What in your country/area is totally normal but visitors get excited for?
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When I was a kid we hosted two Trinidadians as part of an exchange in the Autumn and they'd never seen the leaves falling - they were worried that all the trees were dying off. This isn't a "stupid foreigner" gag, it was probably just the thing that shocked them the most. They loved the trains and the narrowboats.
One of the guys that came for our February wedding was truly alarmed at all the dead tress. I couldn't figure out why he was saying that, but he was a tree guy so I went with it.
10 years later I figured it out. He assumed none of the trees dropped leaves because Florida. Some do, some don't, some stay yellow all winter and drop in the spring. It's not even consistent within species.
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I had a similar experience with an exchange student who visited in february. She very worriedly asked why our trees didn't have any leaves and was amazed when I said that just happens in winter and they come back.
I just made much the same comment!
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I've only been abroad one time, and there were little gecko/lizard things everywhere, climbing up walls and scurrying across roads, and nobody cared. I was constantly fascinated but to the locals they're just kinda there.
Bonus question to anyone who visited the UK - was there anything that fascinated you but I'd be taking for granted?
Pic unrelated.
For some reason, Japanese tourists go nuts for PEI. Now I've nothing against PEI, it's a nice enough province in the beautiful maritimes. Good potatoes.
But I don't think it deserves THAT much hype.
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My Polish wife was thrilled to see fireflies in Kentucky.
I haven't seen fireflies in YEARS, but I was recently in Astoria, Queens, NYC, and there were fireflies all over the place! NYC would have been the last place I would have expected to see them.
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Every region is different in that regard.
Maybe youre just numb to the view.Told a lady I had just moved here (NW Florida).
"Oh honey you'll love it here! We have four seasons; green, green, green and brown."
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I live near the Rocky Mountain line so I've seen it many times. People I've met in other cities I've lived in always say they're jealous that I'm close to such a place but live there long enough and they just become another mountain
I've only ever lived in Northern Ohio and Florida, two very flat places. So when I visited Denver, it was so weird to see the mountains always looming RIGHT THERE. You always know which way is West.
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If you're in the UK, then here in the US, it's the sounds.
Crickets, frogs, birds, beetles, giant wasps, small mammals. The spring and autumn are wild with sounds.
My partner is a Brit in an industry where many get stationed here, and they all say the same.
Edit: And if you're outdoorsy, the geography, of course.
We took my wife's friend to our camp in the boonies. I think she was from Leeds?
The sounds as the sun started going down, and being in the woods in general, scared the shit out of her. She honestly thought wild animals would come at night and attack us.
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Evergreen trees. I know they're a big deal to people who visit but I grew up around them and think they're kind of boring.
wrote last edited by [email protected]Just trees in general. I was ferrying around some VIPs from California once, and they were amazed at the endless miles of thick trees on both sides of the highway. Yeah, they're trees, they're nothing special. They grow everywhere, you don't even have to do anything.
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When I visited the US I was excited to see squirrels running around. We don't have squirrels where I'm from. We took pictures.
It must have looked like we were excited to witness a cloud in the sky.
My wife is from the Philippines. Squirrels are a thing you have to visit the zoo the see.
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We have grey squirrels in the UK, although they're not native. They're responsible for the decline in native red squirrels, you rarely see them now unless you go to particular areas.
Not only UK. As far as I know the same problem is spreading around all of mainland Europe. US squirrels have a better immune system and a more varied diet, they are also more aggressive and territorial. They are slowly replacing indigenous red squirrels.
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I love when people see deer here in North America. You'd think they're seeing a unicorn, when it's just some plain ol' mule deer.
Totally me in the US! Deers in Europe are stuff for natural parks!
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I've only been abroad one time, and there were little gecko/lizard things everywhere, climbing up walls and scurrying across roads, and nobody cared. I was constantly fascinated but to the locals they're just kinda there.
Bonus question to anyone who visited the UK - was there anything that fascinated you but I'd be taking for granted?
Pic unrelated.
The Bob Ross caliber view of the Rocky Mountains should be the answer, but tourists always go for the big stupid churches that just look like every other big stupid church.
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I wish it were more obvious what the system is, or at least that every metro system ran similarly. The only thing about international travel that stresses me the fuck out is figuring out what app I need to make my way through town, or if I need a paper ticket, etc. Not even language barriers give me as much stress as landing and having to spend 30 min figuring out the best method for transits when I’m tired and just want to relax.
I think London is pretty good in that regard. The easiest way to travel is to use a contactless debit card (or phone, watch, credit card, etc). Just tap when prompted. Easy. I wish more cities did that, including the ones without entry barriers.
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I've only been abroad one time, and there were little gecko/lizard things everywhere, climbing up walls and scurrying across roads, and nobody cared. I was constantly fascinated but to the locals they're just kinda there.
Bonus question to anyone who visited the UK - was there anything that fascinated you but I'd be taking for granted?
Pic unrelated.
No idea.
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I grew up in Portsmouth, England. Some my friends would come to school from the Isle of Wight on the hovercraft service. We all thought the hovercraft was pretty cool, but I only recently found out that it's the only commercially operated hovercraft in the whole world.
wrote last edited by [email protected]There used to be one across the channel but it was discontinued some time ago. I took it once. It was cramped and noisy, but fast.
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The first time my cousins from FL visited Canada, it was July. They were surprised there was no snow. So, we took them over to the rec centre and they saw a small pile of snow out back. They were thrilled.
It was dumped out of a Zamboni.
My aunt is a teacher at one of the poorer schools in LA. She says every once in a while they'll arrange a plow to bring a load of snow down from the mountains and dump it in the parking lot for the kids to play in it for the afternoon until it melts
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I love when people see deer here in North America. You'd think they're seeing a unicorn, when it's just some plain ol' mule deer.
I've seen deer just wander through my yard in town
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We took my wife's friend to our camp in the boonies. I think she was from Leeds?
The sounds as the sun started going down, and being in the woods in general, scared the shit out of her. She honestly thought wild animals would come at night and attack us.
Haha I backpack/camp, too, and have seen that experience firsthand as well.
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Leaves.
Yes, tree leaves.
Each fall when they start changing color flocks of tourists come up to gawk at them.
Michigan, or New York? -
I've only been abroad one time, and there were little gecko/lizard things everywhere, climbing up walls and scurrying across roads, and nobody cared. I was constantly fascinated but to the locals they're just kinda there.
Bonus question to anyone who visited the UK - was there anything that fascinated you but I'd be taking for granted?
Pic unrelated.
Norwegian fjords. I live here, and to me it's mundane landscape.
