Let's discuss different countries

[Uzbekxonim]

Let's discuss different countries.

Name the country and tell us the negative and positive sides of this country, share your opinion about this country.
positives/negatives sides can be related to the economic development, political structure, climate, traditions etc.

BUT: only one country cannot be discussed in this thread - UZBEKISTAN

let's begin...

[Uzbekxonim]

Italy
positive side: between two seas - so many places to spend a vacation in summer time, so many historical monuments; Rome is the place where contemporary law began (Roman law).
negative side: I've learned that in Italy even a veterinary can become a Minister (even the Minister of internal affairs, defence) if he's a member of a ruling party.:shock:

[Masanori]

Let's discuss different countries.

Name the country and tell us the negative and positive sides of this country, share your opinion about this country.
positives/negatives sides can be related to the economic development, political structure, climate, traditions etc.

BUT: only one country cannot be discussed in this thread - UZBEKISTAN

let's begin...

Japan - :(:P

[Amiri Turkiston]

Italy
negative side: I've learned that in Italy even a veterinary can become a Minister (even the Minister of internal affairs, defence) if he's a member of a ruling party.:shock:

- mass media are totally ruled by state
- even President has his own conglomirate of several mass-media companies....so you can now imagine the meaning of "cenzura"

[gafuri]

Indonesia

Has everything.

It in asia

no polution there

The weather there is sunny and bright , light , good climate.

everythings clean

modern

has hawaiian beaches

1 floored houses

apartments

japanese cars

If you visited bali like me you would know how it is there.That country is exotic rare.

http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/8743/uzbekistan8hi.png
http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/9190/idnsamarinda9cp.th.png
http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/8329/indonesia013cw.png
http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/3055/candychimesgurl6bn.png
Plus it is the best place to do bussiness it's economy is the best because it is next to japan,
Everything made in Indonesia is very high quality 1'st made in japan 2nd made in Indonesia.

[Amiri Turkiston]

Japan:

sometimes misunderstanding of kieretsu & zaibatsu systems can cost you very expensive

[Amiri Turkiston]

Indonesia:

#1 country with amount of muslims
160 mln. muslims - I guess

[infolife]

UK
-loads of job opportunities:P
-expensive to live:?

[Scofield]

Holland:

positive: great nature, great rose plants, great zoo, mariuana streets (:lol:) and wooden shoes.

negative: i went there with own car; traffic lights are annoying, too long Red light. Parking spaces are too small, very slow traffic, lot of junks in amsterdam, drug dealers and lot of blacks like jamaicans.

[UzLand]

Вы, что, устали обсуждать Узбекистан?

[badbashara]

Holland:

positive: great nature, great rose plants, great zoo, mariuana streets (:lol:) and wooden shoes.

negative: i went there with own car; traffic lights are annoying, too long Red light. Parking spaces are too small, very slow traffic, lot of junks in amsterdam, drug dealers and lot of blacks like jamaicans.


hey dude you forgot coffe shop it's so freaking positive

[AL-Midwest]

Norway positive side - the most reliable place to live according UN report
negative side- heavy taxation and comparativelly cold

[Mona Lisa]

Switzerland

Good points: best place to keep your money, political & military neutral, the most reliable train service, best ski resorts

Bad points: four different languages spoken thoughout the country

[Uzbekxonim]

Japan:

sometimes misunderstanding of kieretsu & zaibatsu systems can cost you very expensive

kieretsu & zaibatsu systems :shock:
what is that?

