Vacation brain is different. As soon as you land somewhere new, you start doing things you wouldn’t dream of doing back home. They’re not necessarily illegal, though. Here are twelve things people do on vacation that they’d never admit back home. Would you ever confess to doing any of these?
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Eat dessert for breakfast and call it culture
Speaking of food, a croissant is a breakfast abroad. Flan at 9 AM? You tell yourself that’s what they do there. But it means that you’ll end up three pastries deep before noon, with a cappuccino on the side. No one’s judging you, of course. It’s part of the vacation “rules.” You’d never tell anyone at home, though. Just that you ate well. Perhaps too well.
Steal stuff from the hotel room
You’re not a thief exactly, just curious about what’s in your hotel. That makes those tiny shampoos fair game. But there’s no excuse for taking a pair of fancy hotel slippers & a towel. You’re not gonna bring it up unless someone’s joking about hotel crimes. Even then, you’ll only mention it if you’re sure they’ve done it too. Maybe not even then.
Wear the same outfit three days in a row
At first, you thought you’d packed smart. One pair of jeans & a couple of shirts, that’s all. But really, you wore the same outfit for three straight days and hoped no one noticed. It doesn’t really matter if they did. You’re in another time zone. At home, though, you’d feel gross just thinking about it. Yuck.
Make up stories
Fake stories sometimes just slip out. You don’t say you do graphic design, but that you’re an art director at a studio in New York. Even though you live in Houston. Now, you’re deep in a fake identity while talking to a stranger over sangria. It doesn’t need to be malicious exactly. It’s simply what happens when no one knows you. Oh well.
Use foreign currency as an excuse to overspend
It’s easy to convince yourself that 300 of something isn’t that bad, especially when it’s in another currency. That is, until your card’s declined back home. Foreign currency often feels like Monopoly money. You throw it around like it’s not real. Then, you act shocked when you see your bank statement. Ouch.
Sleep in until noon without shame
Of course, the plan is to wake up early & seize the day. Yet the reality is that you roll over at 11:47 & scroll through photos you don’t remember taking. You’ll grab brunch if you’re lucky. At home, you’ll tell people that you always make the most of your trips. But in real life, the hotel bed wins. Every time.
Pretend to understand the language but don’t
You’ll nod & smile while you’re abroad, maybe throw in a “sí” or “oui.” The waiter could be telling you the special is boiled goat tongue, yet you’d still nod along. It’s not something you’re ready to share. But you didn’t understand a single word of that entire conversation. It went straight over your head.
Fake an accent after two days
There’s no reason for it, and yet, you’re ordering “pah-sta” like you grew up in Milan. Someone says something & your voice becomes eerily similar to theirs. It doesn’t last long. Just enough to make you aware of it, but you’ll deny it later. Obviously.
Take selfies in random places
Honestly, you actually didn’t know what that statue was. But the lighting was good & you saw other people doing it, so you started taking photos with it. Later, you’ll share these photos with a caption about how they’re “so inspiring.” You probably spent more time looking for the right filter than reading the info plaque.
Say the trip was amazing just to avoid admitting some things sucked
You went & took the popular photo after waiting for hours in line. But it was kind of average. Still, when someone asks, you don’t wanna sound picky, so you smile and talk about how amazing the whole thing was. It’s a lot easier than admitting the truth.
Wear stuff they would never wear in public at home
The truth is, you probably don’t even know why you packed it. It’s bright & wrinkled. It also doesn’t match anything. Yet it’s somehow your vacation look that you throw on because, whatever. Everyone’s a stranger & it’s comfy. Back home, you wouldn’t even wear it to the grocery store. But here? It’s a different story.
Eat American fast food in a country known for amazing cuisine
You might not visit Tokyo or Rome planning to eat at McDonald’s. Yet you’re there, chowing down on a Big Mac because you needed a break from translating menus. Or maybe you were starving. Either way, it doesn’t matter. You’ll tell everyone at home that you only ate local food. Which is a lie, albeit a delicious one.
Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
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