How Would You Describe Your Country? |
"What's Russia like?" you ask me. Or perhaps it is Japan, or India, or even Australia you want to know about. Either way, you wait patiently while I search my vocab for a word to capture an entire culture, country and experience. It hardly seems fair to me, but I don't blame you. I do the same thing.
Actually, it's kind of fun. Words exist for this very reason. To express complex thought. So on a long train ride through Morocco recently, I decided to have a shot at coming up with fitting adjectives for all the countries I have visited. They are, of course, hopelessly inadequate, but they'll give you an idea of the sort of impression each country left on me.
Here goes, in alphabetical order. Non-english words are linked to their definition online.
Argentina | copado |
Australia | expensive |
Austria | European |
Bolivia | agrarian |
Brazil | hectic |
Cambodia | harrowing |
Canada | affable |
China | crude |
Costa Rica | lush |
Croatia | quaint |
Ecuador | difficult |
England | conciliatory |
France | imperial |
Hungary | average |
India | illogical |
Indonesia | amiable |
Italy | jovial |
Japan | relentless |
Korea | geeky |
Malaysia | unimpressive |
Morocco | stressful |
Nicaragua | epic |
Panama | dirty |
Peru | authentic |
Portugal | forgotten |
The Philippines | corrupt |
Russia | brutal |
Singapore | strict |
South Africa | patriotic |
Spain | alive |
Sri Lanka | modest |
Tanzania | poor |
Thailand | sanuk |
Turkey | disoriented |
United Arab Emirates | excessive |
USA | self-centred |
Vietnam | intense |
That's 37 countries in all. I count 11 positive adjectives, 16 neutral ones, and 10 negative ones.
The question you're most likely to ask me next is "Which country is your favourite?" For that, I'm afraid I can't give you a simple answer. That won't stop me trying though. I'll blog about it soon, I promise :)
Until then...
How Would You Describe Your Country?![]() |
Roger Keays is an artist, an engineer, and a student of life. He has no fixed address and has left footprints on 40-something different countries around the world. Roger is addicted to surfing. His other interests are music, psychology, languages, the proper use of semicolons, and finding good food. |