[Uzbekxonim]

Вы, что, устали обсуждать Узбекистан?

delo ne v etom.
1) ya dumayu vsem budet polezno povisit eruditsiyu i uznat pobolshe o drugih stranah.
2)esli bi ya ne napisala bi chto ob Uzbekistane pistat nelzya to topic "problemi i otritsatelnie storoni Uzb-na" monopoliziroval bi etot thread
3) dlya obsujdeniya Uzb-na est tseliy forum - "Problemi i Resheniya"
4)prosto hochetsya nemnogo raznoobraziya:)

[orxan]

Afganistan

positive: world's # 1 exporter of drugs
negative: next to Uzbekistan

[asena]

As I am living in italy.let me add something more
+:so much liberty.
Women are dominant.
Nearly every woman is working.
Families are built on strong bases.
Still respect to mother and father and grandies.
Men(this was for women.we should accept that most cute guys are italians-but of course generally)
people are helpfull
sanitary service is free and perfect.you don't wait for nothing

-:not laic enough(in schools,goverment based offices and hospitals you see one Jesщ statue per wall even it is forbidden)
the least quantity of persons gratuated from university in europe(maybe it is positive)
no one is speaking english,or at least the ones seaking are worse then Tarzan
Pаpa is indirectly affecting people a lot.(For this reason genetical operation on disabled fellus was refused at referandum).Couples are seperating but not divorcing to make "fake" to God.Cause divorcing is refused at church.

totally:
as a muslim and as a Turk,I am happily living here,cause I am earning more then the standart and it is strange but Turks are really welcomed here.We don't have problems at "stay permits" while other citizens wait months.We are more liked then other european countries' citizens including Greeks etc.There isn't an anti.pathia for Islam cause there are lots of mix-religioned couples happily living.

So I suggest anyone who is interested in living/studying abroad + who wants to be threated as a person.

But I should say that the language is really hard.Some people think that if they know spanish they may learn quickly italian.It is a big lie(cause i was one of them)

[Scofield]

Вы, что, устали обсуждать Узбекистан?
i'll be in Uzbekistan 2 years later. then i'll find a chance to write about ;)

[Pythagor]

Switzerland

Good points: best place to keep your money, political & military neutral, the most reliable train service, best ski resorts

Bad points: four different languages spoken thoughout the countryI agree with u;)

[Amiri Turkiston]

UK
-loads of job opportunities:P
-expensive to live:?

- a lots of migrants
- crazy Tony Bl.
- a lot of islamic activists

[Amiri Turkiston]

kieretsu & zaibatsu systems :shock:
what is that?

bu jamoalar tuzilmasining nomlanishi
o'zaro munosabat ham desa buladi
buni tipa family business desa ham buladi

[Amiri Turkiston]

Afganistan

positive: world's # 1 exporter of drugs
negative: next to Uzbekistan

- huge amount of bases for terrorists
- place for practising radical islam
- world known talibans country
- place with great history....but with doubtful future

[gafuri]

Indonesia:

#1 country with amount of muslims
160 mln. muslims - I guessThat country is rare exotic nodir / noyob yakshi .it the best country.

[Scofield]

- a lots of migrants
- crazy Tony Bl.
- a lot of islamic activists
maybe that's why USA wants visa from U.K. citizens

[Amiri Turkiston]

maybe that's why USA wants visa from U.K. citizens

guess it is normal situation because even very close neighbours like Uzb. and Kaz. has a visa regime

[Uzbekxonim]

Russia
positive: in a good way of its development, openness (to ordinary people) of their president
negative: widespread alсoholism

[Welsh]

Russia
... negative: widespread alсoholism and rasizm, which overwheights many positive things :(

(opinion based on my personal experience)

[Uzbekxonim]

and rasizm, which overwheights many positive things :(

(opinion based on my personal experience)

I agree with you. what kind of positive points you could add?

[Welsh]

I agree with you. what kind of positive points you could add?

-huge intellectual capacity;
-Moscow as a social, economic and cultural institution :lol:

[Amiri Turkiston]

Russia
negative: widespread alсoholism

- skinheads
- widespread "cenzura''
- bird flu
- in history they were our enemies who killed our grandpas..mas..etc
- Stalin / Beriya - I hate them and their policy (they killed too many relatives of mine)
- too much billioners with doubtful source of capital

[Amiri Turkiston]

sorry for mentioning only negative sides of all countries

[Kaptan-i Derya]

Belgium;

positive: youre able to learn neighbourlanguages (french, german, english) so quickly.

negative: bad foods, bad media, very high taxes, the dogfights between flemish part and the wallon one :S

[Gareeb]

Netherlands
positive: liberal country
negative:too many gay people

[Martingale]

Uncle Sam:D

positives and negatives: too much to mention

Ok, for the sake of discussion, Im gonna mention one example for both: Democracy!

