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.

  • ch00f@lemmy.world
    101·
    15 days ago

    I grew up near Oceana Naval Air Base. Only tourists look up when they hear jet noise.

    • toynbee@lemmy.world
      6·
      15 days ago

      I used to work in a building that had a room dedicated to testing weapons and ammunition at the end of the hall opposite my office … They tested by live firing. When I started there, it got a good startle out of me the first time or two, then I subsequently chuckled at all the new hires being similarly caught off guard.

      Sadly, one guy who came through was a veteran with PTSD. Even the plumbing banging in the walls put him on alert. Actual live firing weapons were (understandably) too much to bear and they didn’t do it on a schedule so we couldn’t just not be there when it happened. (None of the above is meant to make light of the situation; I genuinely felt sorry for the guy and tried to figure out a way to help the whole time he was there.)

      There’s a happy ending, though! He was only exposed to that experience 2-3 times (it wasn’t frequent) before he found another job more suited to his needs - one that offered a pension, no less.

    • Zorsith@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
      1·
      15 days ago

      I’ve never not lived near an airbase, it’ll be so weird to someday not hear planes overhead on a day to day basis 😅

      Hell, I briefly worked in a building directly next to a flight line, you could feel it rattle the whole building