I live in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

We have lots of Amish, farmers, and the like. It's almost like it's from the 1800's sometimes, until you go to Historic Downtown Lancaster and get yo' car jacked by crazy brotha's wit a gat in yo' face. We also have an extremely high “White-people-adopting-minorities” rate, seriously, in my neighborhood alone there's like twenty families I know about. We also have quite a few Indian (The “would you like a slurpee” kind, not the “would you like to waste your money in my fabulous casino” kind) immigrants.

Also, there's lots of cheap stores. Dollar Stores, Thrift Shops, Markets, and whatnot. There's nothing someone who wasn't a ninety year old man would like, though. Just boring knick-nacks, nothing too terribly interesting. As well as cheap stores, we have a plethora of hobby shops, one of which was a Comic Shop I went to a few times a week and explains my huge collection of miniature, ranging from Mage Knight, Heroclix, Horroclix, and Mech Warrior.

As for sports, we're pretty involved in wrestling, which is also why I've been in the sport for a few years.

What is there to do? We have a few theaters, and an Opera House. We also have our own baseball team, which sucks major balls and has a perfect name for our area. There's lots of skating rinks - ice, roller and otherwise. Personally, I like to go through farmer's fields (Conveniently located right behind my house) and beat the crap out of anything I see in them. Plants, tractors, and even the occasional farmer's wife, it's all in good fun.

Aurora Moon
lol, just a fun optical illusion that old farmhouses tend to have. like some farmhouses here that's been there long before war world II tends to look like it's slanted and about to fall over if you look at them from an certain angle, but when you look at them straight on they're actually straight and very sturdy.

It's not that it's slanting. I can see the sky and fields through the door.

I live in Canada. Which is barely different from the US.
We're not all as friendly as Canadians supposedly are, but we say sorry when we bump into people and thank you when someone opens a door for us, generally. It's a pretty diverse country. English and French are our official languages. I speak both…English is my first language, but I take all my classes(except English and options such as Art) in French.

More specifically, I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba, a city pretty much devoid of culture(though some hardcore winnipeggers would get mad at me for saying that) except in one little part called The Exchange, which is unfortunately also where a large part of the homeless population is located. It has a lot of my favourite hangouts…a vegan coffeehouse and bookstore, a tiny movie theatre(often has artsy films), a store with vintage clothes where I got my hat, and so on. Other than that part, we have lots of Wal-Marts and stuff. Not much of interest. Winters are long and very cold, and summers are short and hot. Quite dry all year round.

My family is English and a little bit Finnish(on my mother's side). I am very fond of tea…and I know nothing about Finland, never been there or anything.

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Aurora Moon
lol, just a fun optical illusion that old farmhouses tend to have. like some farmhouses here that's been there long before war world II tends to look like it's slanted and about to fall over if you look at them from an certain angle, but when you look at them straight on they're actually straight and very sturdy.

It's not that it's slanting. I can see the sky and fields through the door.

It's entirely possible. North Dakota is part of the Midwest Plains along with states like Iowa, Nebraska, Montana and South Dakota. Those areas have a massive number of abandoned towns left over from the 1930's when the dustbowl ( Massive dust storms resulting from the removal of the prairie grass to create farm plots that lasted for several years. ) ravaged the farm land in the region. Many of the old communities in those areas that were affected economically by the dust bowl or closing of mines just saw the population up and leave. Many of those old towns still contain their previous owners possessions and act almost like time capsules into the history of our country.

I'm going to shut up now and let other people do the talking about the US. Even if I have lived across half the country, I talk too much about it.

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It's not that it's slanting. I can see the sky and fields through the door.

It could be a reflection of glass of field and sky in the foreground, if the door is at a different angle to the windows (which aren't reflecting)

However the house looks abandoned and glass-less. It's more likely that there's no front door and you're actually looking through the bare house through round-topped windows on the other side, like maybe a sun porch. You can see a sliver of a second window.

skoolmunkee

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It's not that it's slanting. I can see the sky and fields through the door.

