First of all, thank you to the both you for your questions and also for showing up and listening to what I had to say.
I think you chose your words carefully when you said “thought to have specialties”. Tamora’s educational system does not support this concept of specialization especially when we are talking about higher education as in universities. This is a constant problem we have in the few meetings our representatives have with foreign governments on issues like education. They are all focused for some reason which I never understood on promoting STEM subjects and we are vehemently opposed to that as focus more on them would mean students focus less on their grammar, the studying of the languages of the empire, their religious studies, art, poetry etc.
In Tamora a university is a place of higher learning where one is expected to be proficient in at least two languages of the Empire which in practice often means Parthian and Seleucid or Arabic and to have a good understanding of history, art, architecture, philosophy, theology, finance as well as what you call STEM. While in most nations for some reason governments want everyone to go to university, in Tamora universities are reserved for those well above the average. So to answer your first question, I don’t think we have a specialty and this can be seen pretty much in our economy where we do our best to rely on our own and thus our products tend not to be best as in some countries.
In regards to your second question, I don’t see you encountering any problems working for a Tamoran business as long as you speak Latin (ooc: the lingua franca of Mundus, if you don’t agree Latin is the one assume English was said or French if you’re Nova). It’s true that Slavic is an official language of one our federated kingdoms but it’s not really widely used.
If we are talking about going to a university then that’s a different matter. First of all, our universities don’t take in foreign students except in exceptional circumstances. Even if you somehow managed to distinguish yourself though something like the Clisperi student that won the Manist Olympiad, you would still have to pass several tests which as a non Tamoran you won’t be able to do. Not to mention as I said that you’ll need to be proficient in two of our national languages. And that would be just to get in, in order to graduate it will be harder and there will be no hand holding like in other countries. So going to university in Tamora is out of the question for you. We don’t have the same system as most Mundus countries do and our educational system serves firstly our people.So universities would need to have a really good reason why they would choose to give a place to a foreigner instead of a Tamoran.
I hope that answers the first set of questions.
Moving on to the second set of questions. It’s true that most of you have what I would say is a very liberal background and I expect many would be put off by Tamora’s conservative ways. Tamora is not for everyone, it is for those that see freedom in living by respecting strict rules. So while most of you have a very liberal background I believe that some of you might be attracted to a traditionalist and conservative society. Just as in our country some are attracted to liberal values and even choose to abandon their country, their extended family and move aboard.
First let me tell you that Tamora is very diverse when it comes to these expectations, while three of our major religions, Manism, Islam and Druze, promote among other things a style of dressing like the one I am wearing now the other two, Anahitaism and Christianity do not. If you ever seen Thanasis Polakis and his First Wife in the news you probably noticed
she dresses pretty much like you do, that's because they are both Anahitaists and it’s the same with
the Christians of the federated kingdom of Attica. These expectations vary a lot depending on your family, religion, local community and federated kingdom. As a foreigner people will not have expectations regarding what you wear or other religious aspects. Also not all of Tamora is the same, while the Imperial Enclave and the Muslim kingdom of Altai are very conservative, Akkar or Attica are more liberal. Furhtermore, you may or may not have heard of Elysium, a city that is being built and administered by the Heyran Conglomerate in Attica. More and more Tamoran businesses are incorporating there and hiring there so that might be an even more liberal workplace than Attica and perhaps a better choice for some of you.
But you asked a about a cultural shock. I don’t know how to answer that exactly since for me what we do is natural and normal. I can tell you how I feel when I am travelling aboard and the most striking aspect is that people don’t care about you and your individuality in other countries. If I go to a coffee shop and take a seat and in a few moments someone will come and give me the menu, they never consider that I am woman and that the person serving me shouldn’t be of the opposite sex. It’s the same with public transport were men and women mix without any regard of their sex. Even in elevators everyone goes in without considering the social status, age etc of the other person. Even in nations that are theoretically religious I never get approached by locals that try to convert me to their religion evn though I do stand out by the way I dress. I have seen bartenders ask young people their age and if they are adults they just sell alcohol to them without ever asking them their religion and considering if that’s allowed for them. I always get the feeling aboard that I am not seen like a person who is different in many ways than others but like a customer, anonymous without any regard for who you are. That is not at all how things are in Tamora: your sex, religion, age , social status, family etc all matter. Also, I never get the silent crusade most Mundus nations have against smoking. They have no problem with alcohol but smoking is almost banned in a lot of foreign countries. Maybe that helps you get a bit to understand how things work in Tamora.
In regards to public services, again Tamora is different: education, healthcare and pensions are all the responsibility of the individual, his family and his religious organization. The government is not involved in this and never was. We believe education is very important and since we are religious it makes sense for it to be the affair of the Church rather than the government.
That being said, I can’t advise you to bring your kids with you unless you have to. As I said, our educational system is particular and doesn’t cater to foreigners. Now, there are things we can help you with so the employers can help pay for your healthcare but they will be paying you a lower wage of course. Also, Tamoran businesses are flexible so they can make arrangements where you work for let’s say half a year in UC and the other half in Tamora or maybe have a full time in EM and a part time for a Tamoran business which you will work via distance using video calls to keep in touch etc.
Also, please consider that we don’t do fairs like these all the time or for anyone. There is a growing interest and respect for the Theocracy in Tamora and this is why we have come to you to see if we can find some common ground to cooperate. We expected that once we arrive here and meet you, people will first notice the huge cultural divide between us. However, this is a learning process and I can promise you here that I will do anything short of forcing Lady Musaevna to get in touch with the Theocracy embassy in Djerb and see if there is some way that an arrangement can we found for Bene Gesserit individuals who want to work in Tamora and have dependents. So please don’t be reluctant to raise the issues that you have and we will try to find way to accommodate you.
I think that covers the second set of questions.
Thank you.