Culture Shock....if there was one thing about...

[Tatec]

1)The first thing a foreign vistor will notice is being clamped in chains, and sent off to do slave labour.

2)The first thing you'll notice if one of us visits your nation is that it is no longer your nation. Procede to 1)

I'm guessing your country does not have much of a tourism sector or any sense considering the superiority of many countries larger then you

[Schwabenreich]

I'll just throw them out in short sentences. The high prices on meat goods due to cruelty laws. That open carry firearms are encouraged for those who went through the trouble of registering. That many drugs are usually illegal are legalised. The legalisation of brothels, but not prostitution. That alcoholic beverages are considered a food and often drunk with every meal throughout the day (including at work). The intense work ethic of the city, and the incredibly lax work ethic of the less developed towns. The lack of censorship of media, violence, sexual themes and 'mature' language find an audience at all times of the day. The shameless nationalism inherent to the people, and to a lesser extent visable from the government. The diversity of languages by region. That the people of Schwabenreich still romanticise about the colonies. That the colonies are sometimes loosely interpreted to refer to underpopulated but developed areas. The neglect of cultural sensitivity indoctrination (while the people often try to be nice, they don't know any better when it comes to political and cultural sensitivity). People are still allowed to smoke in public areas. The food tends to be a combination of the traditional foods expected from a predominately deutsch nation, except with countless ethnic dishes from annexed populations, along with bizarre spice combinations from the colonial territories. That alcoholic beverages are traditionally associated with certain meals might result in shock on both sides of the experience, a schwabenreicher might be appalled when their guest declines a local brand of schnappes with the local dish for example, and the said guest might not understand the confusion. That to the people of Schwabenreich, english is a fringe language spoken by a relatively unimportant power in the north west.

[Helghast empire]

The juxtaposition of freedom and totalitarianism in helghan is awkward, you have plenty of rights except that the government watches you even though you have the rights to do what you want, so it's as if your being watched for no reason which will eventually give foreigners paranoia. But the true fact is that the government watches you because of political reasons, you can do what you want, but judge the governments actions to give you your rights and you will be punished.

benevolent dictatorships can have such issues i suppose.

[Malgrave]

The juxtaposition of freedom and totalitarianism in helghan is awkward, you have plenty of rights except that the government watches you even though you have the rights to do what you want, so it's as if your being watched for no reason which will eventually give foreigners paranoia. But the true fact is that the government watches you because of political reasons, you can do what you want, but judge the governments actions to give you your rights and you will be punished.

benevolent dictatorships can have such issues i suppose.

This is pretty much true of the Federal Republic. The Emperor loves all of his citizens however those who fall out of line get a bum deal.

[Helghast empire]

The juxtaposition of freedom and totalitarianism in helghan is awkward, you have plenty of rights except that the government watches you even though you have the rights to do what you want, so it's as if your being watched for no reason which will eventually give foreigners paranoia. But the true fact is that the government watches you because of political reasons, you can do what you want, but judge the governments actions to give you your rights and you will be punished.

benevolent dictatorships can have such issues i suppose.

This is pretty much true of the Federal Republic. The Emperor loves all of his citizens however those who fall out of line get a bum deal.

i think it's pretty fair game for both citizens and the government in my opinion, a moderate system if you ask me

[Exilshah]

The laws of the Shenti Mah would be a complete surprise to any brave visitors that try to enter the country. They would quickly become very entwined with it once they realize that they will be considered as poor beggars by its standards (and treated as such). In fact, any "visitors" would be quite lucky to leave Exilshah alive...

[Arborlawn]

A slap on the bottom is a way of saying "Hello" or "Good luck" or "Good job" or "Bye".

[Malgrave]

This is pretty much true of the Federal Republic. The Emperor loves all of his citizens however those who fall out of line get a bum deal.

i think it's pretty fair game for both citizens and the government in my opinion, a moderate system if you ask me

A country led by a cat does get weird once in a while. It's impossible to be hated if you bring treats or rub his belly

[Mesogiria]

The vicious, unrelenting communist autocracy that permeates every making moment of every citizen of our nation.

Nah, just messin' with you. Probably the elves, thought. That catches some people off guard.

[Greater-Prussia]

Easy: the fact that there are far more Non-Humans than Humans in Saurisia, the Non-Humans run the government, and that Humans are discriminated against.

I find this amusing that this happens yet you're against states that support national socialism.

[Reformed York]

The vicious, unrelenting communist autocracy that permeates every making moment of every citizen of our nation.

Nah, just messin' with you. Probably the elves, thought. That catches some people off guard.

Try Vampyre Anarcho-Communist Revolutionaries.

[Red Tide2]

The sheer amount of paranoia and suspicion your average Red Tidean levels against any non-uniformed person they do not know, whether they be foreigners or other Red Tideans.

[New Lyrane]

We don't much care for outsiders, but assuming you were fortunate enough to be allowed to visit New Lyrane...

We are all female. As far as you the tourist can tell, anyway. Also, we don't wear clothes. Clothes are unhygienic. We don't really believe in any other personal ornamentation either. Decorating yourself is decadent. Those are probably the major points of difference.

*Makes note to try and visit New Lyrane*

Quick question: If your country is all female, how do you maintain a population?

Oh, that's no problem. Everybody is expected to have at least one child so... oh, I see what you mean. How Lyranian babies are made. Well, about 1 in 100 live births are male. As Misthurst noted, males don't grow up right. I suppose that's because Lyranian males only have one X chromosome, but I'm a Liberal Arts major so what do I know. Anyway, males grow up to be cave-hobbits. Short, hairy, not as smart as an average sheepdog. So they are kept in stud-houses. And when you decide you are ready to have a baby, you go to stud. Just like if you were going to breed your dog, except... you know... you do it yourself.

