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.
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.
Haha I backpack/camp, too, and have seen that experience firsthand as well.
Felt bad about purposefully letting her sweat a bit as the sun went down and I started a fire. At the same time I tried to tell her that merely speaking out loud would run off any animals larger than a lizard.
Later, she tried to throw me under the bus with my wife. Now I wish I had tortured her for real!
“Yeah… We’re gonna have to spend another hour here. I’m waiting to see that panther that was here last week.”
It’s a shame things that are exciting as kids become scary as adults, even when they don’t need to be. Sure, there can be risks, but we tend to over-exagerate them when we are unfamiliar.
My issue is heights. But only sometimes. Brains are wierd.
Don’t forget cicadas!
Wait…you dont hear that in the USA?
I hear that even in the city!
I’m in the USA, OP appears to be in the UK.
Anecdotally, UK wildlife does generally seem to be quite quiet compared to other countries. We’ve got talktative birds and the odd cricket and such, but that’s about it. Everything else is in stealth mode