Let Your Interests and Passions Lead You to New Experiences

​I love the writings and greater philosophy of the acclaimed travel writer Rick Steves, who strongly advocates for traveling with a purpose. He sees travel as an opportunity to learn about new places and meet new people. Many of his works emphasize taking an active learning approach to travel, but I believe that even if the priority of your journey isn’t to focus on learning about the people and customs of your destination, it can still present a great opportunity for you to gain a broader experience. The wonder of travel is that by simply by going somewhere you’ve never been before, at least one of your senses will present you with something they’ve never seen, heard, felt, smelled or tasted before. With countless destinations to choose from around the world or even within the boarders of our respective nations, it can be difficult to pick just one or to prioritize where to go first. If you find yourself trying to make that ultimate decision, and you’re not a fan of throwing darts at a map, then one of the easiest ways could be simply looking toward yourself and what you enjoy.

​Our personal interests and hobbies we like to engage in can open doors to a whole world of experiences if we pursue them in other locations. Among the many reasons to is the ability to discover how similar we are with people that have totally different beliefs than us, while also showing how different people are who enjoy doing the same thing. It offers us a glance to see how people’s perspectives and understanding change from place to place based on their experiences and traditions. We may find differences that we love about these other cultures, and those that strengthen our appreciation of home, and there’s a wide variety of pastimes and interests you can engage in around the world to have this opportunity.

It's the same...but different.

One of the best examples for this idea is baseball. It’s a popular sport in many countries of North America, the Caribbean and Asia, and the basic mechanics of the game itself are more or less the same in any of those countries. Where you really start to see differences is in the fan experience depending on where you are watching a game. Those of us who enjoy America’s favorite pastime here in the United States will typically find a crowd that is a bit more subdued in the early stages of the game during individual pitches, unless there’s situation for something to happen such as a strike out or when the batter makes contact into or near fair territory. The crowd often becomes livelier as the game goes further along and the situation calls for more involvement, whether the home team needs to rally from behind, or they are just a few outs away from sealing victory.

​Those going to a game in Japan, however, will find a completely different atmosphere. It is very common for the fans of a teams to engage in chats led by the musical instruments of a few for each batter of their favorite team (including visiting teams whose fans typically have their own sections in the stadium). You’ll also find all kind of flag waving and noise makers among the fans throughout as well. They cheer when major plays happen like you’d see in American ballparks, but the energy is more constant from beginning to end, and gives to feeling more akin to what we may experience here in the States at a soccer match.

When you think about it even more, this difference in experience becomes even more fascinating because the emphasis of respect in Japanese culture, which results in other experiences that can be massively different from other places, such as most people remaining silent on public transportation or being more organized when utilizing escalators. This rambunctiousness of fans at Japanese games seems to be in conflict with usual Japanese customs. For Japanese ballparks though, it’s not only acceptable, but it’s part of their tradition for the sport.

​There are several other differences that can be seen through the course of the nine innings played at a professional game between the two places. We often think of the beer guy being a bigger man who’s carrying a large tub of individual beers, walking up and down the aisle yelling “Get your ice cold beer here!”. But in a Japanese venue, you may see younger women with a keg on their back like a backpack, and they stand at the front of the aisle to make their sales pitch, using their hands to show the price and pointing at the cup they pour the beers into. Even the tradition of the seventh inning stretch has a different take on it, as while we often rise in the middle of the 7th Inning to sing along to that classic tune of “Take Me Out To The Ballgame”, in Japan there’s also singing in the 7th inning, but the song is rather a song of the team playing. The visiting fans get a chance to sing their team’s song before they bat in the top of the 7th, and the home fans get to perform their team’s song when we lyrically request for peanuts and Cracker Jack as a part of our baseball tradition.

Two stadiums in two different countries. The game played in them is the same, but the atmosphere while they're played can be vastly different!

​Going to baseball games is just one example of how your personal interests can open doors to learn about differences between places though. You don’t have to be a sports fan to be able to go to a place in another country and engage in favorite activities. Do you have a passion for music? You could go to a local music club where they play live, and hear the differences of their local take on jazz. Do you love to cook? You can participate in a class to learn local cooking styles and recipes. The number of possibilities can add up quick fast. But even activities and hobbies that you wouldn’t necessarily think would be different from one place to another can offer those opportunities to be exposed to different customs, traditions or styles.

