I made the following post on my Instagram stories and received a response from a friend of a friend of mine that I should not be expecting a non-english speaking country to speak english. Either the person misunderstood my message, or I am being ethnocentric, or a language supremacist. Any feedback would be appreciated. I simply was shocked at the low level of English Proficiency in Japan, did some research and found the facts, and posted about it.

"Japan's lack of English proficiency is quite astonishing, given their global markets, international presence, and tourism being a major contributor to the Japanese economy. On one hand, I think it's a clever tactic to keep supply chains and resources within the country as a means of keeping the country self-sustaining, with minimal dependence on other nations. On the other hand, this pretty much land locks the Japanese from independent traveling and experiencing not just the West, but pretty much the rest of the world beyond 'Google Translate' and Japansse guided tours. No idea how Japan is going to host the 2025 Expo with the level of standards they presumably hold themselves to. I've read that the organizing committee is worried and recognizes this as a known issue that is rooted in their education system and no significant change has been made to yield measurable results and differences."

We need your opinion about Russia for a school project. How do you see the image of an ordinary Russian person? How do you imagine the Russian president? How do you feel about a person from Russia?

Hello all,

I am an Indian living in a western country for the past 8 years. I asked a friend (Caucasian) recently if he wanted to visit India. He told me he doesn’t want to because his wife (her ethnicity is south Asian but she was born and brought up in Canada) told him that India is dirty and people are close minded and that she hates it. This kind of hit me hard. I did not respond to him because I didn’t know what to say. I have heard similar remarks from my colleagues recently. Talking about outsourcing work to Indian agencies and how Indian people are cheap.

I love my country. Seeing people categorizing India as dirty makes me feel uncomfortable to say the least. Does everyone feel the same way about India? I know it is true to some extent, but is it really that bad from a westerner’s perspective? I love the culture, the people and the food. The rich heritage and history India has is unmatched.

Having lived in multiple countries, I feel that ultimately, countries like USA, Canada are not that different from India. I would say the differences are on the surface level. But deep down, western countries also face similar issues like India. The scale and flavor might be different. US has drug problems, gun culture, racism, corruption to some extent and more. Being a brown woman working in corporate, I have noticed discrimination against women and people of color. India has issues with population, corruption, economic disparity, low living standards etc.

My friends remarks made me really upset. He mentioned multiple times that his wife hates the country.

Do you also feel the same way about India?

Thank you!

I come across posts on here and tiktoks were some parents boot their children out as early as 17 and expect their children to get loans to survive and pay tuition during uni… even for some who can afford to pay for it. Why would you want to see your child struggle if you can do something about it?

Where I’m from our parents even the ones who aren’t as well off as others pay for everything during your time in Uni… even when on scholarship parents pay for the stuff not cover under scholarship.

I feel silly for not knowing this and appreciate anyone who responds.

Every few times or so that I discuss a problem I have with with how the USA (the country I live in) runs, whatever person I'm talking with responds "every country has it's problems." I get nauseous going "woe is me in this resource-abundant country," but I'm curious if this is a typical response in other countries. Or, put another way: what is a typical response where you live when you discuss problems you're having with how things are running?

Thank you in advance.

I live in Australia where Airsoft is banned completely. I visited my grandad in Northern Wales in 2019 for 4 months and played airsoft on weekends while I was there and FELL IN LOVE. I bought my own guns and gear, which I later had to sell when leaving. 3 years later I NEED to get back into it.

I now want to move to a country where it is livable enough (finding a job/affordable accommodation), as well as having a strong enough Airsoft community to make friends and try different locations etc. Any advice and suggestions welcome!

PLEASE HELP ME! Anyone interested in making an Aussie mate to play Airsoft with? :P I'm 24 btw.

like the countries that end with STAN. I feel like those countries were conquered by the west in the past from Russia before they had a name. And secondly. Who drew all the borders between the countries in those areas? How do they decide where an border starts and ends? Is it who brought their military there first? When it comes to borders language is the most important thing that need to be taken into consideration, second is culture and third distance. I feel like many countries might have some pieces of land that belongs to other countries say by past wars and conquests or just pure immigration to the area in high flock so then it seemed like that place belonged to them all along . And Russia just didnt care because their land was so big anyway until today the importance more than ever.

Hello! Long time lurker, first time poster lol.

