Hype for the Future 53A: What is Europe, and what is Asia?

Introduction

The boundaries set between Europe and Asia may not necessarily be a well-defined measure. In most of the following cases, a mix of signals, from cultural traits to traditional heritage markers, shall be identified as accurately and as appropriately as reasonably possible:

European Nations

Definitely identified as within the European continent are Belarus 🇧🇾 and Ukraine 🇺🇦. Both of the aforementioned countries prefer the name “Eastern Europe,” though the Baltic countries further to the north do not. In the Baltic context, the preferred name is “Northern Europe,” including Estonia 🇪🇪, Latvia 🇱🇻, and Lithuania 🇱🇹. Though Finland 🇫🇮 is identified along with Hungary 🇭🇺 as having Asian heritage markers centuries and millennia in the past, geographically, both of the aforementioned nations are firmly within the European continent.

Asian Nations

While the Caucasus are often disputed between the claim to “Europe” and the claim to “Asia,” the continental boundaries are not a well-defined measure. While the Black Sea is typically identified within European history, the Caspian Sea is more important to the history of Central Asia. In the middle of the seas is a region that is realistically at the extreme northern edge of the Middle East, if at all. Usually, the nations identified within the Middle East (a Eurocentric designation, by the way) are firmly identified within the Asian continent, including, though not limited to, the Arabian Peninsula and the areas on either side of the Strait of Hormuz. For the Caucasus, the potentially Asian nations of the region may include Georgia 🇬🇪, Armenia 🇦🇲, and Azerbaijan 🇦🇿. While the Ural Mountains typically divide Kazakhstan 🇰🇿 into Europe and Asia, the western portion of Kazakhstan actually maintains Asian heritage markers similar to eastern Türkiye 🇹🇷. More obviously identified as Asian are the Central Asian nations of Turkmenistan 🇹🇲, Uzbekistan 🇺🇿, Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬, and the three Iranic countries extending toward South Asia.

The Middle East

Even though the nations to the north of Iran 🇮🇷 and Afghanistan 🇦🇫 alike may not necessarily be identified as within the Middle East, the Caucasian Mountains are often identified as on the boundary though predominantly Asian while the regions north of Afghanistan are typically identified as Central Asia. Apart from the aforementioned Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan, the national boundaries of Tajikistan 🇹🇯 are also related to the boundary zone of the Middle Eastern area, though only loosely identified as such.

Hype for the Future 49H: Indonesia and Monaco 🇮🇩 🇲🇨

The slight differences between Indonesia and Monaco are associated with the significant geographical separation between the two nations. While Monaco is certainly European, Indonesia is generally Asian and Melanesian further east. Monaco is represented in emoji form with a more European shade of red, while Indonesia is generally more vibrant and less of a crimson red.

Hype for the Future 49/284: International Expansion

International musical traditions, especially for Europe and Asia, have become of particular interest and importance for novaTopFlex, particularly the European side of the traditions, since different cultural traits are more obviously related to one another, especially within the Latin side of the region. Beyond just the British Isles, novaTopFlex has also identified personal and communal interests in the musical tunes of the European mainland from all directions.

When regarding Russian musical interests, please note that Russia is a Slavic nation and as such should be regarded as European, even well into the Asian continent. However, additional Asian influences have traditionally existed even in spite of the Russian imperialist craze, including Siberian and potentially Mongolic influences in the east and even Uralic influences in central longitudes. As one travels east in Russia, the population density dramatically dwindles, as most of the national population lives on the European side of the nation.

Hype for the Future 48A: International Flags of Interest

World History

Since the vast majority of the modern world is dictated by the European continent, the vast majority of nations to be featured shall be focused on the Global North, including Europe as well as the former colonies perceived as more prestigious in the modern context. Unfortunately, the exploitation in modern capitalism is often associated with such Global Northern countries, while the Global Southern countries are often the recipients of the exploitation, unfortunately. Within the Global Northern context, beginning with what society perceives as the “origin” and what the Western world perceives as “safe” countries, based on heritage families:

Celtic

• Scotland (United Kingdom) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
• Wales (United Kingdom) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
• Ireland (Republic of Ireland) 🇮🇪
• Northern Ireland (United Kingdom)
• Isle of Man (United Kingdom) 🇮🇲