Theme Parks can also show our similarities and differences

In many respects, this philosophy of traveling to pursue your interests and hobbies has been a big part of my life. Ever since I had my first ride on Raptor at Cedar Point in 1996, I have had a deep love for roller coasters and amusement parks. As I got older, I began to add more parks to my list of those visited, and even spent parts of five years working for two major amusement and theme park destinations. As time has gone by, I've been fortunate to be able to pursue this hobby of ridding coasters and visiting theme parks on six of the seven continents of the world (haven't seen anything to indicate that Six Flags Antarctica is coming anytime soon). While the main objective of these various parks is to provide their visitors with entertainment through their rides, shows and scenery, the parks in various parts of the world can offer all sorts of insight into the cultural differences of various places. Whether it's the small family owned park, an emersively themed park, or a place fighting for the title of the best coaster collection, many of them offer similar cultural exposure.

As our group arrived to Fårup Sommerland and other parks in the tour, managers and staff greeted us and gave presentations in clear English, and could instantaneously switch to their native language when speaking with fellow employees. It was impressive how easily they transitioned back and forth.

Looking back to 2014 as I joined Theme Park Review's Scandinavia tour, we spent time between Denmark, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Finland. As we visited different parks and were given special presentations or interacted with the park staff, there were multiple times where they would speak to our group in English, and then with each other in their native language. This particular experience wasn't such that I had never seen anyone do this before, rather it was the ease in which they could flip from on to another. Even in short, simple interactions when they greeted you in their language, and someone said hello, it was as if a light switch was flipped and they spoke a different language with the same ease as we would with our own. This is rather common in the Scandinavian countries as many of them learn multiple languages while they are in school, and it made me wish that I hadn't struggled in my high school Spanish classes, especially as I've begun to venture out into more Spanish Speaking countries (Actually, I wish I just had the knowledge of all languages as that would come in really handy, but I digress...). 

​The parks themselves can also show some of the differences between one's home and the location they're visiting. Differences in architectural style, the variety of intellectual properties used for themes, how things are presented, these can all be examples of the differences in culture from one place to another. While visiting Japan with a group of friends in 2017, we spent a day at Fuji-Q, and while we heard all the horror stories of long lines at the park, it was something else to experience it for ourselves. While they are notorious for long lines, several parks across the country seemed to take longer when it came to running their attractions than what you would in some other parks. While waiting in long lines at a popular amusement park is far from an unusual thing, there are some factors that play into it that are tied to the local culture of Japan. 

As part of that larger philosophy of doing things with others in mind that I referred to earlier, Japan can be an extremely safety concious nation. When incidents or accidents happen at various amusement parks, the rides tend to be closed longer than they would in other countries while they investigate and rectify any mechanical or structural issues that need to be resolved. As we saw in a few of the parks over there, the loading process for rides often took more time as the ride hosts will give a lot of detailed instructions to passengers before they board, while on board and as they exit, which adds more time between dispatchs (The Tokyo Disney Resort is one of the more notable exceptions as their operations are more in line with those of other Disney Park Resorts). I especially noticed this with Zaturn at the now closed Space World near Fukuoka, as the ride hosts had a lot of choreographed movements to match with the instructions they were giving.

It's not unusual to wait a while (sometimes longer than the posted wait time) for the rides of Fuji-Q.

Another major difference I've noticed is the hours of operation for parks in different parts of the world. During the deep part of the summer, it's common for the major parks of the United States to open between 9 and 11 in the morning, and stay open until around 10 to midnight. In Europe though, while some parks will operate with similar hours, it's also not uncommon to see the parks close closer to 5 or 7 in the evening, even during the main part of the summer season. This could be connected to the difference of work-life balance that can come from the different locations, as European shops and restaurants often have more limited hours than you see in the states for similar businesses.

How pursuing various coasters opened up new experiences and possibilities

Had it not been for the hobby of seeking as many different coasters as possible, there may not have been the visit to Winnipeg that led to getting to try this delicious cinnamon bun!