I am an American and lived with my dad in Germany for 2 years. I had a SOFA card (status of forces agreement) that was basically a visa. Because I am no longer a dependent after I turn 21, my SOFA card visa expired. I decided to stay one year longer. My visa expired in July 2021, and then my 90 days started. I have overstayed by about 9 months. I am leaving the EU to go back home to the US, but am wondering if they will catch me at the airport coming back to the states. What is the worst that could happen? Should I fly out of Germany (where they see SOFA cards and understand military stuff) or should I try to fly out of Spain? I will pay a fine no big deal but I do not want to be banned from the EU because my dad loves here and I plan to return to visit him as well as get my masters here. PLEASE help!

My father is korean. My Mother is half ukrainian and half german. We are all born in Uzbekistan, but we live now 20 years in Germany. I also have the german citizenship. I always say I'm half korean, quarter ukrainian, quarter german. But many are arguing with me saying I'm Uzbek cause i was born there. But nobody ever says I'm german cause i look asian and i have many vietnamese friends who are born in germany and they are also never called german even though they are born here. ''No they are Vietnamese''. I'm really confused what i should call myself. What do you guys think my nationality is?

Hello,

I come from a small European country, and I'll be moving to Canada in late September. I was wondering if any of you knows, or how does the connection between the US and Canada feel? Is it like countries within the European Union? It surely isn't as close as states in the US or provinces in Canada, but it is close? Or is the relationship remote? I '´m not sure if I explained myself correctly, hopefully, you'll get what I mean.

Thank you very much, I am very open to discussion

i’m a european highschooler that was born in england, and cause of Brexit to move there i’d need a visa. but from what people tell me i can live there if i get a job there. so can you answer my question?

Do they just keep going and venture as far as possible and talk to the people and see if they speak the same language?

Do they just keep going and venture as far as possible and talk to the people and see if they speak the same language?

Do they just keep going and venture as far as possible and talk to the people and see if they speak the same language?

Do they just keep going and venture as far as possible and talk to the people and see if they speak the same language?

Thanks to the kindness of the mod team here, we are allowed to introduce you r/AskTheWorld, a new subreddit aiming to build a large international community for asking and answering questions about all countries and cultures around the world.

Basically, what subreddits like r/AskEurope, r/AskAnAmerican, r/AskAnAfrican and others do for certain regions of the world, r/AskTheWorld is supposed to do for the entire world.

We aim to bring people of all nationalities from all over the world into the community in order to highlight the differences and similarities between different cultures.

And there's more!

We are going to take cultural exchange to the next level.

We've started to build a network of national communities and put in touch with each other in order to schedule cultural exchanges in an organized way. Big subreddits like r/AskBalkans, r/AskARussian, r/AskAnAustralian, r/AskACanadian and others have already joined us.

If you find it interesting, head over to r/AskTheWorld and check it out. Start getting answers to questions you've always had about other countries.

If you have any queries, concerns or suggestions, please reply to this post or reach out to us in the r/AskTheWorld Modmail.

Thank you for reading, and hopefully we haven't wasted your time.

- The mods of r/AskTheWorld

Hey!

​

My father is 100% Lithuanian and is a third generation immigrant. Given how the times where when he was little, despite being born in the United States, his parent's lives were deeply steeped in Lithuanian culture (including speaking the language). My grandparents died when I was little but I heard lots of stories from the perspective of a Lithuanian-proud family living in a small United States city. A couple things that I have never been able to figure out is what our Lithuanian surname actually should be and why people called my grandfather "mook".

​

1. According to a 1910 deed, my great grandfather's name was "Adam Nowiski". 20 years later my grandfather's name appeared in the deed as "Anthony Navicky" and my great grandfather's name was Adam Naviski (otherwise known as Adam Nowiski). 20 years after that, my grandfather sold the house under the name Anthony Novicki". His name was "Anthony Novackie" when he entered the service, but they changed his name to "Anthony Novak" to normalize it. My family's surname remains Novak. However, Novak appears to be more Czech than anything.Oof, so many surnames! There's Nowiski, Navicky, Naviski, Novicki and Novackie. I am curious if anyone from Lithuania is familiar with a name that you feel like is the genesis of these names.
2. My grandfather's given name was Anthony. From what I understand, the Lithuanian version of that name is Antanas. However, I am told that his friends would call him "antamookus" (an teh mook us). He got the nickname "mook" when a friend, who had a speech impediment, would say "ant-a-mook-mook-mook-mook-us!" when saying his name. I was told that kids often have a different name when kids then when they're adults, but I cannot find information on that anywhere. I was wondering if anyone can shed some light on what the origin of this nickname is from.