Norman

• Jersey
• Guernsey 🇬🇬

Latin

• Portugal 🇵🇹
• Spain 🇪🇸
• Andorra 🇦🇩
• France 🇫🇷
• Italy 🇮🇹
• Vatican City 🇻🇦
• San Marino 🇸🇲
• Romania 🇷🇴
• Moldova 🇲🇩 (not typically identified as “safe” in the Western definition)

Germanic

• Luxembourg 🇱🇺
• Belgium 🇧🇪
• Netherlands 🇳🇱
• Germany 🇩🇪
• Switzerland 🇨🇭
• Austria 🇦🇹
• Liechtenstein 🇱🇮

Nordic

• Denmark 🇩🇰
• Faroe Islands 🇫🇴
• Greenland 🇬🇱 (not typically identified as Nordic traditionally, but effectively considered in the modern context)
• Norway 🇳🇴
• Sweden 🇸🇪
• Åland Islands 🇦🇽
• Iceland 🇮🇸

Finnic

• Finland 🇫🇮
• Estonia 🇪🇪

Baltic

• Latvia 🇱🇻
• Lithuania 🇱🇹

Slavic

• Slovenia 🇸🇮
• Croatia 🇭🇷
• Bosnia and Herzegovina 🇧🇦
• Serbia 🇷🇸
• Kosovo 🇽🇰
• Montenegro 🇲🇪
• North Macedonia 🇲🇰
• Bulgaria 🇧🇬
• Poland 🇵🇱
• Czechia 🇨🇿
• Slovakia 🇸🇰
• Belarus 🇧🇾 (not typically identified as safe in the Western context)
• Ukraine 🇺🇦 (in tensions as of the time of writing)
• Russia 🇷🇺 (in tensions as of the time of writing)

Unique

• Greece 🇬🇷
• Cyprus 🇨🇾
• Türkiye 🇹🇷
• Albania 🇦🇱
• Armenia 🇦🇲 (sometimes considered European)
• Hungary 🇭🇺 (not Indo-European)

Central Asia and the Oriental

The Global North may often include numerous Asian countries and regions, though many of the countries listed below are often considered either culturally distinct or entirely hostile to the Western world:

Central Asia

Within the Central Asian region, sometimes including the Middle East, the Arab world and the numerous Arab realms are often debated between the Middle East being considered the Global North and North Africa considered part of the Global South. The Arab nations typically associated with the Middle East and sometimes with the Global North begin near the Suez Canal and continue throughout the Arabian Peninsula. The nations typically associated with the “Global North” in the Arab world are listed below, often notable for sharing economic “success” stories with the Global North at large:

• Egypt 🇪🇬 (mostly in North Africa, though prior to the Age of Imperialism, the modern nation-state, along with much of North Africa, had been identified as culturally “successful” in Arab colonization and the spread of Islam ☪️)
• Palestine 🇵🇸 (disputed; this is the Muslim state while Israel 🇮🇱 is the Jewish ✡️ homeland)
• Jordan 🇯🇴
• Lebanon 🇱🇧
• Syria 🇸🇾
• Iraq 🇮🇶 (Mesopotamian culture and history)
• Iran 🇮🇷
• Kuwait 🇰🇼
• Bahrain 🇧🇭
• Qatar 🇶🇦
• Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 (covering most of the Arabian Peninsula)
• Yemen 🇾🇪
• Oman 🇴🇲
• United Arab Emirates 🇦🇪

Each of the aforementioned nations is at least partly identified as included within the “Middle East,” assuming a Eurocentric world model. However, culturally related nations in South Asia and the Indian subcontinent include:

• Afghanistan 🇦🇫
• Pakistan 🇵🇰
• India 🇮🇳
• Bangladesh 🇧🇩
• Nepal 🇳🇵
• Bhutan 🇧🇹
• Sri Lanka 🇱🇰
• Maldives 🇲🇻 (sometimes classified as Global South with Comoros 🇰🇲, Mauritius 🇲🇺, and Seychelles 🇸🇨)

The quintessential nations of Central Asia, many of which are deemed hostile to the Western world yet also of which include the Caucasian Mountains, include:

