I obviously have some connection to Ukraine, but even if I didn’t, I think that the world of the ‘Far European East’, with its history of interaction with the Mongols and Tatars and other Oriental tribes is utterly fascinating.

That, and the fact that verenyky has got to be one of the best foods ever, makes it a country and culture that continues to capture my imagination.

What country/culture/language, beyond the one you currently inhabit, interests you?

(In the meantime, an excellent Ukrainian claymation…)

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JLa6_C_-qI[/video]

Japan

Italy. Love the food, the culture, the attitude, the landscape, the cycling… I’m mildly tempted to buy somewhere out there but there’s a heart vs head thing going on – plus I’ve read that the bureaucracy can be tricky for non-Italians.

Russia

See Yozhik v Tumane for an insight into Russian philosophy & allegorical storytelling. It helps that it’s one of the most perfectly-crafted animations ever produced:
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCsJZV7aCdY[/video]

EDIT: sneaky edit to Japan, I see.

Great entry, The_Flying_Ox. Thanks for the animation link.

TBH with most of the cultures that really interest me, the more I learn the less interesting they are; I think I’m basically interested in cultures I don’t understand 😆 It’s a tightrope.

Yorkshire what else.

Seriously all the early to medieval northern England, southern Scotland and Border country stuff. Especially place names and language. Been reading some great books by Alister Moffat and Rory Stewart. There are lesson for us all in what happened accross the area.

France/French. Eat cheese, drink wine, shrug at questions you don’t want to answer, ignore people who try and make you do things you don’t want to do, ride bicycles every day.

With French blood and growing up in Yorkshire it’s a miracle I haven’t exploded from surliness.

Hoping to habla Espanol a bit by the time I move there in September, Duolingo app allowing…

Indian subcontinent for me. I find it utterly fascinating and whilst I haven’t undertaken an in-depth study of the place, what little I have discovered keeps the interest up. Incredible diversity in peoples, cultures, topography, climate, fauna & flora. From the Himalayas to the Nicobars and everything in between!

Basically all of them. The world is such an impossibly amazing, varied and fascinating place I could not possibly favourite one place.

I try to really understand the layers of history that make up our current geopolitical world. Concepts like country, state and even ethnic group are simple labels that cover up millenia of human events.

Ironically, given it’s reputation, being in Swindon has been brilliant for understanding our own country’s history.

Despite my intitial scepticism, I really really enjoyed that heavyweight 6-parter on the Beeb recently about the history of China, and also the current one about the Silk road seems pretty good too.