- 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 many junk food and sugary breakfast options there are in the US.
This spoken essay is based on a conversation with Jennison Grigsby, an American mother and yoga teacher living in Valencia, Spain. It has been edited for length and clarity.
My son Luca is almost 9 years old. He has lived in Spain all his life, but we have always traveled to the United States. His first trip was at 5 weeks old and he has been going back and forth ever since.
He has 10 cousins there, along with many aunts, uncles and my parents, so we visit at least once a year, sometimes twice. We spend a lot of family time together every other 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 as he doesn’t have any in Spain. We often talk about our family and FaceTime with them, so he never hesitates to dive right into family time when we visit.
As he gets older, he notices different things every time we return – things that catch his eye. He always gets something new.
Luca is fascinated by the variety of ‘fancy’ cars in the US
I remember when Luca was about 2 or 3, we were driving down the freeway in Los Angeles and he was really confused by all the traffic—he kept asking, “Why aren’t we going faster?” He was also amazed at how many big trucks were on the road, sharing the highway with us. He even asked, “Where are the buses?” since 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 driving we had to do in the US. He also wondered why we didn’t walk anywhere.
Now that he has grown up, his interests have changed. He’s really into the cars themselves, especially big SUVs and fancy cars like Ford Mustangs, Porsches and Ferraris, which are rare in Spain. He gets excited, noticing how many nice cars there are in the neighborhood and on the highway.
He is surprised by how many junk food and sugary breakfast options there are
When we’re in the US, Luca is always amazed at the amount of junk food and sugary breakfast options. He noticed that almost every day, we had things like pizza, hamburgers, quesadillas or sandwiches, which is very different from our meals in Spain. He also loves that he can have pancakes, French toast and donuts for breakfast there – things we don’t have as much access to in Spain. But he doesn’t feel so good eating like this for weeks.
Luca’s usual breakfast in Spain is fruit and sometimes cereal, but not the sugary ones 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, it’s usually just three main meals a day, with dessert being something sweet like ice cream or cookies. Luca is more used to eating 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 might start with breakfast around 8am, have a snack around 11am, lunch at 2 or 3pm, another snack around 6pm and dinner by 9pm: 00 But in California, the day starts much earlier. – Breakfast can be at 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 difference for him. He usually stays up later than his cousins, but because he’s stuck, he’s still in bed earlier than in Spain.
The cold water of California is a big difference
During our last trip to California, my brother and father were stung by an oyster while we were at the beach. Luca had been having a great time in the ocean until this happened, but after that, he didn’t want to go back into the water. It is very different from what he is used to in the Mediterranean Sea, where the water is warm, calm and clear in the summer, making him feel very safe. We have jellyfish in Spain, but they are easy to spot as they float on the surface.
In California, the water is much colder, and the waves are bigger, which is already a big difference for him. But when he discovered that there were thorns hidden in the sand, it really shocked him. Now, he’s pretty much decided he doesn’t want to go back to that ocean.
We all felt a little uneasy after the spike incident, especially since you can’t see them. The kids there even do what they call the ‘stingray shuffle’ to avoid being stepped on, but it’s not exactly fun. Plus, getting out of the cold water and feeling freezing is not something he is used to, especially compared to the warm and inviting beaches in Spain.