​

Thanks! If someone is aware of a different resource I can ask this question, please don't hesitate to let me know!

Hey!

​

My father is 100% Lithuanian and is a third generation immigrant. Given how the times where when he was little, despite being born in the United States, his parent's lives were deeply seeped in Lithuanian culture (including speaking the language). My grandparents died when I was little but I heard lots of stories from the perspective of a Lithuanian-proud family living in a small United States city. A couple things that I have never been able to figure out is what our Lithuanian surname actually should be and why people called my grandfather "mook".

​

1. According to a 1910 deed, my great grandfather's name was "Adam Nowiski". 20 years later my grandfather's name appeared in the deed as "Anthony Navicky" and my great grandfather's name was Adam Naviski (otherwise known as Adam Nowiski). 20 years after that, my grandfather sold the house under the name Anthony Novicki". His name was "Anthony Novackie" when he entered the service, but they changed his name to "Anthony Novak" to normalize it. My family's surname remains Novak. However, Novak appears to be more Czech than anything.

Oof, so many surnames! There's Nowiski, Navicky, Naviski, Novicki and Novackie. I am curious if anyone from Lithuania is familiar with a name that you feel like is the genesis of these names.

2. My grandfather's given name was Anthony. From what I understand, the Lithuanian version of that name is Antanas. However, I am told that his friends would call him "antamookus" (an teh mook us). He got the nickname "mook" when a friend, who had a speech impediment, would say "ant-a-mook-mook-mook-mook-us!" when saying his name. I was told that kids often have a different name when kids then when they're adults, but I cannot find information on that anywhere. I was wondering if anyone can shed some light on what the origin of this nickname is from.

​

Thanks! If someone is aware of a different resource I can ask this question, please don't hesitate to let me know!

Hey!

​

My father is 100% Lithuanian and is a third generation immigrant. Given how the times where when he was little, despite being born in the United States, his parent's lives were deeply seeped in Lithuanian culture (including speaking the language). My grandparents died when I was little but I heard lots of stories from the perspective of a Lithuanian-proud family living in a small United States city. A couple things that I have never been able to figure out is what our Lithuanian surname actually should be and why people called my grandfather "mook".

​

1. According to a 1910 deed, my great grandfather's name was "Adam Nowiski". 20 years later my grandfather's name appeared in the deed as "Anthony Navicky" and my great grandfather's name was Adam Naviski (otherwise known as Adam Nowiski). 20 years after that, my grandfather sold the house under the name Anthony Novicki". His name was "Anthony Novackie" when he entered the service, but they changed his name to "Anthony Novak" to normalize it. My family's surname remains Novak. However, Novak appears to be more Czech than anything.

Oof, so many surnames! There's Nowiski, Navicky, Naviski, Novicki and Novackie. I am curious if anyone from Lithuania is familiar with a name that you feel like is the genesis of these names.

2. My grandfather's given name was Anthony. From what I understand, the Lithuanian version of that name is Antanas. However, I am told that his friends would call him "antamookus" (an teh mook us). He got the nickname "mook" when a friend, who had a speech impediment, would say "ant-a-mook-mook-mook-mook-us!" when saying his name. I was told that kids often have a different name when kids then when they're adults, but I cannot find information on that anywhere. I was wondering if anyone can shed some light on what the origin of this nickname is from.

​

Thanks! If someone is aware of a different resource I can ask this question, please don't hesitate to let me know!

I grew up in Midwest US. Songs from the American Robin, Northern Cardinal, and Mourning Dove immediately take me back to my home. I’d like to hear some of the native bird calls others associate with their region.

Robin: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CCh-Ga7bu6M

Northern Cardinal: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9m1rhFHBbDE

Mourning Dove: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dW0yDD8VnUY

Hi all, I just moved to the USA recently and want to connect back to my family in India. They don't have an Internet connection at home. I got to know about a few apps that let you Call on the sim. The thing is they do charge; You have to buy credit but the charges are a bit lower as compared to a phone. Please suggest an app if you are using one.

View Poll

If you're taking about weight, would you say the whole word, kilograms, or would you say kilos? If you're guessing at weight, do you generally round to the nearest five kilograms or do you tend to be more specific?

In my language, the rule for a semi-colon is. By English-speaker I mean native monolingual.

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