This is the third in a series of What Visitors Think of Seattle. We’re big fans of Couchsurfing. We’ve had the pleasure of hosting over 40 visitors from around the US and Internationally. Visitors always have interesting observations about Seattle and it’s great seeing Seattle through the lens of a fresh pair of eyes. We profile some of our visitors and noted their comments about Seattle, the US and some of our learning about where they’re from.
B (male-35) was from France. He had only one day in Seattle and was looking for a place to stay and was willing to put up a tent in somebody’s backyard. Since we had a room available, he stayed with us. He’d been in Seattle for a few days staying in a hostel before he came to stay with us for the one night. I told him to meet me after work around 5:00pm in downtown at the corner of 6th and Pine, but found him one block over. He was born in Belgium, grew up in France near Paris, but his family was originally from Italy and his grandparents still live there. He said they make their own olive oil and use about a liter a week. Whoa. That’s a lot of olive oil! He was backpacking through North America for about a year without a real plan. He’s also backpacked in India, Vietnam, Russia and South Africa. One of his hobbies was Karate and his sensei studied in Japan for 15 years. We took a bus back to my place and I had to walk my dog. I gave him the option to relax at my place, but he wanted to accompany us on our walk around Green Lake Park. We went to grab dinner and a drink and that was about it. The next day he was catching a ferry to Bremerton and then a bus to Aberdeen to try to get a job on a sailboat, one of his passions. His goal was to get a job working on a sailboat up and down the West Coast.
What he did while in Seattle:
Day 1-Met in downtown after I got off work at 5:00. Prior to meeting me he went to Sculpture Park, Pike Place and Seattle Art Museum(SAM). Had dinner at Pho 65(no longer in business) and went to a bar, so he could watch the last portion of FC Barcelona vs Munich Bayern.
B’s Questions/Observations about the US:
- He asked if Americans really do like Budweiser. He really liked Mac and Jacks. I told him I don’t know anybody who drinks it regularly other than poor college students, but they have over 43% of the market share in the US, so there are a lot of people who like it. Note: Miller/Coors has 25% of the market.
- He asked what happens to drunk drivers in the US. Told him they lose their license, pay fines, and increased insurance rates. Guess it doesn’t happen much where he lives because of public transportation.
- Tried to explain baseball while we had a beer and it was on TV, but his eyes just glazed over.
- Was surprised I picked up my dog’s crap on our walk. If you’ve ever been to other parts of the world, especially in Europe and South America, they don’t do this. Reminds me of a comedian’s bit where he said if Martians came to Earth and saw a human and dog walking, the Martian would think that dogs ruled the world because there was an animal walking behind picking up their crap.
- Asked if the Grand Canyon was worth going to. Of course I said, “yes!”
B’s Questions/Observations about Seattle:
- Seattle story-he went to SAM(Seattle Art Museum) for the sole purposes of using the restroom. At first, the front desk said he had to pay, but once they found out he was traveling the world they let him in for free. I don’t think he was even aware it was a museum when he first walked in.
- He really enjoyed Green Lake Park and observed how healthy people were in Seattle compared to the rest of the US
- He thought the pho here compared very well with the pho in Vietnam, except the price of course.
My Learnings/Observations from B:
- He owned a frozen yogurt shop back home and met a girl who was a customer. They hit it off. So he sold his house and shop and decided to “runaway” and travel together and go Wwoofing. They did it for a while, but she decided to move to Montreal so that was that.
- He told me the story of a friend and his girlfriend who went around the world on bikes, but when they got to Cambodia, they had a fight and broke up. So she went back home to Paris and he went on to Thailand on his bike. He ended up meeting a Thai girl, got together and opened a restaurant there. Although the story is entertaining, what I remember most about it is that he started laughing and slapped my arm when finishing the story.
- I told him I had just watched the movie, Intouchables(I definitely recommend it), and advised the main actor is a really famous comedian in France and not really an actor.
- Like a lot of travelers he really liked the movie, Into the Wild.
- B had a very easy-going way of traveling. He really had no plans and just went to wherever sounded interesting and stayed for as long as he felt comfortable.
Related Articles
- See what a 28 year old from Ireland thought
- See what a 34 year old from Thailand thought
- See what a 25 year old from Finland thought
- See what a 35 year old from France thought
This is the second in a series of What Visitors Think of Seattle. We’re big fans of Couchsurfing. We’ve had the pleasure of hosting over 40 visitors from around the US and Internationally. Visitors always have interesting observations about Seattle and it’s great seeing Seattle through the lens of a fresh pair of eyes. We profile some of our visitors and noted their comments about Seattle, the US and some of our learning about where they’re from.
“E” (a 33 year old female) was from Slovenia. She was visiting from Vancouver, where she was working. She came to Seattle for only one night because her visa in Canada was only good for 6 months, so she made a quick trip to the US so that her visa could be renewed.
Like so many folks from Vancouver, she took the Bolt Bus to downtown Seattle. Back in Slovenia she was a freelance journalist who did photography on the side, but while in Vancouver she worked on Granville Island at a wine shop since wine was a passion of hers.
As a journalist in Slovenia, she mainly wrote environmental pieces and traveled all over the country to write stories of people who are doing things to help the environment. She left Slovenia due to a lack of journalism jobs and just a needed life change. When traveling she always uses couchsurfing and has never had a bad experience. She’d traveled all over Europe, Asia and parts of Africa.
What she did while in Seattle:
Day 1-Met in downtown while I was working and told her to meet me back at 5:00 so we could take bus back to my place together. During this time she went to Capitol Hill, had empanadas, walked to Pioneer Square and then to Pike Place market. We then had dinner prepared by my other couchsurfer, M, and we all went to a karaoke bar.
E’s Questions/Observations about the US:
- Like many visitors, she had questions about the elections.
- She noted that Americans and Canadians travel very differently. Most Americans travel within the US and most Canadians travel around the world.
- She wanted to know the history of Cuba/US relation.
- She said the impression of people in her country are that Americans are dumb since most Slovenians have never met an American and their only “interaction” is based off of TV and movies.
E’s Questions/Observations about Seattle:
- Since she is a wine enthusiast, I opened a bottle of Roosevelt Red from a local winery, Eight Bells Winery. She really enjoyed it and was surprised about the abundance and quality of wine in our area.
- When we went to a karaoke bar, she initially got a Corona. I let her taste my Manny’s Pale Ale and she liked it and got a pint.
My Learnings/Observations from E:
- She had strong opinions on the way Slovenia handles taxes and college. Since college is funded by the government, you end up having students who try to take advantage of the system by going to college for 10 years.
- Also because companies get subsidies for hiring students while they’re still in school, it’s also an incentive to stay in college as long as possible because students are likely to be let go by the company without the help of the government subsidy.
- With a high tax rate there is no incentive to work when you can be a student and chill.
- While watching TV, she about fell on the floor laughing at a Subway commercial where people are breaking chairs, splitting their pants, have buttons popping of their shirt because they are obese. She thought is was a strange portrayal of Americans.
- She had a strong interest in my pictures of street food from my travels and Luke Chueh prints.
- Although I offered her anything in my fridge for eating, she insisted on going to the grocery store. I literally had to tell her if she didn’t help me eat some of my food, it would go bad and I’d have to throw it away, before she hesitantly relented.
Upon her return to Slovenia, E ended up establishing a business, a food and wine tasting walking tour in her home city.
- See what a 28 year old from Ireland thought
- See what a 34 year old from Thailand thought
- See what a 25 year old from Finland thought
- See what a 35 year old from France thought