[Gareeb]

Sloveniya
positive: reasonable living standard, good nature
negative: racist people

[AL-Midwest]

Uncle Sam:D

positives and negatives: too much to mention

Ok, for the sake of discussion, Im gonna mention one example for both: Democracy!

Positive side- you can fully develop your potential and gain success if you are a passionate

Negative - you do sometimes ( like in Midwest) meet people with very narrow, conservative and old time thinking ( he is right because he is a good Christian)
cheers

[Martingale]

Negative - you do sometimes ( like in Midwest) meet people with very narrow, conservative and old time thinking ( he is right because he is a good Christian)
cheers

Agree. :yes: Not only midwest, but also the south suffers from conservatism. Enough to remember a word associated with it: Redneck!:cool:

The only advantage we got is we are on the East Coast.

[Gareeb]

Agree. :yes: Not only midwest, but also the south suffers from conservatism. Enough to remember a word associated with it: Redneck!:cool:

The only advantage we got is we are on the East Coast.
yeah most of them are truly idiots.Do not know even neighboring states

[AL-Midwest]

Agree. :yes: Not only midwest, but also the south suffers from conservatism. Enough to remember a word associated with it: Redneck!:cool:

The only advantage we got is we are on the East Coast.

I remember i was trying to proove to one local that there is a country called Georgia, not state , then next question was is it a Christian country , i said yes, then he replied " it' must be a good country" and i said "what if it was not then you can say the country stinks and goes to hell one day?" he had this empty look on his face .......

By the way don't get wrong I met this type of people in both religions, muslim and christians

[Gareeb]

I remember i was trying to proove to one local that there is a country called Georgia, not state , then next question was is it a Christian country , i said yes, then he replied " it' must be a good country" and i said "what if it was not then you can say the country stinks and goes to hell one day?" he had this empty look on his face .......

By the way don't get wrong I met this type of people in both religions, muslim and christians
this is why it is not surprise when a cowboy rules them..:lol:

[Torcoman]

germany

positives: lots of blonde girls, love parades,many other nation peoples(especially Italians, Greek and Porteguese people) spice dцnerburgers(i dont see it in turkey) technobars, free wireless internet access in streets, coin machines in everywhere, one-day-tickets for train stations(you may travel all Germany with that), huge hi-tech stadiums, nice special hand-made cars, cool air
Turks in everywhere

negatives: lots of gays, lots of nazis(they have a special love against Turks), lots of dogs and their shits in everywhere, lots of beerman(you shouldnt go out for a beer after 23.00), Kurds in everywhere

[asena]

lots of nazis(they have a special love against Turks)

Do you man lots of neo-nazis or traditional socialist nationalist nazis?
I always wondered what the differences between them are existing

[Torcoman]

i mean neo-nazis(bizim deyişimizle dazlaklar), but there are several veterans from WWII that call theirselves as a real nazi, for example ive met a neighbour of my uncle who was a man like that, i should record that conversation that i do with him
he claimed he was a veteran from d-day, and he was very angry to all foreign people includes me, my uncle...
he was absolutely Nazi:twisted:

[Arti]

Denmark


100% democracy,
healthy food, lifestyle,
very fresh air,
surrounded with seas,
very handsome ppl,
no traffic,
developed economy and politics,
very social
good salary

high taxes
high prices
most of the time windy
racism/discrimination among ppl

1) Ya bi vot s "handsome people" ne soglasilas. Vse oni na odno litso. Net kolorita (mestnoye naseleniye).

2) Da yeshe bi skazala, may be too socially oriented policy :))

3) Racism i discrimination tolko kasatelno raboti, a tak v obichnoy jizni osobo ne zamechala.