It could be a reflection of glass of field and sky in the foreground, if the door is at a different angle to the windows (which aren't reflecting)

However the house looks abandoned and glass-less. It's more likely that there's no front door and you're actually looking through the bare house through round-topped windows on the other side, like maybe a sun porch. You can see a sliver of a second window.

yup. like I said, old houses like that tends to give off a lot of optical illusions like that. the whole “seeming to slant crookedly at an certain angle” thing was just an example I mentioned of what those old houses can do.

All right… all right. I yield. Enough about the house.

lba
I'm going to shut up now and let other people do the talking about the US. Even if I have lived across half the country, I talk too much about it.

Wow. You just made me feel bad. You talk allot about your country? I feel like I've written a book!

But then again it's not like there are 30 Icelanders lining up to write about something.

I live in Lithunia . Thats the biggest my coutry had ever been (in XII/XIII-XVIII its was a biggest country in Europe) Grand dutch Algirdas had even captured Moscow for two weeks lol, but unfortunately those great times when we were feared are are over. Okay another thing, some people say that we are “same russians”.Well thats not true.Firstly, they and mostly of easter Europe are slavians, which means they share similar grammar of language.We are Baltics (its a branch who seperated from ancient Greeks) and our grammar have similaritys with latin grammar, not slavian.Besides, we had those lands before slavians showed up (and started conqering).Now I dont think that slavians are worse than use or anyting, and you can call me russian if you want,I dont really care(couz I know who I am) but thats just not true and thats how it is…

Now just becouse we are former USSR coutry, people from wester countries automatically think that we are really poor.Thats not true either.Lithuania has one of the fastest growing economies in Europe ( well yeah, now becouse of world crisis its a bit down) and even if were in EU and can immigrate and work anywhere in Europe, Im planning to stay here for the rest of my life :D(well I do travel as a tourist).

Now we are northers, so were pretty cold and non-emotional, also people dont like to talk much in streets with strangers, or in cafes with waiterss in that case :P Also we rarely have those artificial plastic smiles on our faces in streets.(try to smile in winter when it -30 celcium lol).And thats mainly how it is in reality, yeah some people are trying to copy western world and act like people from there would act, but mainly people are like I stated above…

Radical culture changes.Yeah the Russian tryied to make lithuanians into typical russians so we all could live happily in mother Russia.Communists killed almost every educated lithuanian, who refused to join THE PARTY.So writers, doctors, poets, professors,priests and so on and so on emigrated or recieved a free trip to Syberia.It was a big punch for a culture.But we managed to grow new generation of educated people and finally gained our freedom, but the red scar of communism is left, probably for a long time.Alcoholism, wierd people(try to be afraid of goverment for 50 years,and a system was created so that everybody were spys of the goverments.Like if you turn someone in, you get a medal and points in your file.I hear there was a incident that a kid turned in his true father(not in Lithuania, but in USSR…).

Mythology.Well Christ came to Lithuania only in 14th age, until then we were barbarians and pagan, so they warshiped sun, trees, fire and stuff…Also we had a fire that burned in one place for hudrets of years non-stop.

And last link, heres how the capital looks now.http://www.travel.lt/ntisFiles/uploadedAttachments/vilnius_senamiestis20081201311.jpg yeah its an old-town, but I like it best ;D

@Hippie van: Wait a minute… you said you didn't live in Canada! What's all this then eh?

Ahem. Anyway. Me= Aussie. Like Ozone. I'm not giving you details.

I'm originally from the SF Bay Area, so naturally I hella use the word “hella” all the time. I'm also a big SF Giants fan.

NOW I live halfway between LA and SF, and its decidedly more LA here.

