Certainly I've had the experience of thinking a person was one thing, and finding out they were another.
No state is free from militarism, which is inherent in the very concept of the sovereign state. There are merely differences of degree in the militarism of states.
Many European guys go to the N.H.L. at a young age, even without knowing English. But they quickly adapt to new conditions, another game, a new country. They are also young, receptive, can move mountains.