[Arti]

Vse oni na odno lico? Nu konechno eto edinstvenniy narod kotoriy sohranil svoi geni. Do etih por v Danii redko mojno bilo vsterit' mixed marriages. Kstati, Datchane schitayutsya samimi krasivimi v mire. 90% lyudey krasivie, visokie, sportivnogo teloslojneniya, nat. blondini, etc
Datchanki toje ochen stroynie i simpotichnie.
Ti gde bila v Danii? Ya dumayu chto ti vstrechala tolko turistov i immigrantov:D

NU dopustim, sohraniv svoi geni, oni uje sebya do doveli geneticheskih bolezney. Ti, navernyaka, videla ne malo disabled people na ulitsah. Tak chto eto ne ochen horosho. Ne znayu po kakim dannim oni samimi krasivimi schitayutsa i po kakoy statistike, no vse je krasivimi ih ne nazovesh. Visota i stroynost k litsu otnosheniya ne imeet (hotya soglasna s tem, chto teloslojeniye sportivnoye, oni podtyanutiye v bolshinstve). Ya imela v vidu imenno krasotu litsa :) hotya u vseh vospriyatiye raznoye. Naturalnoye blondini uje prakticheski albinosi, u nih daje brovi i resnitsi beliye, chto im krasoti osoboy ne dobavlayet, opyat-taki kolorita ne hvataet. I silno silno vse darug na druga pohoji: parni mejdu soboy i devushki sootvetstvenno, kakie-to vse tipichniye.

Hotya na vkus i cvet druzey net, ya krasivimi schitayu jguchih brunetov i brunetok, hotya i sredi blondinok (blondinov) i shatenok (shatenov) i t.d. toje ne redko vstrechayutsa simpotichniye ludi.

P.S. Nu jivya v Danii bolshe goda, inogda mojno vstretit i mestnoye naseleniye, a ne tolko immigrantov i turistov :) Cheers

[Arti]

Invalidov eshe ne vstrechala:D

Ya imela vvidu ne tolko teloslojnenie, no i krasotu lica toje (v obshem)
Oni luchshe chem drugie evropeyci i etim oni gordyatsya

Hotya u vseh mojet bit raznie mneniya po etomu povodu. V lyubom sluchae ya napisala ne tolko moe mnenie. Tak schitayut vse moi znakomie druzya (uzbeki, russkie, italyanci, greki, amerikanci, anglichane, avstraliyci, i td)

Peace

Looool. Chem, ti schitayesh, oni luchshe drugih evropeytsev? Naprimer anglichane ochen daje nichego, a vneshne italyantsev mojno otlichit. V celom ya protiv danov nichego ne imeyu, no gordyatsa soboy oni inogda slishkom mnogo :) Da ti i sama znayesh.

Stranno, chto ti invalidov ne vstrechala, oni splosh i ryadom, ochen mnogo lyudey s sindromom Downa. Proydis po centralnoy ulitse Aarhusa (Sondergade, kajis), ne raz na kolyasku natkneshsa. Na samom dele eto bolshaya problema. Oni deystvitelno bili zakritoy naciey slishkom dolgo i ne smeshivali druguyu krov. Ne znayu naschet drugih, no ot nashih uzbekov ya ne slishala, chtobi oni danov krasivimi schitali.

But, nevertheless, we are not arguing, we are just expressing our opinions and my point is not to change ur mind :)

Cheers,

P.S. Hayitlariz bilan

[Arti]

LMAO.

Aha kevurin. shirinliklar pishirib quyganman. Birga choy ichamiz:D

Thank you very much. Vot i naprosilas na priglasheniye :) O'zilayam o'tila, korinmi kettila :)

Uzbekhonum, sorry for offtop. Hayit kunlari kechirarsiz :):lol:

[Kitaro]