LA folk don't say “hella” (although i guess that's spreading more and more, it used to be a NorCal specific word), they say something like “grip” or some garbage. Plus, when they talk about highways, LA folk say "take the 101“ whereas BA/SF folk will say ”take 101." Hahaha.. i love all the little differences… except that there's absolutely NO Giants love here. Its Dodger territory. So you know I wear my SF hat with pride!

What can I say about my home, and my culture? I love my country, I've been fortunate enough to see most of it. I like to think of that whole huge ol chunk of North America as my backyard. Still, my life is in Oklahoma.

We Okies are rather genial in nature but hold a collective grudge against a few other states that gave us the cold shoulder during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. That ecological disaster shaped our state as people were driven off their farms by the migrating deserts. Those who stayed developed a hardy survivor mentality, work ethic and generalized close knit community feel. That culture stuck and formed the basis of our local society. We also have more Native Americans in our state than any other. More languages are spoken here than any other state (some claim than any other part of the world) and 39 of the Indian nations call this place home. It has an interesting effect on us. We're really quite integrated and the different groups coexist and mingle freely.

Except for the Shawnee and the fastest growing ethnic group in the state. Our Hispanic population has been exploding and there has been violence bordering on open warfare in the countryside and suburban areas as the Indian reservations are getting encroached on by Mexican and Guatemalan groups. In the cities distinct areas are being claimed by them and gang violence is thriving. Its become a major concern and has a lot of people scarred. Hispanics were never a problem before and represented a large part of our population since before the state was still labeled Indian territory. The existing latino population are okies just like the rest of us. But something changed as the newer and larger groups started arriving several years ago.
Its odd to see, since all our other ethnic groups get along and historically the large groups of Czech and later Vietnamese immigrants were welcomed with open arms in times past. A quiet saying in Oklahoma goes “Our differences bring us closer, Our heritage makes us strong”. Also the term “Oklahoma strong” is floated a lot. It identifies our strength in our collective identity rather than trying to set ourselves apart in social or racial sects.

There really aren't as many cowboys as you'd be led to believe, most of what you see on that front is for the tourists. We have a bit of a private culture too, quietly sharing our lives and if you're an Okie most people will treat you like a friend even if they've never seen you before. We treat outsiders much the same way, until they do something to alienate themselves or cop an ego. You can spot a guy from Chicago, New York, or Boston a mile away. We don't abide big egos here because we firmly believe nobody can be better or more important than us, anymore then we are bigger or better than them. Everyone has their part to play and few or any of those roles entitle you to bragging rights.

Oil aerospace and agriculture represent the biggest industries and thus shape the culture. Most everybody is middle class or higher. Namely because of the work ethic. You have to pull your own weight, or you won't find many places to stay or make a living. We don't have much in the way of excesses and tend to be very utilitarian. If you don't have a function, then we don't have a place for you. Family is very important, and if you find yourself without one, one will take you in.

Its not for everyone, but it taught me to be a rational, hard-working person, that can find value in whatever fortune life deals you.

krisikas
Lithunia

Tell us some cool Lithuanian folk tales or ghost stories or something :)

warefish
@Hippie van: Wait a minute… you said you didn't live in Canada! What's all this then eh?

When did I say that? I might have said that I wished I didn't live in Canada, or that I'm not meant to live in Canada, or that most of my family lives in the UK…
Oh, I also said I might be moving to London next year. But that's all I can think of. If I said that it was a very silly thing to say.

@skoolmunkee: I spelled it wrong, its Lithuania, not Lithunia xDD, anyway, the tales are pretty long so I think Ill tell you one for now ;)Anyway, I would like appologise for my bad english, Im not a pro traslator, and to anyone who want to feel the true spritin of this tale, I suggest to learn lithuanian.Also “zilvine ,zilvineli” means serpent, serpent.Thats how ancient lithuanians called serpent, so I thought I'll leave it that way.This took me about half an hour lol, so I hope you will like the tale.


