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.
Leaves.
Yes, tree leaves.
Each fall when they start changing color flocks of tourists come up to gawk at them.
This is what I was going to say.
In the late 1800s when Jasper Cropsey was exhibiting landscape paintings in the UK, folks didn’t believe that his colour palette was accurate
https://collections.brandywine.org/objects/2656/autumn-on-the-brandywine-river
Wait hang on, the UK has heaps of trees that go that colour every year
Painting is of a river in Pennsylvania. The artist painted it while there, then displayed it in the UK. Many who saw it, not being familiar with the fall colors of the northeast US, thought it was fake.
I know, I’m saying that the UK gets the same colours at the same time of year. It should not have been weird to that audience
You forget that the world was B/W until the sixties, give or take.
North American trees species have evolved to have more vibrant fall colors than European species.
So you’re basically proving that British guy’s point that *yes, they are a different color but no-one believes it because they think they know what fall looks like in temperate climates".
Yup I live right near the Brandywine. PA gets beautiful fall colors! They’re also great along the Delaware up near the Water Gap (but I’m biased because the Delaware is my favorite river) :)
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.
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!
https://old.lemmy.world/comment/19106662
They probably have foliage that always stays green until it dies.
So I can kinda understand where that sentiment is coming from.
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.
We visited DC in the fall last year. It took us close to 2 hours to walk from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial statue because my wife was taking pictures of all the trees along the way.
I just moved to New England and this will be my first fall here. My property is completely surrounded by 50’+ trees. I’m sure it will get old quick.
Especially if you need to rake them up etc.
To be fair it’s very pretty. I get that one
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.”
Man… I’m in east Tennessee.
Folks just roll up to look at the leaves… and I’m like.
But you still see tons of people taking photos on their phones that they’ll never look at again. Haha