Южная Корея
Плюсы
-Можно сказать абсолютно свободная страна. Также можно сказать что ею правит народ, настоящая демократия.
Есть много мест где можно погулять. Нет мелкой коррупции как в Узбекистане(существует коррупция большого масштаба среди чиновников и управляющих большими корпорациями как Самсунг или Hyundai)
Очень красивая природа. Люди в основном добрые и заботливые, очень похожи на нас, узбеков. Традиции и культура в чем-то сходны с нашими, узбекскими. Если нормально адаптироваться, то очень даже неплохая страна. Хорошие заработки. Люди очень правильные по отношению правил.
Минусы
Мало места, много людей. Невкусная и горькая еда. Люди порой бывают жадными и коварными(совсем малость). Уровень интеллекта отстает от наших, об образовании можно и не говорить. Так как все выросли в капитализме в финансовых отношениях очень щепетильны и жадные, даже к своим родным. Еще среди большинства корейцев нет понятия настоящей, истинной дружбы. Порой дискрименируют иностранцев так как корейцы в общем националисты. Почти все корейцы любят хвалить свой народ, свою страну и все все свое. Хотя и есть чем хвалиться они это делают черезчур не в рамках. Даже официальное название государство Великая(Большая) Корейская Народная Страна(Государство). Корейцы- очень хитрый народ, но чуть-чуть туповатый.
Если вас интересует что-нибудь о Корее обращайтесь ко мне. Я считаю что а прожил здесь достаточно что-бы критиковать ее.
Thank you for attention

[Martingale]

Nice, nice! I see you have been to lots of places in US, thought I guess you are in Denmark.


South -> Nashville

many uzbeks
slow


Are these all the upsides of the South. How about deep South? huh?:)

BTW, there are some mountains in the South of TN, where indians still reside. Cherokee indians.

[Sevinch]

Chicago is the best place where i have lived.
Good climat.(cool)
Culture Tall buildings,museims.Clean streets.
Best Univercity.
Best restorans,Fun!

Florida crazy place where i have lived.
Hurricane every single day.
Hot,humitity,lizards all over the streets.

[8517SK]

The United States of America.
good: The people are friendly and quite frank. They don't bribe, they don't fight and they are not very smart (this is for our advantage).
Bad: They are the cheap people of the world, i have never seen such a cheap people. They support Israel and the zionists, and help kill innocent muslims. They are the world Hegemon, and dominate almost all " oily" countries. And they don't wash their hands after they take a leak.

[Amiri Turkiston]

The United States of America.
good: The people are friendly and quite frank. They don't bribe, they don't fight and they are not very smart (this is for our advantage).
Bad: They are the cheap people of the world, i have never seen such a cheap people. They support Israel and the zionists, and help kill innocent muslims. They are the world Hegemon, and dominate almost all " oily" countries. And they don't wash their hands after they take a leak.

kak govoril odin yumorist

NU TUPIE ETI AMERIKANSI !!! :D

[Vector]

Англия,

Плюсы:
-наверное один самых благополучных мест в Европе в рамках трудоустройства
есть хорошо оплачиваемая работа? можешь жить безбедно, порой на широкую ногу, да и прилично секономить можно.
-очень развита инфраструктура, законы и безопасность (в основном Южные части Англии)
-Люди, англичани имеется ввиду, не тупой народ, но и не умный, фифти фифти. Доброжелательны, порой конечно есть расисты тоже, но в целом, нормальные люди.

Минусы:
-ОООчень высокая ставка налога на доход, НДС, национальная страховка (иземается от дохода), местный налог на жильё, дорожный налог, автомобильный налог, короче везде сплошные налоги, но учитывая сколько ты можеш заработать тут, можно потерпеть.
-Очень распространено выпивать по пятнидцам и по викиндам(особенно когда випивают в свещенный день Пятница, кому свещенный кому выпивка). От выпивших, можно ожидать многого непредсказуемого.
-Молодёжь примерно до 17-18 лет, очень расисты, бывали случаи когда моих нескольких друзей били вечером, случаи нападения на иностранцев, но молодёж повзрослее уже другие, толковые ребята, доброжелательны.

Ну я конечно сужу по моим обозрениям, живя тут уже несколько лет

[gafuri]

Uzbekistan that country is exotic ,rare.

[Jennifer]

The United States of America.
good: The people are friendly and quite frank. They don't bribe, they don't fight and they are not very smart (this is for our advantage).
Bad: They are the cheap people of the world, i have never seen such a cheap people. They support Israel and the zionists, and help kill innocent muslims. They are the world Hegemon, and dominate almost all " oily" countries. And they don't wash their hands after they take a leak.

