Just sitting here chatting on a couple of different sites and ate a licorice string a few minutes ago, yummy. It was fair day here on Wed. and so many sweets stands I couldn't resist.
It does sound like you must be living under a rock, could be Gibralter? Many of them are known by other Americans. James Earl Jones, the Hills brothers, Jack Paar and James McDivitt are known world wide in their respective professions as well as amongst the general public.
Michigan itself is home of Mowtown records, Ford, Chrysler, Dodge, Kellogg's and Dow Chemical, to name just a few.
My home town of Jackson, Michigan, was where the Republican Party was founded, "under the oaks". It's home to the once largest walled prison in the world, Michigan State Penitentiary and the largest man-made waterfalls- The Cascades. The following famous people come from Jackson:
Claire Allen - architect Austin Blair - Governor of Michigan Tim Crabtree - Major League Pitcher Tony Dungy - National Football League player and coach, won Super Bowl XLI Raymond Salvatore Harmon - filmmaker Dave Hill - golfer Mike Hill - golfer Karch Kiraly - Olympic gold medalist and pro volleyball player Clarence Love - National Football League player, Super Bowl champion with Baltimore Ravens Tim McClelland - Major League Baseball umpire James McDivitt - NASA astronaut Tom Monaghan - Founder of Domino's Pizza Jack Paar - Original host of The Tonight Show Alonzo Sargent - Locomotive engineer Potter Stewart - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Rick Wise - Major League Baseball pitcher Alfred Worden - NASA astronaut Philip Campbell Curtis - Artist James Earl Jones - Actor Brian VanGorder - NFL Coach Rick Lenz - Actor
Land & People There are 4 official languages in Switzerland : Swiss German (64%, many dialects), French (20.4%), Italian (6.5%), and Romansh (< 1%). A 2006 survey found that Zürich and Geneva had respectively first and second highest quality of living in the world. Switzerland has the 2nd highest life expectancy in Europe (after Sweden). There are 32 mountain peaks above 4000m in Switzerland, the highest of which is Dufourspitze (4634m). History & Politics Switzerland has a long and strong tradition of political and military neutrality. However, the country finally opted to join the United Nations in 2002, and the Schengen Agreement in 2005. Switzerland has been an independent country since 1499 (apart from a brief French occupation between 1798 and 1815). Switzerland is the first and only country to implement people's rights system of government also known as direct democracy, which involves the constitutional initiative (public petitions) and the referendum. There are 26 cantons in Switzerland, each of which acts as a state, with its own constitution, legislature, government and courts. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was founded in 1863 in Geneva, Switzerland, and is still based there. The flag of the Red Cross is the flag of Switzerland with the colours inverted. Geneva is the seat of the European headquarters of the United Nations and of many other inter-governmental organizations and international non-governmental organizations , including the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the World Economic Forum (WEF), the Airports Council International (ACI), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and the World Wide Web Virtual Library. The Niesenbahn in the Swiss Kandertal is the longest continuous-cable funicular in Europe. Business & Economy Switzerland has the 4th highest nominal GDP per capita in the world (after Luxembourg, Norway and Iceland). Switzerland has the second highest employment rate of any OECD after Iceland. Switzerland topped the Global Competitiveness Report for 2006-2007. The Swiss have a long tradition of watchmaking, and are the incontested leader in luxury watches, with brands like Audemars Piguet, Baume et Mercier, Breitling, Chopard, Franck Muller, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Longines, Patek Philippe, Piaget, Rado, Rolex, TAG Heuer, Tissot, Vacheron Constantin. Vacheron Constantin was founded in Geneva,Switzerland in 1755 and is the oldest watch manufacturer in the world with an uninterrupted history. The wristwatch was invented by Patek Philippe in 1868. Some of the world's most famous companies are Swiss, such as Adecco (human resources), Credit Suisse (banking), Lindt & Sprüngli (chocolate), Logitech (electronics), Mövenpick (hotels), Nestlé (food), Novartis (pharmaceuticals), Richemont (luxury goods), Schindler (lifts/elevators), Securitas (security), Swatch (watches), UBS (banking), or Winterthur (insurance).
I know that there are less murders commited in Windsor, Ontorio in a year than just across the river in Detroit in a day.
There are a lot of cities in Ontario named after British cities.
The Niagara Falls are much more beautiful when viewed from the Canadian side.
The Trans-Canadian Railway goes through beautiful countryside and can compete with some of the most reknown train routes in the world- my parents rode part of it many years ago.
Hello explorador. This is my first time posting here so please be kind to me.
I moved here for the same reason, married a Swiss. In addition we decided that the whole social system was better here than in the US. I've been here 27 years now, am fully integrated, speak the language fluently practically accent free. I still think of myself as a US American who just happens to live in Switzerland. Have been alone 7 years now but when I go back to the US where my dad and 4 brothers live I don't feel completely at home anymore and my kids are here. It's a good place to live but there are too many clichees that people believe (i.e. just mountains, chocolate, watches and cow bells) and don't take time to find out more about the country.
Oh, by the way, am I still allowed to post here as this country still hasn't joined the EU?
celticspirit Forum Posts (13)
, I'm new to this site. It'll take a while to find my way around. 
RE: What are you doing right now?
Just sitting here chatting on a couple of different sites and ate a licorice string a few minutes ago, yummy. It was fair day here on Wed. and so many sweets stands I couldn't resist.