That is so American

Over the past week I find myself frequently exclaiming "That is so American!" When you leave your own culture for a while and adapt to a different one, you're able to come home and see things through new eyes. What used to just be normal I can now identify as being American. Over the coming weeks I'll be sharing some thoughts and pics of these US quirks.

For starters, here's what I noticed at the grocery store:

1. Low fat dairy products. In Switzerland the low fat milk was 2.7%
2. A zillion brands of peanut butter with various options in each brand: creamy, chunky, unsalted, reduced fat, all-natural, all-natural no-stir, chocolate swirl, etc. In Switzerland there is one brand that comes in creamy or chunky and it says on the label "Made in the USA!"
3. Gargantuan bottles of ketchup and other miscellaneous flavors, brands, and sizes of ketchup. They have this to some extent in Switzerland too, but it is definitely considered American.
4. The Swiss chocolate is expensive and there's only a few choices. In Switzerland it's relatively cheap and you can choose from about 100 different flavors.
5. The cereal and chips take up an entire aisle.
6. People bag up your groceries for you in bags that the store provides and then they take it out to your car!! I felt like I was being pampered at a health spa or something after 8 months of bagging up my own groceries in my own bag and then hauling it half a mile back home.
7. The cheese comes in huge blocks and only takes up a little section. In Switzerland most cheeses are bought in small portions but there's about 4 dozen varieties filling up an entire wall.
8. There are bagels of many flavors! No bagels at all in Suisse.
9. Icecream comes in amazing varieties like mudpie brownie chunk and coffee mocha fudge. In Switzerland the choices are more basic, like vanilla, strawberry, or chocolate, and it comes in smaller containers that cost about 7 bucks.
10. Stuff is cheap. In Switzerland stuff is expensive.