Things we may not know about your country

Name one or a few things you think majority of people don't know about your country .

In Germany...

...college/university education is financed through taxes in wide parts of the country.No additional college/university fees
...prostitution is legal & gay marriage allowed
...due to several circumstances including bad child care system,unemployment rate,taxes,etc couples in average don't have enough babies to keep the German population stable
...you used to have to go to school 13 years long to achieve a high school diploma.They're cutting one year off now in many schools
...Cinderella's Castle in the Disney Theme Parks was inspired by Schloss Neuschwanstein in Germany
...about 150 square miles which is close to the size of Montana
...Germany has one of the world's highest levels of education, technological development, and economic productivity(according to a site online)
...Germany is the world's third-largest economy and the largest in Europe

 

Canada
-we don't all live in igloos

 

Hehe and we dont all walk around in leather pants and eat Bratwurst and Kraut

 

I've taken that tour, very nice. That guy was a bit of a freak wasn't he? The Michael Jackson of the 19th century.

 

- there are not bears walking on the streets;
- not every single one drinks vodka;
- in a lot of places we pay for using the bathroom and napkins lol;
- Russians see the law as something they don't have to obey, but can easely evade. they're sure that an official law just can't be useful for a citizen;
- a lot of Russian women wear high heels all the time, even when the streets are covered with ice and you can barely walk. they think that a real woman should be a woman no matter what!

 

Hehe vodka is becoming the 2nd "national" alcohol containing drink here besides beer.

Yea here,too. Even in Mc Donald's Lol

Wow that is amazing. I'm a little jealous.Hehe I can't even make myself wear heels in summer a lot unless it's a special occasion. I'm just more a sneaker girl

 

well here, it's free in Mcdonalds at least. lol wow i had no idea that people pay for that in any other country. lol

and i am not the one who wears high heels that much either. sometimes i just can't give up my comfort in order to be a real woman. lol and even if wear them, i get tired soo quickly.

 

- we finish high school at 16. After that, higher education is optional. You can either go on to college and get your A levels (two years) and then go on to university (3-4 years) or go on to work.
- it's over populated.
- we don't all have bad teeth.
- we have the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in Europe.
- every time there's an England match, they play that horrible grey footage from 1966. WE GET IT. YOU WON THE WORLD CUP ONCE. GOOD FOR YOU.
- we aren't all somehow related to the Queen or David Beckham. 80% of Americans I've met always ask 'Oh my God, do you know the Queen? Oh...how about David Beckham? ....maybe Gordon Ramsey?'
- our education system is a massive rip off.
- I strongly believe that we have a huge seperation between classes here, much stronger than between races. There's also a lot of ageism and a big North/South divide.

 

Damn!! But that's what I was looking forward to the most

I heard about that too... looks like I need to get more high heeled boots!! Haha.

 

Well there's other ways to be feminine than wearing high heels.Womanhood is so much more. So we should still be good

 

Lol!!!!!! Too funny:smt038

 

LOL....i still can't believe i had to actually pay to use the bathroom that one time.

And yep, even the babushka's were wearing high heels all the time lol.

 

I didn't know any of this.

That's sort of similar to the US.

Is the drinking age 18 out there?

 

I've lived here my entire life and I'm still finding things out about my country. Some of it I like, some I don't.

 

In Poland u pay for the restroom too in some places....

Sooo
americans call the Germans krauts... because Germans eat so much kraut....
that is not true

Polish people are eating much more kraut....
We make the best kraut dishes in the world like:
Bigos
Pierogi
and my favorite
Kapusniak (Sauerkrautsoup)

we also have a very tasty Cucumber Pickel Soup....

:smt057

 

*You don't have to pay to use the restrooms (thought I would clear that up)
*We don't tip here ~ except I usually tip the Pizza Guy
*But you do have to pay for a small sachet of sauce at McDonalds
*Children all have to wear uniforms whether they go to a State or Private School.
*We don't all live in the outback
*We don't all have Koala's & Kangaroo's as pets
*Our steering wheel's are on the right side of the car........
*Drinking & clubbing age is 18

 

Great list, I also want to add we don't all talk/act like Steve Irwin.

 

Oh yes excellent add on Mama. Oh and here we call Flip Flops "Thongs",, yes Thongs....

 

Yeah division of the classes is still strong here.

We don't pay for napkins anywhere or sachets of sauce in Mc donalds.

We drive on the left side of the road and our steering wheel is on the left.

We don't pay to use the loo unless it's one of those self cleaning metal box ones, ie you put the money in and the door opens.

Kids wear school uniforms untill there 16.

We have grammar schools, for a select number who want to go and also do the required 11+ test with good results.

Tipping is not compulsory, depends where you are really, taxi drivers or delivery drivers, but usually its the change from the note you gave lol none of this 10% 15% rubbish.

Education is exspensive when it gets to the Uni point, but Nursing and Midwifery course fees are free at the moment.

Alot of our traffic junctions are managed by roundabouts, i mean alot... alot.

Not all southerners speak with a Cockney accent.

We don't all drink tea, eat fish and chips or work on a market stall, like on Eastenders.

We have Bars not just Pubs.

We have Indian delivery/takeaway over here.

We have the NHS free healthcare, free treatment to all, everyone treated the same ( supposedly) but if you pay for any of your care private to bump up your treatment, you are then liable to pay for the whole thing as topping up your treatment is not allowed as it would be unfair to those who could not afford to top up there treatment.

 

Here's a wee bit of what I've learned about the island in the Caribbean where I live now:

-population 1500, 500 of those are foreigners here for school

-some cars have steering wheels on the right, some on the left, all drive in the middle of the incredibly narrow roads wrapping around this 5 square mile island

-a child educated here will have no chance of getting into a college nor university overseas as the standards are some of the lowest in the Carib.

-there are no youth political groups and once the adults are elected, the citizens don't hear from them again - no public process, no consultation

-the temperature is on average 28 degrees celcius but is getting hotter through summer

-hurricane season has begun!

-has the smallest commercial runway in the world and no crashes

-I can fly to many other Carib islands for less than $100

-the entire perimeter of the island is a protected marine park which makes for amazing diving

-there is one real beach that is present for roughly 6 months a year.

etc