Out of curiosity, how long have you lived in the States, and in how many states have you lived to come to these conclusions? I've lived in the US for over 30 years, and one thing I've realized is that with over 275 million people here, it's hard to make generalizations because the people are so diverse. I'm especially curious to know why you'd characterize Americans as unintelligent and cheap. For the latter, we give millions of dollars away annually to other countries. Domestically, we have one of the largest (if not the largest) consumer debts in the world. We spend too much money. In fact, one of the criticisms I've heard about the US is that we spend too much and save too little, and I really can't argue with that. As far as generosity with others, I really think that's highly individual. I do know a few people who are rather miserly, but I also know many more who are very generous with their time and money. I think you'll find both types of people in about any country. Unfortunately, it sounds like you've encountered some rather unusual people in the US who are really not representative of the country as a whole.

Also please realize that the US government does not speak for all its citizens!

[StU]

germany

positives: lots of blonde girls, love parades,many other nation peoples(especially Italians, Greek and Porteguese people) spice dцnerburgers(i dont see it in turkey) technobars, free wireless internet access in streets, coin machines in everywhere, one-day-tickets for train stations(you may travel all Germany with that), huge hi-tech stadiums, nice special hand-made cars, cool air
Turks in everywhere

negatives: lots of gays, lots of nazis(they have a special love against Turks), lots of dogs and their shits in everywhere, lots of beerman(you shouldnt go out for a beer after 23.00), Kurds in everywhere

to cut it shorter:
Pro's: Ordnung muss sEin!
Con's: ze Germans

[8517SK]

Out of curiosity, how long have you lived in the States, and in how many states have you lived to come to these conclusions? I've lived in the US for over 30 years, and one thing I've realized is that with over 275 million people here, it's hard to make generalizations because the people are so diverse. I'm especially curious to know why you'd characterize Americans as unintelligent and cheap. For the latter, we give millions of dollars away annually to other countries. Domestically, we have one of the largest (if not the largest) consumer debts in the world. We spend too much money. In fact, one of the criticisms I've heard about the US is that we spend too much and save too little, and I really can't argue with that. As far as generosity with others, I really think that's highly individual. I do know a few people who are rather miserly, but I also know many more who are very generous with their time and money. I think you'll find both types of people in about any country. Unfortunately, it sounds like you've encountered some rather unusual people in the US who are really not representative of the country as a whole.

Also please realize that the US government does not speak for all its citizens!

Jeniffer
I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, I didn't mean it in a bad way. Here's the deal, I lived in Washington D.C for 7 years, then I went back to Tashkent, and I realized how ignorant I was while living here. I learned so many things back home. Now I'm in college here, there are many nice kids, but most of the have a little bit of cheapness in them. For example if I ask them for a ciggarette they are very hesitant to give it. In response to your statement about the U.S expenditure, I have a figure that might interest you. Did you know that if you combine the whole worlds ependiture on military needs, and multiply that by 2, it still will not be as much as the U.S. But the united states has an anual GDP of 11 trillion dollars, so that money that they spend is basically nothing to the federal government. Yes your government gives a lot of loans, but in uzbekistans case they refused to give us the money that they promised for the termiz airbase. It's really not fair that they promise money, and they end up not giving it just because of the way our prisons are. But in general, americans are very friendly people, since the country's main ideology is neo-realism, people depend on self-help. That might be the reason why people don't want to help out financially or with a ciggarette. Peace

[Jennifer]

I lived in Washington D.C for 7 years,

Well, no wonder! DC isn't part of the United States (just kidding, of course). DC, however, really is quite a bit different from the rest of the country, in my personal opinion. Unless I had a great deal of money (and I don't), I wouldn't care to live there.


For example if I ask them for a ciggarette they are very hesitant to give it.

