The South PacificBoard

The average height for men in the country is 6'4 whereas the average height for women is 6'1

Children in the nation start their official school careers at 6 years old when they enter Kinderschule which they attend between the ages of 6 and 10 or from Grade one to Grade five before moving on to Mittelschule which they attend between the ages of 11 and 12 or from Grade 6 to Grade 7 before moving onto Hoërschule which they attend between the ages of 13 and 17 or from Grade 8 to Grade 12.

In terms of cultural tradition home cooked meals play a rather significant role in general Aerenvaalian culture with cooking being seen as a way for friends and family to build bonds with each other.Due to this belief and the general suspicion and disgust by fast food the nation's people feel almost all meals in the nation are themselves homemade though don't be form a wrong assumption about the nation's eating habits though as steakhouses which in this case basically mean Askari (a government owned steakhouse chain) have become a staple of Aerenvaalian life.
-Pic of one part of the average Aerenvaalian breakfast (all homemade!)

Despite being unimaginably far away from Europe Aerenvaalia has still participated in not one, not two but 15 European wars. Eight of which took place in the 1800s and the remaining 7 took place in the 1700s

Most Kinderschules and Mittelschules actually have their buildings either right across from one another or relatively close to one another. Often times Mittelschules are separated from Kinderschules by mere gates.

-Photo of the aforementioned gates

The nation with its massive size is home to various sub cultures that are dominant in various parts or various regions of the country. These cultures instead of being squashed in an attempt to form a national one as was done in the pre socialist times have been allowed to flourish ever since the socialist revolution of 46. These cultures despite being relatively numerous to a limited extent all share many things with one another and as such have been able to get along with one another in relative peace and as such despite their cultural differences the people of the nation are able to unite around the label Aerenvaalian whenever need be.

The nation is home to a plethora of different accents that change region by region (there are 11 regions in total) and the most well known of these accents is referred to as the "Kruse" accent as it originates from the North Western and Southern areas of the province of Kruseland. This accent is almost always the one assigned to Aerenvaalians in various cultural spheres (films etc).

During the South African Border War (1966-1990) Aerenvaalian military personnel (along with their Cuban pals) played an extraordinary role in the fight against the South African Defense Force and all its co belligerent organizations in turn helping to deplete South African military resources and morale. Throughout Aerenvaalia's involvement in the war (1976 to 1989) thirty thousand soldiers were deployed to Angola along with military equipment worth millions. Of the soldiers deployed a grand total of 660 died and were immortalized in the form of the "Afrika-Kämpfer" statue in the capital. The reason for the nation's intervention in the conflict can be summarized by a quote from the late President Hans Le Grange, "For this nation to not do its damn best to end Apartheid and National Party rule in South Africa would be for this nation to turn its back on the principles which led the revolution in 1946".

Approximately 15% of the nation's people are descendants of Europeans who settled in the country between 1512 and 1800, a following 48% are descendants of Europeans who settled in the country between 1800 and 1900 and 37% are descendants of those who settled in the country in the 1900s. (Excluding recently arrived foreigners)

The nation was made "whole" in 1899 when the last quarters of Indigenous land by the De Chey mountains were conquered by military units belonging to the government of Aerenvaalia. The conquest came to an end at the battle of terre river where the remaining forces of military units belonging to the pan Indigenous federation were defeated by military units under the command of Hendrick Van Ourrier. When the conquest of the Eastern part of the De Chey region was completed thousands of indigenous peoples lay slain by the rifle with estimates of 15 thousand people dying at the hands of the Aerenvaalian military forces and 35 thousand dying in concentration camps set up by the government. Those indigenous people remaining were supposedly "civilized" (according to the white supremacist notion of the word) by what were referred to as cultural schools where Indigenous children were taught to reject their culture and embrace the European descendant one of settler society. The tragic and barbaric things done to the Indigenous peoples in this case also illustrates another sad and melancholic truth of the nation's history namely that it was built upon fanatic white supremacy as its pillar for not even in the Americas was the notion of a superior Western and Northern European race so rampant and widespread.
-French Government soldiers during the De Chey war (1897)

Historically the country's history is split into five categories these being Early Colonial Bergian period, Russonian period The glorious period, The Republican periods and the Socialist periods . The Early Colonial period lasted between 1505 and 1680, the Bergian period lasted between 1680 and 1800, the liberation period lasted between 1800 and 1826, The monarchist/glorious period lasted between 1830 and 1920, The Republican period lasted between 1920 and 1942 and the socialist period is ongoing. There have in recent times been those skeptical of this structuring of history with head of Historical education at the university of Aberstrand Fritz Kruger calling the method "inaccurate".

During the Nazi rise to power many German thinkers critical of the N.S.D.A.P fled to Aerenvaalia to escape persecution. This became the case with peoples from around all of occupied Europe who fled to the nation in their thousands for the prospect of better freedoms and rights. Between 1933 and 1945 an estimated number of 1 million people immigrated to the country to escape the ever expanding grasp of Nazism. An estimated 12% of these (120 Thousand people) were Jewish with the remaining being a mix of Catholics and various branches of Protestantism. This immigration to the nation increased further after the end of WW2, specifically between the years of 1945 and 1960 when about 4.6 Million people immigrated to the country in search of a better life away from the bombed carcass of Europe. Many of the French people in this category settled in the North East of the Terre Dor province which in time subsequently became known as "Klein Frank" (little France).
-Polish folk arriving in Pietersberg (capital of the Grensland province) in 1948

The most popular newsman in the country is Paul Sleger who is head of the politics department at the state run Volksrichten (People's News) and has been for the past 15 years. Before ascending to his current position Sleger was already well known for his humor and genuine eccentric personality that he put to good use in beloved sitcoms,comedy films and game shows. This previous exposure ensured that he was a household name even in the early 80s serving as the icon of the stereotypical Charming, Charismatic and Courteous country lad.

The nation (more appropriately pan Aerenvaalian nationalists) fought various wars to free the country from the various colonial powers that lorded over it in an attempt to fulfill the dream of a unified Aerenvaalian continent closed off from the world and run by Aerenvaalians not foreigners appointed by a culturally foreign head of state. The first of these wars (the swamp war) was fought between The British empire and rebel nationalist guerrillas under the command of Oswald Ridgeson between 1794 and 1806 and resulted in what was then British Ainsland gaining independence as the Free Republic of Achenheim under the command of President John De Oulier (1774-1832). Five wars of liberation all lasting from 1811 and 1825 were subsequently fought against France,Spain,Portugal and the Dutch culminating in the act of unification in late 1826 when the continent become one somewhat unified nation.

The nation's last mass shooting took place in 2011 near a small shop in the small town of Obern. The shooter, 24 year old Johann Volksmeister was shot dead by one of the shop workers via pistol after killing two people, 42 year old mother of three Anna Roessebach and 36 year old Leon Van Weir.

In 1924 the Rouge Garde a socialist paramilitary was formed by Napoleon Du maïs and his wife Marie Du maïs. The paramilitary was made up predominantly of French immigrants from the Van Lyk area of Wuttenberg city which had seen significant French immigration ever since the 1890s. The Paramilitary grew in power and size often arming and fighting with various unions against other paramilitaries like the Schneiders (imagine the Pinkertons) sent to put down strikes and the like. The Garde inspired the creation of many other similar paramilitaries across the country