So Close We Can Almost Taste It...

After foraging the refrigerator tonight for leftovers, we sat around the table fantasizing about all the foods we'll eat and restaurants we'll frequent within hours of hitting U.S. soil. Matt put his head back against the chair and starting describing his first meal: a good 'ole Italian sub sandwich, where the oil and vinegar soak through its wax paper wrapper. Yummmm... I told him I have a hankering for cheap Mexican food... you know, the kind that stays with you for days. Oh yeah.... And an In-N-Out burger. Double double animal style.

We probably named 4 or 5 more restaurants and foods that we wanted to eat while we were in California. Though through all of our reminiscing, we noticed that Riley and Sheridan were staring blankly at us. It wasn't until Riley asked us, "Is Mama D's kinda like Cafe Masada?" that we realized they don't know American restaurants. I forget that they've never lived in the United States. Sure, Riley was born in New Jersey, but she only lived there for 3 months before we moved to Oman. And Sheridan was born in Oman - though she's only been to the U.S. a few times: in between our move from Oman to Tel Aviv, and during spring and winter breaks. They don't miss the chain restaurants like Rubio's Baja Grill, Panera, TGI Fridays, and P.F. Chang's. They're familiar with the ubiquitous McDonald's, but aside from that, they really can't empathize with what we're missing - and craving.

I'm only slightly embarrassed to say that in 4 short weeks I look forward to re-introducing them to Americana... junk fast food and mind numbing Reality TV.