• Georgia 🇬🇪
• Armenia 🇦🇲 (previously mentioned as Indo-European)
• Türkiye 🇹🇷 (already mentioned as transcontinental with Europe)
• Azerbaijan 🇦🇿
• Kazakhstan 🇰🇿
• Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬
• Uzbekistan 🇺🇿
• Turkmenistan 🇹🇲
• Tajikistan 🇹🇯
• Mongolia 🇲🇳 (partially included within Central Asia)
• Russia 🇷🇺 (partially included within Central Asia, particularly along the Caspian Sea and the Kazakh border)
• China 🇨🇳 (typically associated with Xinjiang and Tibet)

The true Oriental countries of East Asia often refer to the following nations:

• People’s Republic of China 🇨🇳
• Republic of China (Taiwan) 🇹🇼
• Japan 🇯🇵
• North Korea 🇰🇵
• South Korea 🇰🇷
• Macao 🇲🇴
• Hong Kong 🇭🇰

Southeast Asia often refers to most of the nations located to the south of the People’s Republic of China east of Bhutan:

• Myanmar 🇲🇲
• Thailand 🇹🇭
• Laos 🇱🇦
• Vietnam 🇻🇳
• Cambodia 🇰🇭
• Malaysia 🇲🇾
• Singapore 🇸🇬
• Indonesia 🇮🇩 (partially considered Oceania)

While the Philippines 🇵🇭 may not typically be included within the definition of Southeast Asia nor Oceania, the nation is often associated with a mix of cultural traits associated with both continental clusters. Firmly within Oceania is where the cultural traits are often significantly more difficult to decipher:

• Australia 🇦🇺
• New Zealand 🇳🇿
• Fiji 🇫🇯
• Tonga 🇹🇴
• Tuvalu 🇹🇻
• Samoa 🇼🇸
• Vanuatu 🇻🇺
• Kiribati 🇰🇮
• Nauru 🇳🇷
• Micronesia 🇫🇲
• Marshall Islands 🇲🇭
• Palau 🇵🇼
• Northern Mariana Islands 🇲🇵 (part of the United States)
• Guam 🇬🇺 (part of the United States)
• American Samoa 🇦🇸 (part of the United States)
• Cook Islands 🇨🇰 (freely associated with New Zealand)
• New Caledonia 🇳🇨 (France)
• Wallis and Futuna 🇼🇫 (France)
• Tokelau 🇹🇰 (New Zealand)
• Niue 🇳🇺 (freely associated with New Zealand)
• French Polynesia 🇵🇫 (France)
• Pitcairn 🇵🇳
• United States Minor Outlying Islands (part)

The novaTop Travel Itineraries → Final Version

The Travel Itineraries for novaTopFlex have officially been finalized, with identified locations of interest under the following conditions:

• Ideal meal sites, particularly covering lunch and dinner, though breakfast locations are also included on the list
• National, regional, and local museum and historic sites and parks, particularly of significance to numerous and various types of historical events
• Institutions and sports teams as well as groups with common interests to novaTopFlex, including numerous types of athletes including baseball, basketball, softball, volleyball, tennis, lacrosse, hockey, golf, football, swimming, and more
• Major and minor events of highest potential for networking with common interests in computer science, cybersecurity, geography, culture, identity, history, and politics*
  • Political topics are culturally taboo and should not be forced in conversation when launching conversations with new individuals and communities. novaTopFlex recommends introductions to new people and a minimum of six (6) encounters, including chance encounters, with a specific individual or community prior to conversing about political topics.

novaTop Travel Itineraries currently contain locations in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, and North Dakota. Because the aggregate itinerary contains upwards of three thousand distinct locations of interest, occasionally overlapping in scope or nature, the novaTop Travel Itineraries require multiple separate links for the truth of the novaTop interest pool. Usually, if a location of interest is not listed in the first travel itinerary list, the second itinerary list should contain the location in question. The travel itineraries are now publicly available and accessible on Google Maps and on separate links to Google Maps on Mastodon and elsewhere. WordPress viewers: The novaTop Travel Itineraries are located at https://maps.app.goo.gl/qfRXKynBVAPBY8dbA (first list) and https://maps.app.goo.gl/Ug9ZRZ9Z52kE2K1o7 (second list).