Awww... Nuts

Foreigners often try to find foods they know well when they've grown tired of Chinese or just need something familiar. In particular, they get easily fooled by Hua Sheng (花生).  When you order this dish off the menu, you get a small plate of shelled peanuts that look close the right color but are strangely wet.  It seems like a manageable difference.

However, it seems that the Chinese like their peanuts much more "raw" than westerners.  In fact, they are so raw that you quickly associate the peanut with beans (which they are) instead of nuts (which peanuts are not).  It's always fun to see the first bite from people who are visiting.

Me?  I didn't like them at first but now I've really grown to enjoy them.  They taste more fresh, have less salt and are much more amenable to the chopstick grab and toss (as in down your throat).  The western peanuts are starting to taste too salty, too hard and way overcooked.  Are my taste buds starting to go native?