After watching some political posts on Slovak Facebook I have noticed that many people commenting struggle with basic grammar concepts which are learned during the first 5 years of the basic school.

Is it also common in your country that people have problems with the grammar of their own language?

“They should Pokemon GO to the polls” Hillary Clinton 2016

I'm from Spain and I'd say: how late we apparently eat. I'm used to having lunch at 14-15h and dinner at 21-22h, sometimes later if I don't have to wake up early the following day. Every single time I travel to another european country and I have to eat dinner at like 19:30 or earlier my stomach gets so confused, because that's usually the time I'm eating merienda (a snack before dinner time). It's not easy to adapt!

I think in Portugal they also have dinner at 21h or so, shout out to my Iberian siblings :D

Tell me how your country differentiates from others, I'm curious!

I'm a contractor working on a project a European institution in Brussels. At work, sometimes I need to call out a European official because I haven’t received some information I needed, or because they didn’t do something in the way I needed it in order to carry out my role. Most of the time, I explain my problem, they apologize, and we move on. But with some people — from a certain European region (in my experience) — the conversation usually goes something like this:

Me: Hi, we agreed that you would stop doing X and start doing Y, but I’ve noticed you’re still doing X.

Them: stare off-camera with no expression whatsoever.

Me: Hello, can you hear me? Do you know what I’m referring to? I really need you to do Y instead of X, would that be possible?

Them: sit completely still and silent.

Me: (raising my voice) Hellooo, can you hear me? Is my mic working? Is the video frozen?

Them: (rolls eyes) Of course I can hear you. I don’t know why you Spaniards are always so loud, it’s irritating.

Me: Oh, great. So do you need help implementing Y? Do you want me to talk to your director general?

Them: silent, won’t look at the camera.

Sometimes this is followed by a strongly worded email from the official to my supervisor, complaining that I am “not respectful” or that I “don’t respect other people’s boundaries.” If I decide to bring up that email in our next call, the cycle repeats:

Me: Hi, it seems like there’s something about the way I work that you don’t like. Could you tell me what it is, so I can see if I can change it?

Them: stare silently without answering.

And so on, forever.

The couple times I've experienced this, it's been with people from a certain region. I mentioned it to my supervisor and they said, "oh they're like that, they avoid confrontation". But this is the exact opposite of avoiding confrontation. I was taught that there's nothing more impolite than ignoring a direct question, and I find it extremely triggering.

Is this a common communication technique where you're from, and if it is, what's the expected response to other people's lack of response?

I’m Australian and in Australia, expectant mothers commonly celebrate with a ‘baby shower’ prior to the arrival of their newborn baby. This is where the Mum has a small party and is ‘showered’ with gifts from friends and family. Generally entailing, food, pregnancy related games and socialising (big day for the pregnant person). My friend is French-born and has only been in Australia for a few years. She is having a small get together/ baby shower. Though she had said to me that in France, they don’t really have the same cultural tradition like in Australia. I would only assume it would be incredibly difficult not having parents and loved ones close by, so I want to make sure I get her something sentimental and heartfelt. What is something that French gift women prior/after the birth of their baby? Or something I could make/ create/ order? Any advice would be appreciated!

I think this question is for teenagers only. Does the education system in your country have ruthless competition and heavy workload? Do you stay up at night just to get into prestigious Universities?How is it compared to east Asia like Singapore or South Korea? Do you wish to study more or less?

In America, we have many cities that primarily focus on regional American tourism - Pigeon Forge, Branson, Wisconsin Dells - which primarily target people who can drive from a few hours away. Do these exist in European countries? Not necessarily the driving part, but targeting people who live in the country instead of international tourists.

Example: Car brackets based on engine displacement, used for calculating insurance/tax. I'm not sure if it made sense when it was introduced, but it definitely doesn't make sense today. Because what originally was an emission related regulation, today it can cause situation, where more environmentally friendly cars can be charged more, just because they have bigger engine.

I have no idea if these kinds of programs exist in other countries, let alone how popular they are.

In Spain, we have two main ones: 'El Hormiguero' and 'La Revuelta'. The former is the older and more established of the two, while the latter is a more recent addition, starting out as a more niche and less casual alternative, though right now both are really "family-oriented" shows.

Both programs have a similar structure: they interview a popular guest, which is the main part of the show, and then mix this with comedy sketches, science experiments, and so on.

