Growing up in Spain with an American mother I always had “cool American food” that all my friends were intrigued about and expected me to share with them. It always surprised me how things that were considered completely normal in the U.S. could be so fascinating to my Spanish friends, so here’s a list of just a few of the products that caused such fascination.
1. Hershey’s Kisses
The first time I brought Hershey’s Kisses to school to share with my friends they all laughed and asked why we make chocolates that look like turds. “They’re not turds, they’re kisses!” I would say, but since that day I haven’t been able to look at them in the same way.
2. Kool-Aid
I would always serve Kool-Aid at the many birthday parties I had growing up and kids would be delighted with this colorful and delicious American drink. They would make up names for the different flavors, such as “Lollipop Juice," but once parents saw the amount of sugar that went into that thing, their expressions were priceless, and it wasn’t long until they all started bringing alternative drinks to my parties.
3. Vitamins
“Do you Americans take medicine for everything? Just have some herbal tea and take a nap.”
4. Cinnamon
“Ok, so cinnamon is good, but what’s this obsession with cinnamon-flavored everything?” Cinnamon is just not that big in most other countries and the idea of something like cinnamon gum just sounds plain gross to them.
5. Onion Rings
“So you are honestly telling me people choose onions over French fries?” There’s an American-style restaurant my friends and I used to go to in Spain, where they served onion rings as a side option and when I suggested that we get them instead of French fries, I got these confused looks about why I would want onions with my hamburger.
6. Drinking milk beyond the age of two.
Growing up, I thought it was completely normal to drink milk at lunch time, until I started bringing friends over and they would be completely weirded out by it. For them, milk was something you had for breakfast or as a snack. If you weren’t a baby you should have water with your lunch, but guess who’s never broken a bone? Me, so take that!
