Cultural Backgrounds - Quirks

[Bainbridge Islands]

Cultural Backgrounds ? Quirks

 

I was discussing things that make cultures unique with my Teutonic wife, and was inspired with an idea. What things could you see or observe about a person, and peg (know) them as a certain nationality? As many here know, my wife is German, and there are certain habits that she has that scream German (i.e. She drinks a lot of coffee, always has to have a pot ready, and it is blazingly strong; Uptight about punctuality ? we have at least one clock in every room in the house, and we have five cuckoo clocks just for ?fun?; and she doesn?t recognize the idea of relaxation, ?you are either productive or sleeping? (throw in a German accent here).

I spent a good amount of my youth in Spain, and my own background is Hispanic, so I have (so I?m told) some ?Hispanic? quirks (Use my hands while I?m speaking [use hand gestures to emphasize what I?m saying]; Tend to go ?off topic? when discussing things (I eventually get to the point); and I tend to overdress when going out (the wife pointed this out while I was ironing my T-shirts. Hey, I don?t want to look like a bum!)

Anyway, getting back go the topic at hand, what is unique about your nation?s culture, that if anyone else saw it, they could say, ?Hey that guy/gal is from ?. because of ??? I don?t have any tables or charts for this, so designing these ?quirks? is up to you!

 

Edited September 17, 2006 by Bainbridge Islands (see edit history)

[Nevareion]

A really nice idea to add some character.

 

 

The Nevareies Character

The people are renowned for loving a good argument, which is the favourite way of passing the hot midday hours in a caf? or bar. Foreigners often mistake these for real disputes but the Nevareies see them as a good-natured way of passing the time. The average citizen loves tradition and young and old alike keep up the centuries old festivals, sayings and religion. Despite this they are a tolerant and friendly people who value hospitality to strangers.

 

 

[Bainbridge Islands]

KBI

 

Oroini tourists in Halo giving the "shaka" sign, with man wearing an Aloha shirt

 

Aloha Shirts ? Loose and light shirts, they come in a wide variety of colors and designs. They may have natural designs on them (i.e. flower, leaves), tropical themes (i.e. surfing, pineapples), or just about anything else (i.e. sport teams/themes, corporate logos, Tikis). They come in a variety of colors, from earth tones to loud, retina burning colors. Just about every male has at least two or three of them, and some are collectors items, for their topic and age. A current favorite is the ?EOS friendship tour Aloha shirt?, which is essentially an EOS flag in an Aloha shirt (bright red and yellow flag design). Very popular, if you can stand looking at it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aloha_shirt

http://www.waveshoppe.com/aloha-attire.htm

 

Islander woman wearing head lei, giving a "shaka" sign

 

The ?Shaka? or ?Hang loose? hand gesture ? A common greeting among the Islands, similar to ?Hey!?, or ?What?s up??

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaka_sign

http://kukuigirl.spaces.live.com/blog/cns&...9!475.entry

 

Leis may be made of may types of flowers and leaves

 

Lei ? A wreath or garland that is commonly used for ceremonies, welcoming, or any major event or celebrations.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lei_%28Hawaii%29

http://www.coffeetimes.com/leis.htm

 

Members of the Traditionalist party at a rally in He'e. The speaker of the lower house is wearing the distictive "Te" lei, a symbol of leadership

[Haken]

A Riderian...

 

... drives a 2PK when living in the wasteland and a Jeep when living in the city.

... always likes to dicuss how much the current national flag is ugly.

... mostly follows the Church of Haken Rider, because of the benefits.

... is shallow when it comes to others.

... wears a dress when living in the wasteland and jeans when living in the city.

... hates the national weather.

... appreciates quality propaganda.

... prefers to see foreign news, insead of local.

... is very progressive when it comes to civil rights.

... is very progressive when it comes to labourrights, not that they can anything against it.

... dislikes HCDonalds food, but goes to eat there once a week.

... like to parody Ide Jiman television shows.

... speaks on an average two languages.

... always has a bad hair day.

... has bad interpretaion, but are good in writing.

... likes goldfishes more than cows and bulls.

... thinks modesty doesn't suit him/her.

... dislikes war.

... thinks accents are sexy.

