1. Walmart

I know, I know: Walmart? Seriously?

Yes, seriously. I missed Walmart.

Sure, Spain had its own versions of Walmart, but none of them were quite as plainly convenient and cheap with an equally wide selection as what the traditional American Walmart has. I honestly missed having a wide selection of produce, frozen foods, cereals, pastas, sauces, beverages, etc. all in the same place as a pharmacy/drugstore, hardware store, home decor store, cheap clothing store, and toy store all housed under one roof.

I understand that not all Americans even shop at Walmart, and those who do don’t necessarily use it regularly for all its available amenities. But, the fact is, if you need to buy a dresser, underwear, kitty litter, and avocados, you can do all that at Walmart. There wasn’t a place that I could do that in Spain.

2. American food you don’t think of as only American

I didn't anticipate not being able to buy Dr. Pepper abroad or not being able to buy kettle corn. Spain has a few sodas we don’t get in the US, but the US has a lot of sodas you can’t get in Spain. I also missed some of my favorite snacks like kettlecorn or even tortilla chips to dip in guacamole (and every time I did find tortilla chips they were really expensive). I never thought that any of these things were quintessentially ‘American’ until I couldn’t find them in Spain or any of the other countries in Europe I visited.

3. English

Going to Spain, as a Spanish major, I wanted to practice my Spanish, of course. But, sometimes, you just don’t know how to say what you’re trying to say or sometimes you’re trying to make new friends and you have no idea if the other person speaks your native language. I forgot how nice it is to walk up to someone and have a 97% chance that they speak the same language as you.