Being away from home changes the way you look at life. First it was moving to Texas. I remembered not being able to get Taco Bueno or Quiktrip and thinking I'd officially moved too far away. These little comforts at first were a pain, but I found other things to replace them or binged on them while I was home and everything was alright. Then I made the move out to Los Angeles and even more things were lost. The entire genre of Tex-Mex, for one, Barbeque, Dr. Pepper on tap in restaurants, Boulevard beer, thunderstorms (or weather of any type, for that matter) and small towns. Again, I adjusted, found new favorites (things I would ultimately, miss again when I moved away from there) and we continue on with life.
But moving to Spain, was the hardest transition, because almost everything here, is foreign. The small comforts I had anywhere in the US are gone. And I hold onto brands I previously had no loyalty to just because they kind of sort of remind me of home. I find it hard to even find replacements. Before, I could replace my beloved Boulevard with a decent Blue Moon. Here, my options are Cruzcampo bottle, Cruzcampo draft or Cruzcampo sin alcohol. That’s not even really a choice!
I know it sounds superficial. I know it's ridiculous, but here are the things I miss the most about being in the US.
Dr. Pepper
This is my crack. I wake up in the morning and instantly wonder where I'm going to get my first hit. Do I still have some left over from yesterday? Should I go up to the Quiktrip to by the good stuff (where I can mix it in the fountain myself) or should I go pick some up in bulk at the Wal-Mart. What television show should I watch while I'm waiting for it to kick in? It's sad, I know. But it's true. And I miss this stuff sooooo much. I remember when I had been in Spain for about 6 months, Andrew walked into the kitchen one day holding a six-pack. He saw it in the back on one of the shelves in Gibraltar when he went shopping and bought it for me at a whopping €15 for a 6 pack. I almost peed my pants. And I rationed that thing out for a full 6 weeks. Every Monday morning, I let myself have one. It was bliss. Unfortunately, since I am the only person in the lower half of Spain who gives a frack whether there is Dr. Pepper on the supermarket shelves, it's never there, and even if it is, it’s only in Gibraltar, where we only go maybe once a month.
Mexican food
I'm talking about the good stuff here. Queso, taquitos, shredded beef tacos, guacamole (not in a jar), salsa (not based with tomato paste) and fajitas. Sure, there are grocery stores, and they even stock El Paso brand tortillas, but cooking up a Mexican feast requires quite a bit of manual labor, including mixing taco seasoning myself from a recipe I found online using Spanish spices. It's not as easy as running through the Taco Bueno drive through on the way home from work or picking up some fresh white queso at Lambrusco'z before dinner.
Light beer
I know Europe has great beer. They have lagers and pilsners and ciders and stouts abound. But what they don't have is light beer. Or really, even, any light tasting beer. Beer in Europe, as I see it it, is still reserved for the men, and with men, drinking isn't about something tasting good, it's about it being manly. So sue me for wanting to drink a watered down Bud Light that still tastes like beer, still gets you drunk like beer, but doesn't make you fat like beer. I know it sounds stupid… but I like it.
Target
Oh Super Stores. How I miss thee. Having a store where you can walk in and buy a steak, a potato, a bottle of seasoning, a 6 pack of beer, a grill to cook it on, an apron to cook it in and deck chair to eat it in is just amazing. I realize that the likelihood of that situation occurring is rare, but I still appreciate it's availability.
Crackers
Europeans just don’t do crackers well. Their only real version of crackers is toasties, like thick melba toasts. They’re alright, and they serve a greater purpose, but I miss having an entire AISLE dedicated to crackers and cookies in my grocery stores. Triscuits, Wheat Thins, Ritz, even plain old Saltines. How do I eat my cheese if it’s not on a cracker?
Peanut Butter
The American elixir. Our honey. Our spreadable gold. Peanut butter is the stuff good solid American bones are made of. It’s the reason we have such good teeth, the cause of our ambitiousness, the stuff we make our impeccable highways from, the foundation of the statue of liberty and the stuff that taught us all how to get food unstuck from the roof of your mouth. Ok well maybe only that last one is true, but Peanut butter for me, is a staple. Breakfast, lunch and dinner (and everything in between) is generally made better by peanut butter and although the Europeans are catching on to this (there’s a decent brand out there called Captain Cacahuete here in Spain), in general, peanut butter here is a bit gooey, runs off your knife and a bit too gritty. And as a choosy chooser of peanut butter, I still chose Jif.
Yes I do realize that 4 of these 6 are foods. So maybe you realize my priorities now. Or maybe it’s just that my priorities have changed a bit. Of course I miss things like English and American television and high speed internet that’s actually high speed. But those things, in general, aren’t important to me anymore. I have replaced them with things like Spanish, Spanish television and dial-up, and though I whine about it a bit, I honestly am not all that hot and bothered about it.
But there’s something about my tastebuds that will not succumb to my new worldly ways. They want the goods. The old goods. The Kraft American cheese slices, the Oscar Meyer hot dogs and the Cool Whip. Yup my brand name taste buds are not impressed with Spanish food and for now, I won’t fight them.