Americans who have been out of the country…what was the first foreign country that you visited?

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1. England. I didn’t have much choice, given that I was being born at the time.

2. Bahamas- I expected it to be a little less expensive, but didn’t really have many other expectations going into it. Then again, I only saw a small part of Nassau.

   Edit: It was a cruise on a family vacation. I didn’t pick it.

3. The Netherlands. It was part of a school trip to study bridges in the Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland.

4. Canada. I was visiting an online friend who lived in Toronto.

   I was surprised by how much I *wasn’t* surprised; Canada is *very* similar to America, just with a few things swapped out (Canadian flags, French translations instead of Spanish).

   I love their coins. Loonies and toonies! I would love to visit again, and more than just Ontario.

5. Mexico

   It was a cruise to Cozumel when I was 5.

6. My first foreign country was England.

   It was to visit family members.

   It wasn’t so different…I was pretty young so I remember the people more than the places, but I remember the big red buses in London and the strange candy bars!

7. First country I visited was Canada, I didn’t choose that one. It was nice, Nova Scotia is very similar to Maine. The people are real nice and there’s lots of trees by the water.

8. Was 9. Went to Canada. Very similar to America. I’m planning on visiting it again as an adult to see how different it is.

9. Australia and Bora Bora when I was 8! My family went to Sydney to visit some family friends. We stayed with them for a couple weeks. The weather was beautiful, their culture seems to be very laidback and relaxed (less emphasis on work than in the US it seemed), and the locals (friends of our friends that they introduced us to) were so kind and friendly! Bora Bora was so naturally beautiful; it was actually a paradise on Earth. The locals were also so kind and welcoming!

10. Afghanistan

    I didn’t necessarily choose it.

    No amount of research could prepare me for what i saw.

11. The first was Canada. I was invited on a free trip to Toronto. The next was The Netherlands, which I chose…

12. Mexico. It was a church mission trip to help build houses.

13. Germany, because my Dad was stationed there.

    It wasn’t like I expected, but I was just a kid so my expectations were a little unrealistic. I heard they had castles and was expecting Disneyland.

14. Canada. It was about a 30 minute drive to get there. They had different brands and different flavors of snack foods otherwise it looked just like Michigan.

15. Italy, because my aunt lived there. I’ve been to Germany, Italy, France and Austria. Unless you count airports, then I’ve also been to England (lol).

    I’ve been to Europe a few times, for work and such, but never on my own with my own itinerary or I would have visited a lot more countries. Maybe next year

16. Canada, convenience.

    It was exactly as I expected.

17. Germany, back in the late 80s.

18. First time outside the US was when my job sent me to Barbados to do some work on a boat. It was about what I expected.

19. Canada as a tiny baby.

    First ones I can actually remember are Italy and Switzerland from when I was just about three. They are literally my first memories. My very first memory is of the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the second is of the Bear Pit in Bern, Switzerland. I’ve been back to the Bärengraben in Bern and it was hilarious how much less deep it was than I recalled.

    I also used to have a recurring dream about going on a bridge on a mountain and then going into some building built on top of the mountain. I described it to my dad and he’s pretty sure it was Mt. Pilatus. I don’t know if you count a dream as a memory.

20. Korea…joined the Army and was given the choice between Korea and Fort Riley, Kansas…no brainer.
    Beautiful country and all I thought about as I took in the sites is how I wished my family was along to take in the culture as well.

    Thanks to the Army I also got to see Germany, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and Iraq.

21. Canada.
    I didn’t choose it, my parents did because we were staying at a cabin on the border in New York and crossed the St Lawrence Seaway for the day.

22. Costa Rica. It was a backpacking trip that was part of a program in college.

    It was a little more rural than I expected. But otherwise mostly what I expected.

23. Canada. I only lived like 20 miles from it growing up so we went semi-frequently. I also went to Mexico and the Bahamas on cruises as a kid.

    As an adult, I’ve never left the country so I’ve never picked somewhere myself. Unless my job requires me to leave at some point, I find it unlikely I’ll leave the country again.

24. I was in The US Navy for 12 years, I’ve been to 36 nations on every continent except Antarctica. I’ve seen some pretty bizarre cultures. My favorite nation I visited without a doubt was Australia, I spent 4 months there, in fact our ship sailed around the entire continent.

25. Canada

26. Aruba. I did not choose it. I was a child and brought there on family vacation. I had no expectations but it was beautiful and I loved it.

27. Canada, it’s drivable. It was what I expected.

28. England. Parents chose it.

    I enjoyed it. I still enjoy visiting it.

29. The Soviet Union (yes I’m that old). Six week study abroad in Leningrad.

    Having been raised on a Cold War diet, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I wanted to see what was behind the Iron Curtain and did. It’s one of the best experiences of my life and fundamentally changed my perception of the world.