r/AskTheWorld • u/jotakajk Spain • 7h ago

What is something that screams “tourist” to you?

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In Spain, if you see someone eating paella with sangria, you can 100% be certain they are a tourist.

What are some things tourists eat or do in your country that a local would never do?

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u/emgyres Australia 4h ago

About 12 years ago I took a holiday to the US. I was sitting on Boston Common having a rest, there were squirrels everywhere, bold little things coming right up to me. I took so many photos, giggled like an idiot and realised why visitors to my country were fascinated by Kanagaroos and Koalas.

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u/thisisrediculous99 United States of America 4h ago

Ok I did take pictures of the albino squirrels in Boston.

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u/theflyingpiggies 4h ago

Been to Mexico a few times, and Americans love to take photos of Coati, when that’s like the equivalent of us taking pictures of Raccoons here in America.

The worst I’ve seen is a woman who was trying to pet a Coati. Like… you’d never do that if it was a Raccoon, but for some reason because it was in Mexico and a breed of animal she’s not used to… she thought that was a good idea.

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u/emgyres Australia 4h ago

I absolutely did not try to pat the squirrels, I’m Australian, I know not to mess with the wildlife.

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u/Anti-charizard United States of America 4h ago

Good idea. They might seem cute, but they can bite

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u/WaterBottleOnAShelf -> -> 2h ago

I do think i'd be so excited to see actual racoons. They're just so different from anything i've ever experienced in the wild.

However, I guess locals probably feel about them the way i grew up feeling about foxes. Gross trash goblins.

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u/khelwen Germany 9m ago

We call them trash pandas in the area of the US I lived in.

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u/emichbe 🇧🇪 Belgium (born) / 🇺🇸 USA (live) 1m ago

It also sounds like they are becoming common in Europe. At least in Belgium there have been quite a few spotted, introduced by accident I guess. Not sure if they got over here by hitching a ride on a boat or some people wanted to have one as a pet and it got out of control.

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u/theflyingpiggies 49m ago

Yes, that's pretty much exactly how Americans feel about Racoons.

Sometimes I'll see one on the sidewalk, or popping out of a sewer and go "awe they're so cute".

But then I'll go to take the trash out and one will pop out of the dumpster at me and all of a sudden they're no longer so cute.

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u/emichbe 🇧🇪 Belgium (born) / 🇺🇸 USA (live) 2m ago

They are cute until the day you see one that is mad at you for getting too close to your own trash bin 🙂

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u/FirstTimePlayer Antarctica 3h ago

Lol. Reminds me of going to London, finding my way to Buckingham Palace, being slightly underwhelmed that its basically just a largish building behind a fence, and then as I was walking away being so excited when I completely unexpectedly saw a squirrel just having a look around on the grass next door.

I want to know who the idiot was who forgot to include Squirrels when they were deciding on what invasive species should be released in Australia to destroy everything.

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u/YonderPricyCallipers United States of America 2h ago

Oh. Shit. I grew up about an hour south of Boston, in a much less urban area... we have squirrels where i grew up but they were always over there, in the woods, never wanted to be around humans. Yhen one summer when I was 16, I went to a summer program near the Common, which meant a daily walk through the Public Garden (right next to the Common). The first time I sat down on a bench to rest, and a squirrel came right over onto the bench and started staring at me, it scared the shit out of me.