Americans and Europeans (including Brits) kinda think of the USA as an ordinary-sized country

[conuly]

And we're both exceedingly wrong, but at least Americans grasp that it takes about a week to drive from NY to CA if you plan to stretch your legs when you eat and then sleep at night, and that a plane flight from NYC to LA will take about the same amount of time as a flight from NYC to London.

Of course, the flipside is that we think, eg, France is quite a small country because, after all, it's only the size of one American state, and the fact that that state is Texas doesn't change things much.

All this is to say, and I'm not naming names here, but please take this into account when making travel plans and/or writing fic.

Comments

[elayna]

I remember the first time I went to the UK and everything that seemed like such a big deal travel-wise in books or movies instead felt so tiny to me. I had no sense of perspective between the USA and the UK, and of course, I was reading-watching a lot of historical shows where distances in carriages took a whole lot more time than driving in America. That was quite a 'wow' experience for me, my gosh, this country is teeny!

[conuly]

Yellowstone Park is half the size of Wales.