4. Danielle Schroeder
Root Beer!
I remember overhearing a conversation between two foreign exchange students at my high school–a Swede and a German. Both seemed to think that root beer was absolutely disgusting. They couldn’t understand Americans’ enthusiasm for it. One even claimed it reminded her of cough medicine.
5. Robert Frost
For me, it was the bologna sandwich.
It was made of bread that in no way seemed like real bread, meat that in no way seemed like real meat, and mustard that in no way seemed like real mustard.
And of course, no one had told me the red plastic ring around the meat wasn’t edible.
It should have been horrible – but it was strangely enjoyable.
For my friends in England, when I returned from America, it was the peanut butter and jelly sandwich I brought to school with me, one day. They were horrified I was putting peanut butter and jelly on the same sandwich.
6. Henry Wong
Fortune cookie. As a native Chinese, I am still puzzled by how this came to be the definitive end-of-meal dessert-thing served at every Chinese restaurant in the US.
