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  #26  
Old 07-27-2004, 10:48 PM
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Default Re: Tourism, Travel and Funny, Funny Ignance

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Originally Posted by livius drusus
OTOH, the US is similarly large, and I don't recall ever hearing a European plan an around the States in 5 days tour.
I have encountered many Europeans and South Americans visiting Wisconsin who thought it would be fun to take a quick weekend car ride to either Las Vegas or Disneyworld. I had to explain to them that if they just wanted to drive non-stop there and back it could be done, but if they actually wanted to do something in either of those places they would likely be out of luck. With distances of 3400 and 2600 miles, respectively, you don't hop in the car on a weekend whim. At least I don't.

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  #27  
Old 07-27-2004, 10:50 PM
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Originally Posted by godfry n. glad
When my wife and I were in the British Isles, the cost to use the public toilets was two pence. We speculated that that's where the expression, "I have to pee (I have two p)" originated...
Interesting idea :)

Quote:
Oh yeah...

My wife made sure when we travelled to Britain that she took her portable water boiler, cone, filters and her favorite coffee. I really didn't understand, particularly in Belgium and the Netherlands, where Deuwe Egbert was in copious supply, but once we arrived in England...well, she'd been there before. At the time, an Englishman's idea of a cuppa joe was Sanka. :eww: Starbucks has probably taken over by now.

godfry
I can't remember whether Starbucks is there or not. You're right that 'instant coffee' is often standard fare, if you ask for coffee. But then, I doubt Americans can be more horrified by being served instant coffee in England than English people are by asking for tea in America and getting a cup of hot water with a teabag next to it (all English people know that to make good tea you need boiling water and there's obviously no way that water poured into a cold cup can be anywhere near boiling any more...)

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  #28  
Old 07-27-2004, 10:51 PM
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Originally Posted by Dlanod
I have encountered many Europeans and South Americans visiting Wisconsin who thought it would be fun to take a quick weekend car ride to either Las Vegas or Disneyworld. I had to explain to them that if they just wanted to drive non-stop there and back it could be done, but if they actually wanted to do something in either of those places they would likely be out of luck. With distances of 3400 and 2600 miles, respectively, you don't hop in the car on a weekend whim. At least I don't.
Wait. Europeans and South Americans visit Wisconsin? :D

Okay, in all seriousness I take your point. The people I knew in Italy who visited the States were fairly well-travelled to begin with, and the tourists I've encountered here (Atlanta) were either in town for the Olympics or doing an east coast jaunt, so clearly my pool of experience is a shallow one on this score.
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  #29  
Old 07-29-2004, 03:10 AM
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Originally Posted by livius drusus
That's really interesting, BB2. I can see how someone from Europe might have difficulty envisioning the scale of Australian travel, just because countries in Europe are just so close to each other. OTOH, the US is similarly large, and I don't recall ever hearing a European plan an around the States in 5 days tour.
I'd wager that the average European is far better informed about the US than (s)he is about Australia. The United States is a lot closer to Europe(geographically) than Australia is - a flight from London to Sydney takes about 24 hours, a flight from London to New York takes about 6 hours, if that. As a result, a European would probably make several trips to the US in his/her lifetime, but only one to Australia. Another thing would be the disparity in news coverage about the two countries. I get a great deal of my information about other countries from news reports, both TV and newspapers. Australia is not a very powerful or important country economically or militarily, therefore news reports about us in the European press would be scant.

Quote:
Originally Posted by livius drusus
What are some of the North American misconceptions about Australia that you've encountered?
Some of it is geographical, like wanting to drive from Sydney to Auckland (not possible, unless your car doubles as a boat); some of it is cultural, like wanting to use US Dollars in a Fish & Chip shop (we have own version of the dollar, thank you very much); believing horror stories about our scary wildlife (you're far more likely to die in a traffic accident than get eaten by a shark or bitten by a snake); or believing stories about our more cuddly wildlife (about the only place in Sydney where you can see a Koala is in Taronga Zoo or the Koala Park in Sydney's north-west - they don't hang around in every suburban park).
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  #30  
Old 07-29-2004, 03:15 AM
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Default Re: Tourism, Travel and Funny, Funny Ignance

Waaaaay back in my undergraduate days, I had a really cool professor teaching Sociology 101, and he told this story that I remember to this day.

While he was in college, he had a summer job working as a Border Patrol agent along the US-Canada border (along North Dakota). One day, a car with an old couple pulled up at his border stop. He asked the usual questions ("Where are you going? Why are you visiting?" etc.). He was just about to let them go, when they asked him if there were any recent Indian attacks. He said "Well....you're safe as long as you're North of Grand Forks, but those injuns have been attacking like crazy on I-29 between Grand Forks and Fargo."

They promptly turned around and left, going back to Canada.

:D
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  #31  
Old 07-29-2004, 03:27 AM
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:D That's a special one, Goliath.
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  #32  
Old 07-29-2004, 03:46 AM
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Yep...it's special ed special.

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  #33  
Old 08-06-2004, 09:14 AM
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Default Re: Tourism, Travel and Funny, Funny Ignance

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Originally Posted by BigBlue2

some of it is cultural, like wanting to use US Dollars in a Fish & Chip shop (we have own version of the dollar, thank you very much);
In South America, the restaurants and bars are more than happy to take US dollars. They generally give you a better exchange rate than the banks as well.
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  #34  
Old 08-06-2004, 11:40 PM
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Originally Posted by livius drusus
He he... You brute, you. That was definitely a sore spot for my mom: you travel 4000 miles and you want to go to McDonald's? Particularly in Italy, of course, where the local food is legendary.
I wish you hadn't said that.

We're not traveling, we're doing exactly the opposite: we're hosting a foreign exchange student for a year. From Italy. We're all in a dither here in Chez Myers because she arrives next week, and we're looking around Morris and feeling inadequately entertaining. I'm the cook here at home, and that's my personal anxiety--that she's going to hate meals around here. I've got one kid right now who refuses to eat anything unless it is pale and bland, another who just wants lumps of half-raw meat, and I'm terrified that now there will be a connoisseur of fine Italian cooking added to the mix.

She's a teenager. I kinda hope she's thrilled to pieces with McDonald's and take-out pizza.

Either that, or that she loves to cook.
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  #35  
Old 08-07-2004, 03:52 AM
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She'll probably love American fast food, pz. McDonald's in Rome always has lines out the door, and I assure you it's not tourists forming the bulk of the crowds.

Now, that might possibly get a wee bit old after a year, but I don't think you should be cold-sweating it too much. I bet she'll choke down whatever pap you feed her with a wide smile and lavish compliments until you begin to think you're the best damn cook ever in the history of Minnesota.

If you need any recipes, you know who to call. What part of Italy is she from, if you don't mind my asking?
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  #36  
Old 08-07-2004, 03:58 AM
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Originally Posted by livius drusus
If you need any recipes, you know who to call. What part of Italy is she from, if you don't mind my asking?
South. A small town called Spinoso in Basilicata. A place even smaller than our town, but much closer to the Big City of Naples than we are to anything.
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  #37  
Old 08-07-2004, 04:21 AM
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I spent much time in Francavilla sul Sinni, provincia di Matera, Basilicata. There's some fine, fine cooking down theah. I really hope she hooks you up with some local specialties. Hell, even if she just scares up some spaghetti with tomato sauce you'll be a lucky bastard.

I should point out that small towns in Italy have a public life I seriously doubt medium towns or even cities in Minnesota can claim. On account of it's balmy, donchaknow. People, like, walk around together and shit.
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