My adorable Italian cousin Valentina and her sweetheart Paolo visited the United States for the first time this month.

Here are a few American things that they found fascinating and unique.

1. Foaming hand soap. Paolo even bought a bottle to take home.

2. Grape jelly Valentina had some on her toast every morning. She said that jam is common in Italy, but not jam made of grapes.

3. Chinese takeout food – even the greasy, salty, nutritionally devoid kind from the places with food photos on the wall.

4. Squirrels. They must have taken a hundred photos of squirrels scampering around DC and Maryland.

5. Drip-style coffee makers. Paolo naturally brought his own coffee maker and coffee to the States, since Americans really can’t be trusted to make proper coffee. Nevertheless, he and Valentina were impressed by the drip coffee process, if not the product.

I wonder what items and events I’ll find to be unique and impressive when I travel to Asia this summer?