Dan over at Suitcasing has an interesing post up, briefly and neatly contrasting life in two rainy islands – England and Taiwan.
"Many parts of England seem to live in a vast, imaginary world – football is a good example. English football takes place inside a Wagnerian epic of past enemies, ancient victories, tragic injustices, young heroes, mad wizards (usually our current manager). There is no
country in the world, if England is picked to play them, that does not make fans gasp at the significance: ‘Antartica? Again?’ Actually winning a competition is a side issue."
It’s not until you really get to know someone who’s not English (and that they get to know England) that you begin to realise quite how deep nationality runs, even in our trendy citizen-of-the-world times. Makes for a lot of interesting wine-fuelled conversations, anyway…