In Poland according to UOKIK (Office of Competition and Consumer Protection) says that client is required to have exact amount for purchase in cash and cashiers, if have a valid reason (which is for example not having enough to give to the client), don’t have to give client the change, how does it work in other countries around the europe?

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Welcome to our daily scheduled post, the Daily Slow Chat.

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What weird statues does your country have?

Seeking recommendations for 2026 with walkable restaurants, pubs and sightseeing.

For reference, this summer was Luz St Sauveur, Annecy, and Avignon. What's next?

What part of your country do people have the best sense of humour?

For example in Estonian it's "Sops".

Hello,

I saw a reportage on tv 20 years about a country. I saw a fishermen prepare some fish filet raw in a jar of sea water. It was to eat later.

Do you know how this preparation is called and in which country?

Thanks. PS: I know fafaru but I want to know the european version.

Hello there!

Welcome to our daily scheduled post, the Daily Slow Chat.

If you want to just chat about your day, if you have questions for the moderators (please mark these [Mod] so we can find them), or if you just want talk about oatmeal then this is the thread for you!

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The mod-team wishes you a nice day!

What issue is currently dividing your country?

For example in Estonian basketball is "korvpall" and is very commonly called "koss". Some people might also say "korv". So "Mängime kossu?" - "Should we play basketball?"

I stumble on this notion the other day.

In English/American school system, there is this notion of proper and improper fraction.

For example, 4/3 is an improper fraction because 4 is > 3. The "proper" notation should then be 1 + 1/3. It tracks with the way Americans measure everything with fractions instead of decimal notation.

The fact is I have never encounter this during my education. According to the French Wikipedia article, it's a notion that only exist in the English speaking culture, but I wonder if it's part of the curriculum in other European countries.

Someone said this to me and I assumed she meant Moldova. I then learned Moldavia is a region across several different countries.

Gauging smartphone use across Europe. In the USA, Apple still dominates hard.

Bonus question: is it in light mode or dark mode?
Bonus Bonus: Any cool case?

Hello there!

Welcome to our daily scheduled post, the Daily Slow Chat.

If you want to just chat about your day, if you have questions for the moderators (please mark these [Mod] so we can find them), or if you just want talk about oatmeal then this is the thread for you!

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The mod-team wishes you a nice day!

Hello there!

Welcome to our daily scheduled post, the Daily Slow Chat.

If you want to just chat about your day, if you have questions for the moderators (please mark these [Mod] so we can find them), or if you just want talk about oatmeal then this is the thread for you!

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The mod-team wishes you a nice day!

I guess you can already answer without reading, I'd rather get your first answers than none at all because you decided it was too long to read ^^' but if you care to, let me explain: I live in France, I'm not French.

TLDR; How are the education systems and culture different? in terms of flexibility, assessment, pedagogy & interactiveness, counselling...

I came to study: I finished my bachelor's in France, completed a Master's program but because of a very shitty internship and tutors, I didn't get my Master's diploma, so I haven't been able to work in that field. I'd like to validate that diploma. However, my experience with French uni (and workplace to be honest) has been... a bit traumatic, it really took a toll on me. Might be culture shock, idk. Very traditional, hierarchical, square... Last year I realized a lot of my difficulties came from actually having ADD, so those 3 adjectives are particularly difficult for me to fit into. I am currently medicated so I have gotten better about things, strategies and stuff, but I don't see myself going back to French uni, going through their crappy pedagogy (lectures, lack of participation... - sorry, i work in uni too now, i see it first hand).

I was wondering about studying somewhere else in the EU, ideally an English course I guess, (I do like learning languages, I speak 3 and am learning a 4th, I just don't know if I'd get to another academic fluency - already in French people say I write the way I speak and while it's correct I indeed am not great with formal syntax). How are the education systems and culture different? Example the Dutch have good studying opportunities but I heard they can be very brutal with feedback. The Germans... scare me a bit? x) with their deal with punctuality and such I'm worried they can also be rigid... Sorry for these examples, I admit I don't know that much about them so it's just impressions and worries that maybe you can help dispel :)

Sorry for the long context question. Thanks for reading.

(optional reading) As a tangent : I have a temporary visa, I hope to get citizenship in like 3-4 years. (Been living here for 11, 6 of which as a student, the rest as a partner, only been married for 2, need to be married for 4-5 to ask for nationality that way, so I'm waiting) My question on this tangent, just in case anyone knows, is if I study somewhere else in Europe, will my visa status allow me to benefit from european uni fees and not be labeled non-EU therefore paying thousands? Or am I right in waiting until I have citizenship.