Fir the queen of serpents
Once upon a time there were an old man and his wife.They had 12 sons and 3 daughters, from whom the youngest was called Fir.
One summer evening all three sisters went out to the river.After bathing, they came to shore to dress up.Fir looked at her shirt and gasped- there were a big serpent slided in the shirt's sleeve.The oldest sister grabbed a tree branch and was about to beat the serpent out, but the serpent , turned to Fir, spoke with the voice of human.
-Give me, Fir, your word that you will marry me, and Ill leave peacefully.
Fir started to cry:how can you marry a serpent!And then spoke in high voice:
-Give my shirt back and travel with peace back to where you came from!
But the serpant repeated:
-Give me your word and Ill leace peacefully!
Fir got scared and promised to marry the serpent.
After 3 days parents look around- a horde of serpents are about to slide into their yard.Everyone got really scared- serpents swarmed everyvhere around the house- hanging, rolling, hissing.The matches of the serpents came straight inside to talk with old man and Fir.
At first parents didnt want to give away the daughter, but what can you do against so many.At the end they had to give away their youngest,most precious daughter.
Serpents, with Fir, left the house.Her family could do nothing but to cry and pity her.
Meanwhile,Fir and her companions went straight to the sea.On the shore, she met a beautifull young man, waiting for her.He told her that he's the serpent from her shirt sleeve.Then they swam to nearby island, and from there- to under the sea, where the wonderfully decorated serpent's palace standed.Thats where they did the wedding- they have danced, drinked and buzzed for 9 weeks.
The palace was full of everything, and Fir calmed down, cheered up and finally completly forgot about her home.
9 years have passed.Fir already had 3 sons: Oak, Ash and Birch, and one daughter- Asp. One time the Oak asked Fir:
-Mommy, where are you parents living at?Lets go visit them.
Then Fir remembered about her parents, brothers and all relatives.And she wondered how they are doing, and whether they are still alive.And she decided to visit them.
But the serpent didnt wanted to let her out.
-Okay, -he said,- but first you need to spin this silk,-and pointed at pile of silk.
Fir started working, and worked for a few days with no stopping.She spinned and spinned, but the pile of silk remained as big as it was in the beginning.Then she understood, that serpent trys to trick her.So she decided to come to local sorccerer.And started to cry to her:
-Granny sweety, please teach me how to spin this silk.
Old woman told everything she new:
-Throw it, she said, into the fire, or you'll be spinning it for the rest of you life.
Back home Fin told to serpent that she want to cook some fresh bread.After the fire was up, she threw the silk into it.And miracle- the fire started to spin the silk.When it was done, the fire went off.
This way completing the task, she came to the serpent again to ask him for permission to go visit her family.Her husdband took from his bag pair of iron boots and sayied:
-Walk them out to pieces, then you may go.
Fir tried everything- walking, beating the shoes to rocks- not even a scatch.Use them or dont use them- same effect.She came to the old woman again.Granny tought her:
-Bring shoes to the blackshmit and ask to throw them into the furnace.
Fir done as was told, and after the shoes were thrown into the blackshith's furnace, she finished wearing them in 3 days.And then came to her husdband again to ask for permission to go visit her family.
-Allright, serpent said, but at least cook some pies for them before you go…
But he ordered to hide all the tools and plates so Fir couldnt bake any.Now Fir dont know how to bring water withouth bowl, and goes to the old woman again.Sorrcerer sayied:
-Take some batter, and put it on the bottom of the sieve, then you'll be able to bring water.
Fir did so, and serpent had no options but to let her go.Then she said “goodbye” to her husdband and went out with her children.But serpent decided to take them to the shore himself, and made Fir to promise, that she'll be there not longer than for 9 days.
-When you get back,- he said,- go only with your children, and call me this way:

Zilvine, zilvineli,
If youre alive- come with milk's foam,
If not- with blood's foam.