[Miiros]

The people of Miiros are a unique people stemming from the fact they all live in the largest city-state in all of history. They are used to having an extensive array of urban services at their disposal and need to utilize all of them to stay on schedule. Miirosi people have a mortal fear of falling behind schedule, you see, as they are likely to get trampled by everyone else rather than offered a chance to catch up. Many Miirosi travelers are confused by the lack of an effective form of mass transit or wireless internet access anywhere they go.

 

The fast paced life of Miiros has spawned a nation full of multi-taskers. Any Miirosi has a Personal Digital Assistant, or PDA, that is worn comfortably on their head and has a clear view screen covering their right eye. This device is a cellular phone, digital organizer/planner, and multimedia tool that also provide internet access anywhere. It also keeps people up to date on news, weather forecasts, traffic/underground conditions, and when to cross the street (due to people walking into traffic).

 

In a city that never sleeps, the citizenry also try to do so and are thus addicted to caffeine. Coffee, espresso, lattes are all consumed fervently and a Miirosi is always said to go from point A to B to C, B being a coffee shop. Energy drinks can also be found in strategically places vending machines.

 

In Miiros it is nearly a crime to be late to anything since all time is precious. Therefore, it is not uncommon for a Miirosi to get very upset with someone of another nationality for being late or causing them to fall behind schedule. Miirosi tour directors have been rumored to threaten foreign tour groups with violence to keep things moving. Whether or not they were joking is open to debate.

 

Miirosi are generally cold towards others needing help, as self-sufficiency is a central tenant in the Free City. Things are meant to work properly and effectively, traffic should always flow, subways should always arrive on time, and that double shot espresso had best be served in less than two minutes! If a person falls behind or is down on their luck, they are effectively trampled by the rushed Miirosi people. There are deadlines to meet after all. The exception to this rule would be with foreigners or younger people who do not know the city enough yet to be able to take care of themselves. Helping them will allow them to help themselves in the long run, so giving directions to the visibly lost tourists from the Bainbridge Islands would be common. =P

 

Despite all this hustle and bustle, for one moment the Free City stops to catch its breath. Generally starting at noon, the people of Miiros like to take a breather if you will and take to the gardens or talk with friends for an hour or two or maybe just take a nap. If they miss their one break from a tough day, Miirosi tend to be very cranky.

 

After the workday is finished in Miiros, people just need to unwind. How a Miirosi does this varies greatly. Many take to the many clubs, bars, or casinos to relax. Others take to spas or bath houses to be pampered or the gardens illuminated by the bright city lights to meditate. All Miirosi use their time off work as efficiently as every though, wanting to get in as much dancing, drinking, meditation, socializing, whatever as they possibly can. Then they return home to sleep a few hours and start over again. In fact, most Miirosi are only at home to sleep or prepare for some other event or task. They are always moving around and again, the PDA is the only reliable way to reach them.

 

Miirosi tend to speak quickly and like to gesture with their hands while doing so. They often dislike stopping to talk, so a common greeting would be "Hi! Walk with me." Besides, stopping on a sidewalk in Miiros would start a riot. If a conversation is to truly occur, they would walk to a nearby coffee shop or garden where you won't be trampled. Miirosi also have a minor accent (Icelandic), although they deny this.

 

Dress in Miiros depends on the occasion, but most Miirosi travel the city dressed professionally. There are proper things to wear for any occasion and Miirosi do their best to meet these standards.

 

To sum the Miirosi people up, they are always on the go and always use what time they have to the best of their ability and can never be reached at home.

[Damak Var]

EDIT: whoops, I dont know why I posted it here. Should go in cultural backgrounds.

Edited March 20, 2007 by BlackJackEmperor (see edit history)

[Cristina]

"In general, the Cristinese favors free markets and limited governments, and still care about the kind of things people on the left refer to as “social justice” – relieving poverty, racial and sexual equality, immigrant rights, LBGTQ rights, and so on. Hence, the common slogan, “free markets and social justice.”

In Cristina, most people seek to maximize political freedom and autonomy, emphasizing individualism, freedom of choice and voluntary association. Those share a skepticism of authority and state power, but they diverge on the scope of their opposition to existing economic and political systems.

For a typical Cristinese, ideas don’t exist in a vacuum, and, since politics is ultimately a vision of the world, the viewpoints a person espouses say a lot about his or her character".

- Chiara Lambertini, Sociologist

 

Edited September 11, 2020 by Cristina (see edit history)