Jason D’Alessandro

England

On The Map

Basic InfoLocation: Northern Europe Part of the United KingdomPopulation: 51 million (2008)Languages: English (main), Cornish

(regionally recognized)Religions: Christian (71.6%), Muslim (2.7%),

Hindu (1%), other (1.6%), and unspecified/none (23.1%)

National SymbolsSt. George’s Flag

The English Royal Coat of Arms

SubculturesOne subculture that originated in England is Punk. It came around in the 60s and 70s. Punk usually makes people think about rebellious kids with an outrageous style. They’re kind of right. Punk kids are known for left-wing views and punk music. The punk movement has kind of died down, but there are still some punks lying around England somewhere.

Values, Beliefs, NormsThe norms in England are pretty similar to the norms here in the states. BUT there are some exceptions!In England they call chips “crisps” and their “chips” are actually french fries. They also think it is normal to put extra “u”s in some words.

Examples: Colour Flavour Harbour Honour Humour Labour Neighbour Rumour

EconomyEngland has a mixed economy (an economy with limited government involvement).

They have the 6th largest economy in the world. The jobs available are similar to the ones we have here.

HistoryEngland has been around for a while and has A LOT of history! I will try and make it brief…

Britain was Roman for a while (Brittannia) After the Roman era it was settled by Germanic groups called Anglo-Saxons. There was a Celtic influence following that. There was a Black Death near 1348 that ended up killing 1/3 of the

population. I believe cats could have prevented it a bit. They were being killed a lot at the time and if they were left alive they could have broke down the rat population! (=^.^=)

They had a lot of kings and queens, which they thought were chosen by God. The U.S. broke off of England to become the best country ever. The U.K. was formed There was an industrial revolution. They got a prime minister, but kept The Royal Family around.

England isn’t really having big conflicts right now.

My OpinionI like The Royal Family in England. I think it’s cool that they have something they’re so proud of and is so iconic. I like the history and little folk lore as well.

I don’t like how some of the accents sound. I feel that some of them sound really uneducated. A lot can sound prestigious, though.

I would like to live in England, but just for a bit. It would be cool to experience it, but the U.S. will always be my home! It is in my top 3 choices for if I’m ever exiled from the U.S., though! I prefer living here!

Japan

On The Map

Basic InfoLocation: an island in East AsiaPopulation: 127,450,459 (2010)Language: Japanese (main), Ryukyuan (regional), Ainu

(minority), Korean, Chinese, Tagalog, Portuguese (main immigrant languages), English (most common foreign language), Japanese Sign Language

Religion: Shinto, Buddhism, Bahá'í Faith, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism

Many Japanese combine elements of different religions (usually Shinto & Buddhism) instead of solely following one. They call it Shinbutsu Shūgō.

National SymbolsCherry blossomsNisshōki/Hinomaru (the flag)Privy Seal of JapanRising Sun Flag

Subcultures Sukeban (female boss) Takenokozoku (loose baggy bright clothing) Yanki and Bosozoku (female motorcycle gang) Ko Gal (trendy teen girls) Ganguro (means “black face” – they are very tan and kind of dress like

guidos/guidettes) Manba (a more obnoxious variation of Ganguro. I kind of like it.) Kigurumin (they dress in popular animated animal constumes, such as

Pikachu) Lolita (fancy and girly type clothing. Very popular.) Decora (Popular today. Its basically gaudy on purpose. I love the idea.

They include bright clothing and cute characters such as Hello Kitty.) Nagomu Gal (Indie type scene)

The Japanese subcultures are really fashion related. People have a very unique sense of style there! It’s interesting.

Values, Beliefs, Norms They find it impolite to look strangers in the eye. They have a ton of respect for the elderly and treat them with a lot of

honor and respect. Racism is very common in the older Japanese people, but younger people

seem to be more open-minded. Criticisms are not stated directly. They may just say something was “okay”

and that would signal that it was a terrible disaster. They eat with chopsticks.

-They have a lot of pressure on them in their culture and people get severely depressed sometimes. I found it interesting, although morbid, that Japan actually has a place, Aokigahara , which is sometimes nicknamed as “Suicide Forest.” People who can’t stand the pressure of their lives anymore kill themselves there. Nobody knows what draws them to it, but there are some strange electronic waves in the area. It’s a Bermuda Triangle type mystery in a way.

EconomyJapan basically has a capitalist economy. I’ve read there are communist influences in it, though.

Jobs available in Japan are similar to ones in the U.S. since we are both well-established countries, but they have a lot of business-type jobs.

History First signs of human life appeared in Japan in 30,000 B.C. In 600 B.C. they got their first emperor- Emperor Jimmu In 1185 Minamoto no Yoritomo is appointed Shogun and begins the

fuedal period of Japan. 1274 – Mongol invasions are held off by storms 1590- Toyotomi Hideyoshi brings Japan together as ruler. 1693- Japan stops letting people in and out of the country for a period

of time. 1854- Japan is finally open to the outside world again. 1867- Japan has an emperor again after years of shoguns- Emperor

Meiji 1937- Japan is in WWII and loses to U.S.A.

They are not currently in any conflicts, but did recently have a bad natural disaster.

My OpinionI really like how freely people express themselves through their style so boldly in Japanese culture. I dislike the pressure they put upon themselves, and how they passively use “okay” to express a terrible thing. I’d hate to feel like I was walking on eggshells all my life.

I’d definitely like to live in Japan, but only for a short period of time. Just enough time to take in all the culture would be good for me. I don’t think I’d want to live there forever though. I’d probably get sick of how busy and crowded Japan is.

Bibliographyhttp://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/

customs/questions/www.wikipedia.orgwww.google.comwww.orangesmile.comwww.answers.yahoo.comwww.listverse.com