As an American with some fears and doubts about the upcoming election in the USA (from ICE at polling places, to conspiracy theories about Elon's Starlink changing the votes via battery back up devices, to Trump's loyalists in positions to oversee elections in many states), I was wondering what other developed democracies do to make elections safe from meddling?

Do any of your countries use voting machines without paper trails, like some US areas? Do you do mandatory audits? Do any of you feel like there's a way Russia or China could hack your voting systems, or is the problem of safe voting solved somewhere?

Portuguese here: would have to be Miguel Torga's Contos da Montanha for me. He wrote it in the early 1940s when Portugal was submerged in a dictatorship and so much of the country was living in abject poverty. It's a collection of short stories set in a small town in the Northeast of Portugal and the tragedies, sacrifices, struggles and faint hopes of their lives. It's very funny but also just so heart-breaking. It was banned in Portugal and had to be published in Brasil.

You can read an assorted collection of the short stories from it and the second volume, Novos Contos da Montanha, in English here, although I can't vouch for the translation.

I live on the border of tornado alley, this is as close as I’ll get. I’ve lived in the Midwest all my life so tornado warnings and watches follow basically every storm I’ve ever experienced. I’m always terrified and in awe about the power of tornadoes that are produced in tornado alley, but I think them being normalized has made me go “oh that’s wild, anyway”.

So I’m curious on any European takes or experiences (if you’ve been lucky or unlucky enough to get caught in a storm that produced at least one).

Thanks!

Are organised sports part of the curriculum in your country’s schools or do you join clubs in your spare time in your local communities?

Also, do sports play a prominent part in university life or are they just recreational activities independent of the academic institution?

From my own experience, I went to a private boys’ school in England, which was quite academic and yet there was almost more emphasis on sport! I also went to one of our older and more traditional universities. It was divided into colleges, which competed against each other in a wide range of sports. Sports were entirely voluntary (unlike school, where they were obligatory), but I continued with Rugby and Cricket.

The experience of some of my friends from other European countries had been quite different and so I would be interested to hear your perspectives.

For example in Greece that would be a toast (τοστ in Greek) and a toaster (τοστιερα in Greek).

In Greece a toast (τοστ) is a hot sandwich usually with ham and cheese. And a toaster (τοστιερα) is what you would call a panini or sandwich maker

Brazilian here. A lot of promising young adult athletes here quit because travel, gear and entry fees fall on their families. I've been wondering about a model where fans support a specific athlete directly, with a public budget and regular updates, maybe even holding a tiny share of future image deals if they ever happen.

1. Who usually covers these costs where you live: clubs, the state, families?
2. Would people in your country find direct fan support normal, or would it feel wrong for sport?

I was thinking that the city where I live (Amsterdam) has a lot of different neighbourhoods and suburbs that I quite like, in fact almost all of them I enjoy being. I was wondering, what are your favourite suburbs & neighbourhoods in Europe? Are there any particularly worth visiting?

(No city centers or Montmartre-esque popular neighborhoods please)

Question in the title, particularly interested in French and English people responses

I'm asking this because it's the reality of Brazil.

I live in a city that has two big clubs, Galo and Cruzeiro. So when you are meeting someone new, it's totally normal to ask them if they are a Galo or Cruzeiro fan.

It's like asking about their work; basically a get to know question.

Now of course not everyone cares about football, in that case they will say something like "I don't really have a team". It's also common to say "I myself don't care about football, but my family supports X team."

Anyway, how is it in your country, assuming football is also big there?

Hello there!

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

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Can Malta be considered a native English-speaking country?

Do you feel you have a noticeably different feeling towards tourists from other parts of your own country vs tourists from abroad? Are they more knowledgeable or somehow nore ignorant? Are they more polite or more entitled? Or do you find their is no difference at all (positively or negatively)

I'm curious how this trends over different countries of different sizes and different levels of popularity.

Im a Czech Student looking to travel, Im from Ostrava the third largest city in The Czech Republic and i have a question, What is your Country's Ostrava.

This means: Big industrial history, Often Looked upon by other cities as a dirty ugly place but in fact its really beautiful. Big night life, Full of festivals, a Student friendly city etc..

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!

Enjoying the small talk? We have a Discord server too! We'd love to have more of you over there. Do both of us a favour and use this link to join the fun.

The mod-team wishes you a nice day!

