Why Living in England Made Me Question Our Life in America

What’s behind the ever-”fresh” American groceries?

Adorable British eggs. Photo by the author

After my life took an unexpected turn last April, I was lucky to spend a year living primarily in London, with trips home to Los Angeles. While here, I went through different stages of assimilation in a new, even if temporarily, country: the excitement, the reality hit (hello, English winter!), the homesickness, followed by renewed excitement (sun at last!) and completed with thoughts of returning home.

While I’m still contemplating my future, there’s no doubt that this experience has already taken away some of my acquired American-ness. Now, as I contemplate a return, I think of all the things I’ve observed while living in England (for the second time), and how it changed the way I see the United States.

Here are a few questions I now have about the way we do things back home.

Why does food in the U.S. stay ‘fresh’ longer?

Realizing that half the groceries in my fridge were rotten within days of purchase in England was a wake-up call: I have, apparently, spent years eating plastic food in America. Here, even the canned chickpeas went bad before I could feed them to my daughter (who loves chickpeas!).