-And if ,- he said.- You'll see a milk's foam, know, that Im still alive, but if bloods foam- I have faced my end.And you, children, in no way tell anyone how to call me.
When Fir came to her home, everyone were extremely happy: all relatives of her came to see her.Everyone asked her about the serpents and couldnt believe what happened under the sea.This way all 9 days passed.
Meanwhile, her brothers,sisters and parents were thinking how to free her from serpent.And decided, that best option is to get information from kids how to call it, and then kill it on the shore.
First, they decided to make Oak talk, so they took him into woods and started to threaten him, but they couldnt get nothing from him.Before releasing him, they said not to tell mother about this or else.Then they took Ash to the same place, but no matter what they said or did, they couldnt get it from him either.Now it was Asp's turn.At first, she said she dont know nothing about it, but after seeing that Fir's brothers are about to use their belts to get information, she told them everything she heard.
Then 12 brothers with scytes went to the sea-shore and started to shout:


Zilvine, zilvineli,
If youre alive- come with milk's foam,
If not- with blood's foam.

The milk's foam splashed into the sea, and soon after that the serpent came out.The brothers sliced and diced the serpent and came back home, saying nothing to the Fir.Not long after, Fir kissed away with her family and went to the sea.Then she started to call her husdband:


Zilvine, zilvineli,
If youre alive- come with milk's foam,
If not- with blood's foam.

The wind suddenly got stronger, and Fir saw a big black-red wave comming to the shore.Then she head he husdband's voice from sea dephts:
-Your 12 brothers killed me with scytes, and we were betraided by Asp, our most loved and precious daughter!
Fir,crying sadly, turned to Asp and said:

Turn into a asp,
So you would shiver day and night,
So that cold rain would wash your mouth,
So that cold wind would brush you hair!…

And then she told to sons:

Turn, my sons, into strong trees,-
I, your mother will remain a firm.

And so it happened.The oak, ash and birch are the strongest trees of all, and Asp until today shivers agains the smallest wind for that she shivered from fear before her uncles and betraided her true father and mother.

THE END

Skullbie
I'm from Az, we have no natural disasters, mountains of old people, dialect like california, sexy girls in scottsdale, tons of turquoise sellers, little ethnic diversity besides white and hispanic, education system is awful in middle school and below, weather is bipolar ranging from snowing one day to sunny the next, our senator was john mccain, john mccain has a hot wife, our state capital phoenix is one of the fastest growing cities in the u.s., there was this one hot-topicbarf chick at my old high school that called herself a vegetarian but ate fish all the time- said they weren't really ‘alive’.
She dropped out.

I'm from both AZ(moved here three years ago this May) and New Hampshire(born and raised for 20 years). I tell you, you really can't get a more stark contrast than that.

Skullbie is half-correct in saying we don't have natural disasters, but only in that they're not the BIG natural disasters. We still have sandstorms and drought to worry about, though we have two rainy seasons- The Tempestuous Summer and the much more tranquil, if longer-lived, Winter. We're also prone to temperature and sun exposure.

That last bit leads to an interesting cultural phenomenon out here. First, a lot of people carry umbrellas in addition to their 70 spf sunblock and hats; portable shade. Since the air is dry, and doesn't hold onto heat as much, being in the shade makes a tremendous difference in temperature, so you'll find a lot of people ducking into shady pathways. You will also spot, without anyone else batting an eyelash, many people walking around with large bottles- even gallons- of water on their person. In the dry, desert air, and the intense sun, water is ESSENTIAL. We take dehydration and heat-related infirmities seriously, and you learn quickly how to beat the heat.

(As one who's traveled from moderately cold to OMG THE SUN IS MELTING MY EYES!!!, I have to say, you never really “get used” to the heat, you just learn to cope with it a little better. Did I mention it gets hot?) Since the winter weather does cool down quite a bit, anyone walking around in 60 degree weather without a jacket WILL be asked, “Aren't you cold?”