​A prime example of that was during my visit to various parts of Canada in 2019. When I first put that trip together, it was for the ultimate goal of knocking out as many of the coasters off my to-do list as I could. Certainly most enthusiasts would make a point to go to La Ronde in Montreal or Canada's Wonderland on the outskirts of Toronto, so it would be no surprise to have those two places on the list. But how many folks in the coaster enthusiast community who aren't as big into going for super obscurely located coasters would make a point of adding a stop to Winnipeg to their trip? While brief, it was fun to add another stop to the itinerary, and while I didn't get the coaster that I was originally seeking to get because the park was closed due to the windy weather, I was able to make a stop in the nearby town of Morden and get a taste of locally made apple cider from their Corn and Apple Festival, and I was able to try a delicious cinnamon bun thanks to Tall Grass Prarie Bread Company. It also gave me a chance to tap into my childhood a bit as I was able to enjoy a long-time favorite beverage of a 7-Eleven Slurpee  in the city that consumes more of them per capita than any other in the world. (A fun fact for those who've not had one from Canada, you'll find that it has a different texture as it's a bit more slushy, so another similar yet different experience).

Some of the things I have been able to do and experience because of seeking more obscurely located coasters have been truely eye opening. One park visit in particular that was a bit eye opening was that of Lion Park Resort outside of Gabarone, Botswana. Pulling up with the cab driver into the dirt parking lot of this place in a quite sparsely populated area was a bit of a surreal moment. As I stood there and looked away from the park, all I saw was dry grasslands with a number of trees. I was essentially in the middle of an African savannah, with the hope of riding a coaster that ran on an unreliable electrical grid. While Disney's Animal Kingdom does their best to replicate the feeling of being in Africa on the Kilimanjaro Safari and in the main guest areas, I don't think the ride experience would ever be able to replicate the feeling I had with the realization of what I was doing at that moment.

But there was another first-time experience that was also a learning moment for me. As I spent the day in the park, I met a lovely South African family on holiday who were camping at the resort. I spent a good couple hours talking and interacting with mom, dad, grandma and grandpa, and even did a couple rides with their two daughters. This family wasn't from the likes of Johannesburg or Cape Town though, they were from a smaller town that was closer to the South African-Botswanan border, and where they live, they don't meet many Americans. During a ride on the park's ferris wheel, one of the two daughters asked me "Why is your accent so weird?". Now, I have had several experiences when traveling across the US where people would catch that my accent wasn't one from that area, and it definately happens in other countries, but I had never had an 8 year-old tell me that I had a weird accent before. I certainly didn't take any issue with her question, but it was a bizzare feeling to be on the other end of that question. As I told her that it was because I was from the United States, she gave me a puzzled look, which made me wonder for a moment if she hadn't even heard of my country. Then I said America, and she had a moment of clarity as she responded "Oh, America!" Her reaction to my initial and follow-up response about where I was from made me realize that not everyone is familiar with the various forms of the name of my home country, similar to how some folks from home may be well aware of Japan, but have never heard it referred to as Nippon, which is what the Japanese people call Japan in their own language.

It was pretty surreal to visit a park with a roller coaster that was essentially in the middle of a savannah in Bostswana.

Certainly, had it not been for adding the day to visit Botswana in seeking out their Schwarzkopf looping coaster, I would never have had that interaction and experience, nor would I have been able to enjoy some wonderful conversations with the family visiting from just across the boarder, or the park manager who I spoke with while I awaited the arrival of the cab to head back to the airport where we exchanged coins from our home countries.

It's totally understandable if you may not have the time or the resources at the moment to travel abroad (I've been there before, as it was only after I got into my mid/late 20's that I could really get into international travel because of finances and time availability), but if you find yourself with an opportunity to go to a different country, I highly encourage you to do so, and let your interests and hobbies help guide where you go. You may be surprised to find what you'll learn about a place if you go for something that you enjoy back at home.

I hope you all enjoyed this entry, and that some of you may be inspired to try out a new location if you hadn't been considering it before. Until next time,

Take Care, and Safe Travels!

​- Gary