Quote:
Originally Posted by Acajack
I did not travel to the U.S. with my family until I was well past the age of 10. As i was an early bloomer with lots of societal awareness even as a very young teen I was very observant already.
As I mentioned in another post I'd had many years of exposure to U.S. culture at that point so arriving in the U.S. was kind of like stepping into the TV set.
My kids have had the experience of foreign travel for as long as they can remember so the U.S. and other foreign countries have just been "as they are" for them and there weren't really any epiphany or eureka moments for them when they visited. Given their age back then and the absence of preconceived notions and expectations.
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My first actual visits to the US were when I was a little younger, perhaps 5 or 6 years old, but only to Maine for family vacations. Even still, small differences like signage, brands and pricing were a big deal to me - especially toys and Macdonalds - they had better toys and we didn't have Macdonalds until much later. The typical Maine accent wasn't a surprise as I had heard local Maine personalities like Dick Stacey and Eddie Driscoll on TV.
Later on into adulthood, my first visits to big, iconic American cities were somewhat surreal - all these buildings and streets that I had seen in movies and television for years were actually there in front of me. It was weird - like an old friend that I had known for years but never actually met. Anyhow, it occurred to me that I really should not be so familiar with American locations but I had just absorbed it all over the years as though by osmosis.
As a side note, due to the little diddies like Schoolhouse Rock that they played regularly during Saturday morning cartoons, I could recite the first part of the American Constitution in song... what a mind blower that is, especially considering that most Americans probably have a hard time understanding where Toronto is, and have no idea who our Prime Minister is, other than that 'attractive' guy that Melania was eyeing up on social media...