Since our topography is rather unique- we go from desert valley to frozen northlands(up near Flagstaff), plus, you know, the Effin' Grand Canyon- Hikers are right at home here. A lot of people come here for the exotic views, and being able to see sky from East horizon to West horizon is nifty compared to the northeast(with their enclosing trees and interesting building layout blocking the horizon almost all the time). That, though, you DO get used to, at least a little.

Spanish is almost a prerequisite to anything you do around here. From ordering food to selling retail, you're bound to run into someone whose English is shoddy at best. If you don't know Spanish, this often leads to botched orders and miscommunication.

If you DON'T have a pool either in your backyard or somewhere nearby, you're a strange one. Still, a lot of people around here seem to prefer wasting gallons and gallons of water maintaining useless grass lawns when xeriscaping (using the local plants and such to decorate your lawn) can be much more unique and eye-catching. I think it has to do with imitating other, grassier regions of the US.

The people here are moderately friendly, if a bit shallow sometimes. Things are very relaxed, and as someone once told me, “I could tell you weren't from Arizona! You talk so fast, like one of those New york people!” (I…wasn't aware I spoke that quickly. o.o). Still, if you need help, you're likely to be able to get it…. just as much as you're likely to be honked at or have insults yelled at you. About one in four cars I see has a massive dent somewhere on the vehicle, and given the tendency of drivers to make illegal left turns on red lights into crosswalks with pedestrians, I can see why.

The area I live in, Tempe, and somewhat in Mesa, is predominantly Christian(which leads to protests on ASU campus by extremists who think that the school mascot- the Sun Devils- is literal) and Mormon(Pleasant folks!). There are other religions and religious beliefs present, but those two are the ones I've run into most often. Statistics may show otherwise, though.

The people here are generally very open-minded; like I said before, things are pretty laid-back here, so as long as you're not threatening people openly or being downright rude, there are many folks who will listen to what you've got to say. Despite being a “Red State”, a liberal left-winger like me can get along just fine.

I'm sure there's more to say on the subject, but I'm a bit drained. :3 I may come back to speak on New Hampshire a little bit, though.

krisikas
@skoolmunkee: I spelled it wrong, its Lithuania, not Lithunia xDD, anyway, the tales are pretty long so I think Ill tell you one for now ;)Anyway, I would like appologise for my bad english, Im not a pro traslator, and to anyone who want to feel the true spritin of this tale, I suggest to learn lithuanian.Also “zilvine ,zilvineli” means serpent, serpent.Thats how ancient lithuanians called serpent, so I thought I'll leave it that way.This took me about half an hour lol, so I hope you will like the tale.

I didn't notice that when I quoted it, haha :)

That was a great story. There were some parts similar to other fairy tales (like the animal being a prince, the magical tasks, etc) but it was also unique… and had a sad ending like good fairy tales. :) Thanks for spending so much time to write it for us.

I'm living in California, we've had 2 actors for governors.

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But then again it's not like there are 30 Icelanders lining up to write about something.

Don't look at me, I'm only here for the cookies….

Say krisikas, do you have a strong viking heritage in your country? I'm basing this question on the fact that your country is connected to the Baltic sea (which used to be viking waters) and that the style of your story is frighteningly similar to our old tales that are viking originated. Also… your avatar ain't helping either.

Viking stories have allot of tales that explain that the reason things are called certain names is because it used to be a person that became it. Some Viking tales are allot about betrayals and the consequences that follow and endings that normally are classified as sad. A strong underlying theme in them all is that fate can't be defied. If you're destined to become something or have something happen to you it will happen no matter how hard you resist it.

skoolmunkee
I didn't notice that when I quoted it, haha

That was a great story. There were some parts similar to other fairy tales (like the animal being a prince, the magical tasks, etc) but it was also unique… and had a sad ending like good fairy tales. Thanks for spending so much time to write it for us.

heh, thanks, Im glad you liked it.Yeah allmost all our fairy tales have bad or partly bad ending.And they are pretty cruel too, with stuff like eye stabbing, killing other humans, burning animals and humans alive…But bad things usually happen to bad people…

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Say krisikas, do you have a strong viking heritage in your country? I'm basing this question on the fact that your country is connected to the Baltic sea (which used to be viking waters) and that the style of your story is frighteningly similar to our old tales that are viking originated. Also… your avatar ain't helping either.

