It's true that in comparison to many European nations, the United States is far behind in regards to social and economic reforms. Some things, however, we do really well.
This evening I made s'mores with friends. S'mores, I've learned, are only known to North Americans. While my American and Canadian friends were eager and excited by this event I had planned, my Australian, British and Asian friends were a bit perplexed.
“What's a graham cracker?” several asked after reading the wikipedia article on s'mores.
Where does one begin?
After being linked to the wikipedia article on graham crackers we learned, “was developed in 1822 in Bound Brook, New Jersey, by Presbyterian minister Rev. Sylvester Graham.” While interesting, this bit of information was hardly helpful. Fortunately, the common Digestive biscuit that can be found in the U.K. is quite similar to a graham cracker in taste, though not in density or shape. With the lack of graham cracker, I came up with the idea of sandwiching the roasted marshmallow between one plain and one chocolate covered Digestive, thus eliminating the need to also buy bars of chocolate. I must say, it was one of the best ideas I've ever had, and that's saying a lot as I have at least three good ideas each day of my life. For a fire we purchased a single-use grill along with some skewers. Never before was something more perfectly planned. Maybe some assassination, but if that was really well planned it would have looked like an accident and we would have no way of knowing about it. But I digress.
Teaching people about something you love is one of the greatest feelings in the world. I never thought I'd feel proud of something as simple as a s'more. Even the process of explaining how to make one was something I thought I'd never experience until I was a parent or unfortunate enough to have to become a camp councilor. Almost everyone's expectations were exceeded.
“But it's so messy,” one of my British friends commented.
To which my North American comrades responded:
“That's the point!”
Yes, sometimes sinking your teeth into a gooey, sugary mess is all you need to be truly content. Especially if fire is involved.
2 comments:
"Teaching people about something you love is one of the greatest feelings in the world."
Marina Fradera, you make me smile.
I had a similar feeling when I organized a big Thanksgiving dinner for my friends and roommates in St. Andrews.
My favorite part was when my roommate Liz suggested making a sign for the door of our flat, and I said, "Oh, make a hand turkey!"
How can children of other countries grow up not understanding how the tracing of a hand resembles the shape of a turkey in a magically perfect way...this just blew my mind. It felt amazing to be there for a first hand turkey. I still have it, and I put it on my wall when I got back.
Post a Comment