What surprises my Spanish son when we visit the US

• Jennison Grigsby is an American mother living in Spain
• She regularly visits the US with her 8-year-old son, Luca.
• He is surprised by how much junk food and sugary breakfast options there are in the US.

This essay, as stated, is based on a conversation with Jennison Grigsby, an American mother and yoga teacher who lives in Valencia, Spain. It has been edited for length and clarity.

My son Luca is almost 9 years old. Lived in Spain all my life but always traveled back to the States. His first trip was at 5 weeks and he has been going back and forth ever since.

He has 10 cousins ​​there, along with lots of aunts, uncles and my parents, so we visit at least once a year, sometimes twice. We spend a lot of family time together every Christmas or during the summer. He has a strong connection to his family in the US and enjoys being both American and Spanish, although he definitely feels more connected to Spanish culture.

Luca always remembers our previous trips. He has a great memory, but I think that’s also because these trips have such an impact on him — he gets to travel and spend time with his cousins, which is really special because he doesn’t have any in Spain. We talk about our family and FaceTime with them often, so they never hesitate to throw back family time when we visit.

As he gets older, he notices different things every time we return—things that catch his eye. Always learn something new.

Luca is fascinated by the variety of “fantasy” cars in the USA

I remember when Luca was about 2 or 3 years old, we were driving down the Los Angeles freeway, and he was very confused by all the traffic—he kept asking, “Why don’t we go faster?” He was also surprised at how many big trucks were on the road sharing the highway with us. He even asked, “Where are the buses?” because public transportation was almost non-existent where we were in California.

Living in Spain, he is used to seeing buses in front of our house every day and we often take the bus together. So it was interesting for him to see how much we have to drive in the US. He also wondered why we never went anywhere.

Now that he is older, his interests have changed. He really likes cars themselves, especially big SUVs and fancy cars like Ford Mustangs, Porsches and Ferraris, which are rare in Spain. They get excited, noticing how many nice cars there are in the neighborhoods and on the highway.

He’s surprised by how many junk food and sugary breakfast options there are

When we’re in the US, Luca is always surprised by how many junk food and sugary breakfast options there are. He noticed that almost every day, we had things like pizza, burgers, quesadilla or sandwiches, which are very different from our meals in Spain. He also likes that he can have pancakes, toast and donuts there for breakfast – things we don’t have as much access to in Spain. But it doesn’t feel as good to eat like this for weeks on end.

Luca’s usual breakfast in Spain is fruit and sometimes cereal, but not the kinds of sugar I had growing up in the US. He is always excited about donuts as soon as we arrive in the US, often wanting to find some as soon as we get to the airport.

In Spain, meals are more balanced, with three-course school lunches and healthier snacks throughout the day. There is the almuerzo, a mid-morning snack, and the merienda, an afternoon snack that often includes something sweet or savory. In California, there are usually only three main meals a day, with dessert being something sweet like ice cream or cookies. Luca is more used to drinking yogurt or fruit after dinner in Spain.

He also notes that everything in the US happens much earlier

In the US, everything happens much earlier than we are used to in Spain. On weekends in Spain, we can start with breakfast around 8am, have a snack around 11am, lunch at 2 or 3pm, another snack around 6pm and dinner by 9pm But in California, the day starts much earlier. — breakfast can be as early as 7am, lunch at noon and dinner until 6pm, with everyone going to bed around 8pm

Luca definitely notices how different the routine is. In Spain, our schedule is more relaxed and flexible, especially with dinner and bedtime, which often depend on our social plans. In California, his cousins ​​have a more structured day with set meal times and early bedtimes, which is a big change for him. He usually stays up later than his cousins, but because he has jet lag, he is still in bed earlier than in Spain.

The cold water in California is a big change

During our last trip to California, my brother and father were stung by a stingray while at the beach. Luca had a great time in the ocean until this happened, but after that, he never wanted to go back in the water. It’s so different from what she’s used to in the Mediterranean, where the water is warm, calm and clear in the summer, which makes her feel very safe. We have jellyfish in Spain, but they are easy to spot because they float on the surface.

In California, the water is much colder and the waves are bigger, which is already a big change for him. But the discovery that there were rays hiding in the sand really shook him. Now, he decided he never wanted to go back to that ocean again.

We were all a bit uneasy after the stingray incident, especially since you can’t see them. The kids there actually do what they call the “stingray shuffle” to avoid stepping on them, but it’s not exactly fun. Plus, stepping out of that cold water and feeling frozen is not something he’s used to, especially compared to the warm and welcoming beaches of Spain.