizza costs about the equivalent of 30 U.S. cents. (Generally it comes with no cheese)

Personally, from my first day in France, I avoided fast foods like the plague, I mean come on, pay like 7€ for something that isn't necessarily tasty, let alone healthy and filling, pizzerias are an exception, because they're tasty and their meats aren't processed like the ones in patties.

I was in Germany not so long ago, I gave the Starbuck's mocha a first try, that was horrible, how could people enjoy drinking so much sugar, didn't even manage to go past the quarter of a cup.
 
AtTheGates

AtTheGates

Banned
Hot_Tamale said:
I'm from south Texas and I feel like ATG hit the nail on the head. America does have some of the worst eating habits in the world. In fact I frequent one of my favorite restaurants and I pay almost 2.5 dollars more for a salad than I would for any other item on the menu, it's sad but it's worth it to me. McDonalds & Burger King are serving cheaper and faster food and putting people in hospitals faster than our physicians can keep up with. It's ironic to me that I'm graduating with a masters degree in exercise science soon but I work in a fattening restaurant literally right next to a frozen yogurt shop and a Krispey Kreme.

I agree with ATG that not everyone should be a Christian, Catholic, etc, etc but everyone should have love in their hearts. The good news? The world does have love in their hearts. The bad news? In America that love is for themselves only it feels like. If you have a life threatening condition then hospitals will literally give you the cold shoulder if you have no insurance. If a patients insurance runs out while they're receiving treatment and they can't take out a loan then they're put on the streets, it's sickening.

The LBGT movement in America is huge too so it's a difficult time to be a Christian because society views that religious group as bigots. I read in the newspaper recently that California is considering putting a travel ban to Texas for their residents because my states government passed a bill saying LBGT couples cannot adopt children. It's pathetic to me, states turning on one another. First North Carolina being the target of so much criticism for the transgender bathroom bill, now this.
Click to expand...

the bathroom bill is strange to me . IMO as long as someone follows bathroom etiquette , I dont care WHAT they have between their legs . lol


iv also heard that single men can't adopt children either . so basically, If I can't ever find a gf/wife then I won't be able to have my own family someday : /

a lot of the southern states really have some backwards stuff going on. isn't houston, texas a bit more progressive though?






also i agree that some christians are extremely bigoted. it sucks that the term "christianity" encompasses so much contradictory sh!t..but then again, the bible WAS written by more than one person. so there you go


this is how I view christianity. I try to keep it simple : Jesus was a really good person and I want to always strive to be more like HIM. even if it means defending/ protecting people. kind of like a hippy who has a really good right hook. lol
 
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H

Hot_Tamale

Well-known member
AtTheGates said:
the bathroom bill is strange to me . IMO as long as someone follows bathroom etiquette , I dont care WHAT they have between their legs . lol

iv also heard that single men can't adopt children either . so basically, If I can't ever find a gf/wife then I won't be able to have my own family someday : /

a lot of the southern states really have some backwards stuff going on. isn't houston, texas a bit more progressive though?

also i agree that some christians are extremely bigoted. it sucks that the term "christianity" encompasses so much contradictory sh!t..but then again, the bible WAS written by more than one person. so there you go

this is how I view christianity. I try to keep it simple : Jesus was a really good person and I want to always strive to be more like HIM. even if it means defending/ protecting people. kind of like a hippy who has a really good right hook. lol
Click to expand...
Aww that stinks about not having children if you're a single male. I wonder if that applies to women and not just men. You have a career and stock options so you are already steps ahead of other people in regards to finding someone and starting a family. Stable career + income, is that how you impress women? If not please disregard what I wrote.

I'm not sure about Houston being very progressive but Austin, yes. Austin is a very ethnically, politically diverse city. It's the capital and the University of Texas attracts students from hundreds of cities all over the world. Houston used to be ranked near the top in fattest cities but now it's #17 in 2017. My home state has 3 cities listed in the top 20 of most obese cities in America! If you aren't shootin' your mouth off in Texas then you're stuffin' it with [insert high fattening food here]. That's our motto...or should be. My username is based off of a fatty food :( we love tamales here.
 
grapevine

grapevine

Well-known member
Australia-
*Very lucky country to live in. We have some of the best beaches in the world and some of the most interesting animals too.

*It gets hot here in the south where I live in Summer. It gets to 42 degrees C and even over that in dry heat waves. We have issues with water here and are one of the driest states (South Australia) in the world. We can get really affected by climate change and El Nino/droughts.

*Despite that, we are not a desert- far from it. Despite our water and climate issues.
We have one of the highest rooftop solar panel states in the world too.

*In terms of healthcare, we are just like England- we get a Medicare system that allows for rebates at the doctor and to pay for operations and medicines etc.