For an explanation with lots of big words, see here.

[Saurisisia]

Easy: the fact that there are far more Non-Humans than Humans in Saurisia, the Non-Humans run the government, and that Humans are discriminated against.

I find this amusing that this happens yet you're against states that support national socialism.

It's mostly Human Supremacist. And totalitarian.

[Lotrabme]

Mainly that Sasquatches can be seen on the bus and around town, as well as a HUGE population of the grey aliens

[New Lusitaniagrad]

A culture and people who are far superior to you and your home country. And the mass amount of Marxists that are strung up on street lamps.

[Inutoland]

Let's see...

-We have some pretty relaxed drug laws - anything that isn't a "hard" drug (mostly meaning artificial or refined) is legal and commercially available. So cannabis, coca leaves, opium and magic mushrooms are legal, but meth, heroin, crack and LSD aren't.

-We have about as relaxed an approach to public nudity as is possible - clothes are totally optional, though most people wear them for decorative purposes. Whether or not they actually cover anything is irrelevant.

-Body paint is part of our formal dress.

-You might see a domestic ground sloth being ridden down a city street. You almost certainly will see one along a country road.

-People are pretty laid back about sex, and our hospitality culture doesn't shrink from the offering of oneself to a guest (it's optional, not a requirement), but there are some subtle social rules about taking "no" for an answer when it's said obliquely which most foreigners don't get at all. Everyone seems to think we're all whores. We're not.

-It's 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade, with a humidity approaching saturation point on a drier day, and virtually no-one has any a/c.

-People bathe in public fountains, or anywhere there's water, and six times a day is normal. See above.

[Maraque]

-We have about as relaxed an approach to public nudity as is possible - clothes are totally optional, though most people wear them for decorative purposes. Whether or not they actually cover anything is irrelevant.

-Body paint is part of our formal dress.

-It's 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade, with a humidity approaching saturation point on a drier day, and virtually no-one has any a/c.

-People bathe in public fountains, or anywhere there's water, and six times a day is normal. See above.

This is pretty much us, too. Very nice.

[Conserative Morality]

It would be the hostility, hatred and cynicism of Nova Roma and Nova Latium. The provinces are pretty nice, though.

[Achalya Santis]

People tend to party -a lot, eat- a lot, drink -a lot, and wear dubi dubis on the street

[The Batorys]

Let's see...

-We have some pretty relaxed drug laws - anything that isn't a "hard" drug (mostly meaning artificial or refined) is legal and commercially available. So cannabis, coca leaves, opium and magic mushrooms are legal, but meth, heroin, crack and LSD aren't.

-We have about as relaxed an approach to public nudity as is possible - clothes are totally optional, though most people wear them for decorative purposes. Whether or not they actually cover anything is irrelevant.

-Body paint is part of our formal dress.

-You might see a domestic ground sloth being ridden down a city street. You almost certainly will see one along a country road.

-People are pretty laid back about sex, and our hospitality culture doesn't shrink from the offering of oneself to a guest (it's optional, not a requirement), but there are some subtle social rules about taking "no" for an answer when it's said obliquely which most foreigners don't get at all. Everyone seems to think we're all whores. We're not.

-It's 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade, with a humidity approaching saturation point on a drier day, and virtually no-one has any a/c.

-People bathe in public fountains, or anywhere there's water, and six times a day is normal. See above.

Sounds like a nice place, except for the heat.

[Threlizdun]

The practice of anarchism, communism, and syndicalism certainly is quite different from the rest of the world, though many things about Threlizdun may suprise outsiders. We pride ourselves on having one of the most culturally diverse landscapes out there.

[The Cookish States]

Here? You'd be shocked to see how loyal the citizens are forced to be to The Cookish States. Also, we eat more pork than any other nation out there.

[Central and Eastern Visayas]

....your country that would probably lead to surprise, uncertainly, confusion, or misunderstanding, due to being different from the mainstream of a majority of nations, what would that be?

In Californiication, that would be the absolute power of life and death wielded by street Judges in everyday life here over regular citizens.

OOC: Judge Dredd?

IC: Everyone has at least a knife close to the person.

[Zttiraza]

Zttiraza is a country of strict manners and loose laws; it is considered worse to be impolite than to steal or murder. Likewise, there is little presence of a police force. The reason for this is that, instead of going to school (save for a few children being entered into private schools), children learn a trade from their mother (there is no marriage in Zttiraza, but fathers are expected to care for a mother of their child from conception to the age of seven) along with the traditional Zttiraza practices of martial arts and swordplay. The common citizen of Zttiraza take the law into their own hands.

Adhering to the strict cultural upbringing, a citizen of Zttiraza will accept anyone who is clearly not a blatant threat into their homes if they are travellers that cannot find housing in a proper establishment. However, and the rules of proper etiquette are generally unspoken in Zttiraza, it is demanded on the guests' part that they pay their host back whether through monetary compensation, the handing over of a physical belonging, stories or words of wisdom, or free labor around the place. If one does not fulfill these unspoken expectations, they can expect not to be welcome in the community they acted so rudely in.

Likewise, the native language of Zttiraza is very demanding when it comes to respect. Words can clip off suddenly at the end of words as in accordance to the grammar of the language, and suffixes that are usually clipped off will sometimes be required to be spoken in certain situations. By forgetting this rule, a visitor to Zttiraza may find they have greatly offended a person of high regard by merely saying 'hello', and could end up facing the wrong end of a sword as a result.

There is also no true government; the sultan is merely a figurehead whose main role is to look good for representing their nation along with participating in foreign affairs. Indeed, one will rarely find the sultan in the Sultanate of Zttiraza.

Military service of seven years is also required of a legal citizen of Zttiraza in addition to the combat and survival training they undergo as youths, although this is when they're trained in more modern weaponry.