What in your country/area is totally normal but visitors get excited for?
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In Southern California it's got to be the palm trees. Nope, not the ocean, the beaches, the Hollywood sign, iconic neighborhoods and buildings. It's the palm trees. Out of state relatives and coworkers always gawk at and comment on the palm tree lined streets.
They're the most worthless trees and they're about to die, too. I hope we replace them with native trees in all but the most iconic places.
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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.
wrote last edited by [email protected]Climate stuff comes to mind. Big storms, it being sunny almost all the time, and -30C. There's other climates that are similar, of course, but I guess most people don't live in them, because visitors remark on it. Europeans tend to be gobsmacked by the amount of empty space there is between human structures, too.
A lot of pests people think are everywhere are just nowhere to be seen because of the cold. That's more something that's missing, though.
Free healthcare and French labeling, for the Americans. I'm not sure if they think the money is cool or just stupid.
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And it's another example of "if you don't want me to do it, don't make it look so fun".
Cheeky little guy, he can't even keep his ear and trunk behind the red line. That elephant truly does not care for our silly human rules.
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Penguins, the biggest desert on the planet, snow blindness
Hmm, is Antarctica bigger than the Sahara?
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These fellas
On the flipside, when I was in Japan some old guy mocked me for taking a photo of a no littering sign.
Someone Japanese said you were taking too many pictures? Haha, that's ironic given what they're like abroad.
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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.
wrote last edited by [email protected]I'd guess people from monkey countries feel the same way about them impressing us. They're in similar niches and everything.
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A statue of a dog pissing into a girl's mouth. It's a fountain. Not kidding either.
Northern Europe and bizarre statues, name a more iconic duo.
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To avoid Google:
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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 sun.
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I'm originally from Florida and I moved to Minnesota as an adult. It blew my mind when I realized it was colder outside than it was in my freezer. I was in college my first few winters up here and the first good snowfall a group of freshmen from more tropical climates (mostly southern China) wandered outside in awe to play in the snow and even after my first winter I usually joined them because I know when winter stops being magical it starts being miserable and I'd like to put off the misery until February or so.
It blew my mind when I realized it was colder outside than it was in my freezer.
That pivotal moment when you drive home from the grocery store on a frigid evening and realize, "It's so cold, I don't have to rush to put away the frozen stuff. In fact, I could just leave it in the car overnight if I really wanted to!"
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Hmm, is Antarctica bigger than the Sahara?
wrote last edited by [email protected]Sahara is ~9,200,000 km2
Antarctica is ~14,200,000 km2
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I've heard that! Anne of Green Gables is big there too for a weird reason. There's an anime airing right now, even.
We went to the mostly abandoned Anne of Green Gables theme park in Hokkaido, Canadian World, a couple months ago.
The translation of the book was done particularly well, I think. It was prescribed in schools. And the setting was attractive to those stuck in big cities.
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Climate stuff comes to mind. Big storms, it being sunny almost all the time, and -30C. There's other climates that are similar, of course, but I guess most people don't live in them, because visitors remark on it. Europeans tend to be gobsmacked by the amount of empty space there is between human structures, too.
A lot of pests people think are everywhere are just nowhere to be seen because of the cold. That's more something that's missing, though.
Free healthcare and French labeling, for the Americans. I'm not sure if they think the money is cool or just stupid.
wrote last edited by [email protected]Québec? Quelle partie?
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Norwegian fjords. I live here, and to me it's mundane landscape.
Aaaah 🤯
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Whatcha doing in Antarctica?
Lumberjacking, but business has been pretty slow
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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.
wrote last edited by [email protected]I live in the US northeast coast in a touristy area. People have been surprised to see: white beach sand, seashells, docks, boats, seagulls, deer, opossums. I could go on. I get most people don’t live coastal, so none of these reactions surprised me except the white sand one. Apparently a lot of lakes in the mainland just have dirt at their shores. Never would’ve guessed.
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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 Autobahn.
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I heard that there was a firefly boom this year, I can't remember the cause though. It sure is nice though, reminds me of when I was a kid.
That's so sad, there was such a small number in my area
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Czech beer....
wrote last edited by [email protected]And cathedrals/castles. I was in a tourist group, thinking "Can we move on? I can see two peak Gothic sites from my house roof." "50 m tall sandstone column? Let me know when it's chocolate."
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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.
Lived in the UK for a while - Squirrels, and the fact that the church in the town we lived in was built before ANY humans set foot in New Zealand
