My little bro Steven F. suggested this topic secretly hoping I’ll touch on furries but that might just not happen so, I give you….
Other communities and cultures you’ve come across and why they’re neat
I’ve done a wee dram of international travel. Alas, my passport has expired and I haven’t gotten around to renewing it. Until then, I’m an armchair traveler. Literally. They come to me and I own an armchair. We have an AirBnB room in our home so get to meet face to face and see each other in our jammies. Our guests have come from alllll over the plaaaaace. Love our American visitors but there’s something extra special about guests who are also navigating our culture.
Le-‘Airrr-Bah-Und-Baez
Milwaukee has become this hot destination for international tourism. I kid you not. Plus we’re way nice and word is spreading. Guests are surprised about how friendly and welcoming we are. I’ll always remember two young ladies who came in late one night and shared their tale of the Uber driver who just took them on a no-charge tour of Milwaukee sights when they told him they were from Prague. Chicago can suck it. No offense.
Guests from overseas treat staying in your home like you’re a friend of a friend. They don’t know you but thanks to a mutual introduction, they get to use your extra bedroom while they check out Milwaukee. Bonus: Our room is super inexpensive. They have paid out the nose to get to the United States and want to spend their money on the adventure, not the accommodation. Smart.
They leave hostess gifts! This is extra impressive since their bits of home traveled here in the same luggage they paid astronomical sums to check with an airline. We’ve been gifted with cookies from New Zealand and Australia and chocolate from Switzerland. A set of sheets from Pakistan and a hand-dyed scarf from France. A wind-up music box, original art, and all the left-over tokens from their Lakefront Brewery tour.
Immediate Family
Leander and Finn from Germany were our barely 18 year old “sneaking into clubs nephews.” We talked about their travels and how they selected which countries to visit. Most of the time it’s where drugs are legal. They were having a pot-infused float around the world.
Mei from Japan was our “always smiling because she truly finds things delightful second cousin twice removed.” She teaches English in elementary school and traveling around the US for a month helped her speak the language more naturally. Her English was better than ours. Mei sat in our skychairs and giggled from the floating sensation while we talked about going to school in Japan vs school in the United States. She took a picture of all 3 of us laying on the floor in our kitchen using a selfie stick. Her hostess gift was a tote bag and matching coin purse emblazoned with an anime character that my friend Amanda would probably recognize.
Nicou and Isla from New Zealand were our “uncle and aunt we only see at Thanksgiving.” They rented a Harley in Colorado and rode in tandem across the United States to Milwaukee. A pilgrimage to Harley mecca. Their leathers were a testament to how easily they could afford the trip. On the map, Colorado to Wisconsin didn’t look that far. They learned that America is big compared to New Zealand.
Go Bucks! Go Packers!
Bucks, Bucks, Bucks. Packers, Packers, Packers. Sports tourism is hot and Milwaukee is on The List.
Steffan from Germany saved a ton of money by ordering a bunch of Packers memorabilia and having it delivered to our house before his arrival. He used one of the Milwaukee shuttles to trek up to Green Bay and see a game at Lambeau Field.
Cristina from Spain popped up from a Chicago trip just to see the Bucks. Of course, after experiencing a tiny bit of Milwaukee, she wished she’d arranged to stay longer.
Totally Tanked Tales
If you can remember their names, you weren’t really in our kitchen.
A delightful woman from Devon saved her money 10 years for a once-in-a-lifetime trip to spend a whole week at the Bead and Button Show. After a long, hard day of ogling embellishments, she came home about 5 minutes after a group of thoroughly soaked Shakespeareans had taken refuge read wine at my kitchen table. Alas, Julius Caesar had been rained out. She may have seemed a toddly titterer on the outside but she could throw back with the best of them.
Newlyweds, also from the UK, sold everything and were traveling the world. She’s an EMT and he’s a school teacher. They made a choice. Do this now before they bought a house and had a baby or never do it. We happened to have a flight of friends over for dinner read bourbon. Coming home after booze-o’clock was in full swing, our guests brought a bottle (again with the hostess gifts!) and joined the party. About 4 hours later, I’d crawled to bed but our buddies from Chicago, Milwaukee, and England were still going strong.
Go USA
Seriously, my yet-to-be-met overseas family. Go to the USA. We’ll show you a good time here in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
I’m Susan Scot Fry, author of “A Year of Significance” and an AirBnB Superhost. Honest, occasionally humorous and sometimes I swear.
A Year of Significance 