Viking stories have allot of tales that explain that the reason things are called certain names is because it used to be a person that became it. Some Viking tales are allot about betrayals and the consequences that follow and endings that normally are classified as sad. A strong underlying theme in them all is that fate can't be defied. If you're destined to become something or have something happen to you it will happen no matter how hard you resist it.

No, lithuanians were mostly soil people, and only two coast tribes used act like vikings(using quick and light boats, robbing coast villages).But vikings are Scandinavians, were not scandinavians nor we ever been occupated by them.We only had trading-relationship and they used to rob our coasts lol (but very rarely…What would you choose to rob- christian from far west or closer, but pagan barbarian? lol)Also, lithuanians didnt had any war ships, only batteling in dry-land.So the inlfluence by vikings is minimal, a shame though, they were smart people…
Our tales are mostly educative.Like If you will be greedy, you'll get your eye stabbed, or slayed by devils.Also, mostly, all action is happening in dry-land.And if vikings love sea so much, lithuanians same way loved their woods, warshiped them.
But I guess all baltic region have cultural similarities…

Vikings may have been Scandinavians originally but they certainly got around. There were even times when Viking warlords owned most of England.

Their ships were not only remarkably stable, which allowed them to sail further into the sea than any other European boat, but they also had unusually shallow draft that allowed them to sail up most rivers as well. The traveled up many rivers from the Baltic sea and ventured deep into Siberia.

I found this map of areas that were influenced by vikings and it seems you're right. They never seemed to be that interested in Lithuania.


Map showing area of Scandinavian settlement in
eighth century
ninth century
tenth century
eleventh century
denotes areas subjected to frequent Viking raids but with little or no Scandinavian settlement

hah, yeah…Our lands and people never were rich in gold and stuff to attract them…

Btw, I remembered something.See a bit yellow and red in lithuanian sea-coast?Thats the tribe of Kuriai, aperantlly, they were one of the cruelest and barbaric tribe in the region.I did a little research and find out that vikings were beated couple of times by them, so according to the source, vikings avoided this coast becouse in christian world they could rob withouth losts or with small ones.So yeah, poor and partly-savage people werent the best catch for the I guess ;D

Now, I have a question that's aimed at someone who know various African cultures or better yet, is from Africa.

Listening to BBC, I often hear interviews with various African politicians or representatives. Even when their English is very good, the always pause unusually long between sentences. Their rhythm is always so slow. Why is it like that? I once worked with an African while living in London and he spoke the same way. I always thought before that the reason was because his English was perhaps not so good and thus he needed to think before constructing the next sentence. Now I don't think that's the case so if anyone around here could enlighten me about this interesting speaking behavior, it would be greatly appreciated.

I can't give you a good answer, but I know many African languages are tonal like Chinese (meaning that depending on inflection, a word means completely different things) so that may have an impact on how they speak other languages.

krisikas
I live in Lithunia

That is cool! (Not the literal cool of being a Baltic State cool) My wife's family immigrated her to the U.S. after WWII from…Lithunia!!! My Mother-In-Law, was only like ten or so, but she remembers all the nightmare and horror of being caught up in the war there. Her own father–who was a wealthy property owner, was shot as they were being smuggled out on a boat (he survived.) Their name was Ilgoudis (I may have spelled that incorrectly) and while I'm not sure what City they came from, it is cool to think!

Also, I have been to Iceland–even met Virgil Finnboginsdottir (again with the spelling) the former President–in a Cafe in Reyk. She was HOT at the time (1982) for a National President!

Cultures…how fun!