*We have a big multi-cultural society esp in Sydney and NSW. Yes there are racist people in Australia- it seems to feel like its everywhere - but its not as bad as it seems to be.
Most Australians are very welcoming and friendly and love our multi-cultural heritage.

*We have a big tourism industry. In my hometown, we get loads of tourists each warm season and that is the crop of our town's income. We get people from Asia and all over the world visiting.

*Our education system / regarding Universities are very well regulated and some of them are the best in the world for studying health and science discoveries.

*We also have an awesome world class acting school in Australia called NIDA that has pushed out Hollywood actors such as Cate Blanchett and so many others.

*We really only have 2 major supermarkets in Australia - Coles and Woolworths with other smaller chain supermarkets like Aldi and Foodland. It makes less diversity in food choices and over- pricing. We have some of the highest pricing food in the world I am told.

* Our housing market is also one of the highest in the world. Quite literally whole generations are just locked out of the housing market its just too expensive. Sydney is one of the highest paying houses in the world and even to rent its very high. People in Sydney rent out bedrooms at a high price just to get by.

* People dress very casual in Australia. Esp in summer. You'll see men in thongs (flip flops) and shorts and singlets carrying beers just about everywhere and saying 'Mate' all the time.

* Meat consumption seems to be a cultural thing in Australia. Though we have a very strong growing of Vegans like myself.

*On January the 26th, we celebrate Australia Day- when Captain Cook founded Australia and landed on the shores of Sydney. Though people like myself like to call it 'Invasion Day' as it was a bloody affair for the aboriginal people and I feel it's inappropriate to celebrate. Aboriginal people in Australia have been through a very bad history. We had a thing called the stolen generation were for a very long time the government ordered Aboriginal people off their lands and into camps - where they stole their children and put them in religious orphanages and white adoptions and tried to educate and make them religious. It went on till the early 80s. There was so much abuse and most aboriginal families never saw each other again- as a result, thier culture and languages were lost and they endure and still do live with trauma and so on. It a sad history. Aboriginals didn't even get to vote and were segregated from whites - not allowed to be in the same pubs and toilets - up to even the 80s.
Since then, the government has said sorry to them for the stolen generation - but we still have a long way to go. Alot of young aborignal youth get put in custody and even die in custody. There are drinking issues and abuse rampant. But there is a growing middle class.

*We are a rich country because of mining. That is our main income, esp from coal. But it's in decline and inappropriate as we enter the critical stages of climate change. Australia didnt get hit hard from the financial meltdown in 2008 because of our mining and exports to China.
 
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Jungle

Jungle

1
grapevine said:
* Meat consumption seems to be a cultural thing in Australia. Though we have a very strong growing of Vegans like myself.

*On January the 26th, we celebrate Australia Day- when Captain Cook founded Australia and landed on the shores of Sydney. Though people like myself like to call it 'Invasion Day' as it was a bloody affair for the aboriginal people and I feel it's inappropriate to celebrate. Aboriginal people in Australia have been through a very bad history. We had a thing called the stolen generation were for a very long time the government ordered Aboriginal people off their lands and into camps - where they stole their children and put them in religious orphanages and white adoptions and tried to educate and make them religious. It went on till the early 80s. There was so much abuse and most aboriginal families never saw each other again- as a result, thier culture and languages were lost and they endure and still do live with trauma and so on. It a sad history. Aboriginals didn't even get to vote and were segregated from whites - not allowed to be in the same pubs and toilets - up to even the 80s.
Since then, the government has said sorry to them for the stolen generation - but we still have a long way to go. Alot of young aborignal youth get put in custody and even die in custody. There are drinking issues and abuse rampant. But there is a growing middle class.

*We are a rich country because of mining. That is our main income, esp from coal. But it's in decline and inappropriate as we enter the critical stages of climate change. Australia didnt get hit hard from the financial meltdown in 2008 because of our mining and exports to China.
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Hello grapevine,

Thank you for your input, I really enjoyed reading it, especially for the historical part, I didn't know that much about it, I've read some things about the Bushrangers, but this goes back to the early 19th century.


I've read and heard a lot of good things about Australia, for me feet and pounds are like gibberish, you use Kg and Meters as measurement units, much easier for me.

Apart from Cricket, I bet that slipping an extra shrimp on that good old bbq for your mate is quite the national sport ! (prawn sorry)

I've seen many documentaries about Australia, many people go to West Australia just to get money from mining, and some documentary 'That sugar film' telling among others about the ravages sugar had on the aboriginal communities living in the northern part.

I am unable to tell the difference between yours and the NZ one, but I can with the South African one, they have some similarities. edit: your accent
 
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