There may be a few reasons for that. As you probably know, the US has some very strong anti-smoking campaigns. Occasionally, the police will even hire people under the age of 18 (which is the legal age for buying cigarettes in the US) to go into a store to see if the store will sell cigarettes to the under-age person. If a store sells cigarettes to someone under 18, then the store can get in a lot of trouble. So, it's possible that students may wonder just exactly why you're asking for a cigarette. Smoking is not something that a lot of people want to admit that they do. Also, the number of smokers in the US is dwindling. If you asked me for a cigarette, I would say no -- not because I'm stingy, but simply because I don't smoke, and I've never carried cigarettes with me. Also, some people may "secretly" smoke and really don't want others to know that they do. I know it sounds weird, but the sentiment against smoking is very strong in the US, so judging cheapness on whether or not someone will give you a cigarette may not be the best indicator of the population as a whole.

Yes your government gives a lot of loans, but in uzbekistans case they refused to give us the money that they promised for the termiz airbase. It's really not fair that they promise money, and they end up not giving it just because of the way our prisons are.

I actually was speaking about aid that doesn't have to be paid back, but the US does give loans, as well, of course. I'm sorry that I'm unaware of the money the US promised you for the Termiz Airport and then backed out. However, that isn't a case of money but rather a case of principle. I'm not at all defending the actions of the US! If we promised you the money and then backed out, that's hypocrisy and is very wrong. However, that isn't the same as being cheap. Cheap would be never offering the money in the first place.

I hope this makes sense.

PS -- Also, I think it's very possible that college kids are more conservative with their money, simply because college is so incredibly expensive, and a lot of people simply don't have much money at all. When I was in college, I had very little money to spend on extras. Most of my money had to go to tuition and room & board. Once people start earning money with their careers, their spending habits will often change by quite a bit.

[8517SK]

You make perfect sense, I wasn't talking about the cheapness of the government, but of the people. But that stuff isn't really important cuz there are much bigger things to worry about.

[Jennifer]

I wasn't talking about the cheapness of the government, but of the people. But that stuff isn't really important cuz there are much bigger things to worry about.

I can't argue with your experiences at all. However, I hope you don't mind my sharing mine. Although I have come across some selfish people, I also know some very generous people in the US -- generous both in terms of money and time. I've done volunteer work with people who really give a huge part of themselves to help others. But, often these types of people don't want accolades for what they do, so their deeds go unnoticed, except by those whom they have helped.

I wanted to mention a couple of other issues. In larger areas (especially like NYC and Washington DC) where the population is very concentrated, there seems to be a tendency to take advantage of others, so more people are wary of the motives of others. Sometimes if a stranger asks you for something and you oblige, then sometimes the person will take advantage of you. After a few times like that, people become less generous.

Also, with the issue of beggars on the street, many people do not give for the simple reason that they don't know where the money is going. For some, the money beggars receive goes for alcohol. Many people prefer to give money to charities, and then the charities will distribute food and clothing to people on the streets. And charities in larger areas have homeless shelters. It's generally considered safer to give money to the charities than to the people themselves. The US has hundreds, if not thousands of charities. My impression, and I could be wrong, is that how people give in other countries is a bit more direct.

That method of how people give just may be different in the US rather than the amount. And that's quite often the problem of comparing cultures. People may do things differently (neither better nor worse, just differently) than we're used to, so when that happens, we may infer the situation in a different light.

[8517SK]

kak govoril odin yumorist

NU TUPIE ETI AMERIKANSI !!! :D

you can say that again

[coss]

Romania:
Positive:
- friendly country, with much freedom for minorities (including Muslim turks, tartars);
- good geography, strategic position between Eastern & Western Europe (including seaside, mountains, planes, hills, forests; the natural resources are at a high level);
- nice people & ready to help anybody;
- very good prospects for further business development.
Negative:
- (still) bad general economic situation (incl. poverty) after 45 years of communist domination and after 15 years of "transition" to free market; in last two years, GDP increased in order to fulfill the requirements for EU integration in 2007;
- corruption in Justice & Police;
- bad medical services (still improving);
- lazy local administration.

[Ahde Vefa]

Holland

+:
They're very tolerant.

-:
Their tolerance is fading away.