Maryland– Everything gets absolutely drenched in Old Bay.
People without Old Bay seasoning are burned at the stake.
…and then promptly seasoned with Old Bay.

mechanical_lullaby
Maryland– Everything gets absolutely drenched in Old Bay.
People without Old Bay seasoning are burned at the stake.
…and then promptly seasoned with Old Bay.

You hate that place so much and yet I miss the East coast like you wouldnt believe. :(


Mormonville is awful in terms of people, but the scenery here is just amazing.

mechanical_lullaby
Maryland– Everything gets absolutely drenched in Old Bay.
People without Old Bay seasoning are burned at the stake.
…and then promptly seasoned with Old Bay.

So what's Old Bay seasoning like?

I've had Maple spice seasoning. It was surprisingly spicy. I bought it in Massachusetts, from a maple farm that extracts syrup from the trees that grow there. I found it fascinating that you could do that to trees. They had a diner at their farm that's in a middle of nowhere, inside a forest, and people drove in from all over the place to eat there. We had to get there extra early to ensure that we got a seat because the place got full fast. Everything on the menu had maple in it in some form. Maple glaceing, maple spiced, maple sauce, maple this, maple that. They even had maple milk shake. It was awesome but you could hear people get fat in there.

ipokino
Also, I have been to Iceland–even met Virgil Finnboginsdottir (again with the spelling) the former President–in a Cafe in Reyk. She was HOT at the time (1982) for a National President!

If I know my facts correctly, she was the first female president of a country in the world. In Iceland it's more than a title then anything else. The only real power she/he has is the veto power and so far it's only been used once, and that was after the president received numerous requests from the public to not sign the new law.

She was a nice really nice woman who you could meet on the streets like you just said and she invited kids who played on the field next to our “white house” for cookies that she'd baked.

#Edit# Her name is Vigdis Finnbogadottir. The name is missing some accents but I can't display it here without turning wierd. #/Edit#

Since we get so many American submissions, I'm interested in hearing from someone who's from the bible belt. The stereotype is that everyone from there is a screaming zealots wielding “abortion is murder” and “Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve” signs. Tell us about what it's like growing up there and how truthful or wrong that stereotype is.

ipokino

krisikas
I live in Lithunia

That is cool! (Not the literal cool of being a Baltic State cool) My wife's family immigrated her to the U.S. after WWII from…Lithunia!!! My Mother-In-Law, was only like ten or so, but she remembers all the nightmare and horror of being caught up in the war there. Her own father–who was a wealthy property owner, was shot as they were being smuggled out on a boat (he survived.) Their name was Ilgoudis (I may have spelled that incorrectly) and while I'm not sure what City they came from, it is cool to think!

Also, I have been to Iceland–even met Virgil Finnboginsdottir (again with the spelling) the former President–in a Cafe in Reyk. She was HOT at the time (1982) for a National President!

Cultures…how fun!

Its Lithuania lol, I said I spelled it wrong ;D But yeah its my fault.Anyway cool.And your wife should be pretty if she's lithuanian lol, foreigners say that most of girls are ;D Well she is for you obviously, but you know what I mean.

And yeah WW2 was a nightmare, and the country was between two monsters.My grandfather's house was burned to ashes by the retreating Germans.But luckily, they managed to remain alive.

And for the city, there are only 6-7 (big ones).Maybe from capital?

Product Placement
If I know my facts correctly, she was the first female president of a country in the world.

Maybe, but Indira Gandhi as prime minister of India is the first 20thC female world leader I remember… Different title though.

I was so sad when she was assassinated… I had a little furry toy named after her, (it had the same black/grey hairstyle). :(

krisikas
And your wife should be pretty if she's lithuanian lol, foreigners say that most of girls are ;D

Heh! That reminds me of a line from the Lithuanian Eurovision entry from a couple of years ago, (that was hilarious BTW), it was something like "come visit us! But NOT for Sex tourism! That's bad!"