A Chinese exchange student's observations on American food

There are meals that have been barely touched, and others that have been more inhaled than eaten. It's easy to tell what this kid likes. Here are some of Vince's observations on food, a week into his stay with us.

1. KFC is more common in China than McD's.
2. Americans use a lot of sauces.
3. Chinese people eat out almost every meal (home late), so there's a ton of good food available cheaply, at all hours.
4. Teenagers in China like to go to DQ with their friends.
5. "We don't have this in China. It's not exactly cheese...I like it." referencing our tub of Smart Balance "butter spread" he was smearing on his toast (and butter/margarine products in general)
6. His mother's advice: "If you're going to drink soda, drink Sprite. It's not as bad as Coke. Even better, drink water."

Google Query: What should I feed my Chinese exchange student?

Fortunately, I found quick answers to this search I plugged into Google within an hour of Vince's arrival this evening.

"Vince" is staying with us for a month or two from southeast China. The little movie I just watched online assured me, as a host-mom of a Chinese student, that they eat everything. In fact, she said they have a saying for people from the southern part of China: "They eat everything with legs except the table and chair."

Nice! Maybe this will rub off on my own "Nutella sandwich - honey and butter sandwich - olive oil sandwich" threesome.

I'm off to make some sort of Tupperwared lunch for the kid to take tomorrow. After that, maybe a trip to the grocery store to find at least a couple things he'd find as comforts from home. If he's at all like our Chilean exchange student, it'll be something horrifying and all-too-American like Cocoa Puffs.