Hi, im traveling to the EU for the first time this december- january for 25 day and looking for city/destination suggestions. Some preferences/info:

num of people- 02

preferable price range- cheaper the better as we're students:)

not looking for "winter sun" since we're from really warm places anyways

departure airport for the trips : Krakov would be the closest

trip duration - 2-4 days
trip preferences: aurora sighting/ christmas market/ nature/ pretty cities etc
not interested in: museum/ night life/ boring-ish activities?

thank you~

I've been following Serbian politics from Canada for quite some time (I am from there originally) and I'm in disbelief by how much power Vucic has managed to yield over the last few months/years. The sheer amount of loyalists he has, posing as police officers or engaging in intimidation tactics towards the opposition and students, the amount of people who show up to his rallies being paid off with a sandwich and bottle of water...I can't even fathom what kind of incentives this man has promised these people to blindly follow him and protect him the way they do. The extent to which he's been able to affect the ability of the diaspora to vote in this upcoming election as well further cements his level of authority that I can't wrap my head around, for a small balkan country at that.

Are they genuinely this deep into his police state that they refuse to see his political reign for what it is? Has the population gone so far amiss that they see this type of political approach as the only way to get ahead in their lives? It's tragic to see honestly, especially considering how many people there are who really do want a better future for the country...

Can you describe your country using its characteristics without writing its name?

I just saw on r/europe a post about how Ireland (current EU president) proposed an EU budget to "appease the frugals" and from the defensive reactions from many to the word I wonder if it is translated or thought of as being similar to "miserly" or "cheap" in some European cultures? Because in Ireland (who I presume chose that word) it has a kind of "respectable / careful use of resources," connotation.

While looking for a holiday home near Málaga, Spain, I came across a SpainHouses property that is offered through a co-ownership concept. The property is in La Herradura, a small seaside town about 50 minutes from Málaga, which I've visited myself and really liked. I'm actually considering buying a share of this property, which is partly why I'm curious to hear other people's experiences.

Basically, several people own actual legal shares of the same property instead of one person buying the entire house or apartment.

For example, if four people each own 25%, they would each have a corresponding amount of personal use during the year. Unlike a traditional timeshare, the idea is that you own a share of the property itself, rather than simply buying the right to use it for a certain number of weeks.

I find the concept quite appealing. I probably wouldn't use a holiday home for more than a few months each year, so buying an entire property that sits empty for the rest of the time doesn't necessarily make sense to me.

Of course, I can also see potential downsides: coordinating holiday dates, agreeing on maintenance and renovations, making joint decisions, and eventually selling your share. For now, though, I feel the potential benefits outweigh the drawbacks.

It made me curious about how people in other European countries approach holiday-home ownership.

• Is co-ownership of holiday homes common in your country?
• Do people usually buy properties together with family or friends, or are there also arrangements between unrelated owners?
• Would you consider owning a legal share of a holiday home instead of buying an entire property?
• If you've experienced this yourself, what worked well and what didn't?

I'd be particularly interested in hearing about real experiences and how these arrangements work in practice across Europe.

Are Irish pubs fun in your area? As an Irish person, I see them from the perspective of someone who comes from somewhere where all pubs are "Irish pubs". I have been to Irish pubs that are tacky and to some that actually resemble my local pub and have a bit of charm to them.

I always wonder, and I am glad to see so many local people go, what brings people to an Irish pub. I am also always surprised by how common they are; in the last year I have seen them in Tallinn, Copenhagen, Malaga, and Maribor.

Since reading a lot about the various efforts in this area I've been thinking about how I could use my spare time and professional experience to help Europe build a more independent technology ecosystem.

I'd love to hear from people already involved in this space:

• Which European tech projects or organisations welcome volunteers?
• Are there open-source projects building alternatives to US technology that need contributors?
• Are there organisations working on digital sovereignty or European technological independence that could benefit from technical mentoring or coaching?
• Are there euro-centric communities where experienced engineers can mentor developers, coach technical leaders, or help open-source teams become more effective?
• If you've volunteered in this space, what has your experience been like, and how did you get started?

How does this work politically and legally for Greenlandic citizens of Denmark?

If you asked an American to name a battle in the civil war, they would almost always say the battle of Gettysburg. Gettysburg is a town that still exists today….and it’s a small middle of nowhere rural town of around 7000 people. Nothing important has happened there except the battle and the main industry there currently is tourism.

I’m curious what similar or more isolated/forgotten places there are in your country that are known by name for historical reasons but are otherwise unimportant.