I will never think that going grocery shopping in the States is a pain to do anymore. I say this because grocery shopping here is SO much more of an irritant than I expected. Not just grocery shopping, but errands in my daily life. Without a car, life can be simple. I love the exercise and being able to be outside for a minimum of 30 minutes a day by walking. Sometimes though, it can turn an average day of life into a big fat pain. Take today for example...it's time to go buy more food at home. But instead of hopping in the car and getting it over with, there's a slew of complications at hand. First, I empty out my backpack and put inside a large woven bag made for carrying large loads. I walk only about 10 minutes to the grocery store called Tesco (which I am extremely thankful for). So I walk in whatever weather is presented in my coat, scarf, gloves, hat, etc. You must pay to use a cart though, so I dig through my abundance of change to find the right coin to insert. I take off my layers of warmth as I enter the building and put everything I brought in my cart. I have a list of things I need, but I usually don't know where any of it is, so I just walk up and down the isles till I see something recognizable. Most of the labels are in Slovak so I had to quickly learn some staple food names. I remember I don't have a car to lug everything in, so I put back the bottle of oil or toilet paper because I don't have room in my backpack for it. I buy only necessities, because after a certain amount of weight in my hands and on my back, the 10 minute walk home turns out to be a little more difficult.
I push my way through the crowds of people, usually getting my ankles run over by a babka (elderly woman) on a rampage with her cart. I make my way to the International Foods section to see if any new American food has arrived, but remember that it's very expensive (such as peanut butter we just got in stock which cost $6 for a tiny container.) After at least an hour of shopping I go to the front counter to check out. I try not to say anything much, because if I open my mouth I get some interesting stares from the surrounding people. I quickly pack everything into my backpack or the woven bag, put on all my warm layers, return the cart, walk home, dig out my keys and up the tiny 2 person elevator, while spending more money on 2 bags of food than anyone ever should! Another quick transportation problem is when I need to travel outside of Trnava to a nearby village. Taking a bus is fun if I'm not alone, but it's quite confusing if you don't know what you're doing. The other night, for example, we walked 20 minutes to the bus station, waited for 10 minutes, got there 20 minutes later, and walked another 5 minutes to the person's home. It can be frustrating when you're in a hurry and just want to get there!
Prayer: That I would find the joy in seemingly frustrating/different situations.
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4 comments:
I thought you were over this... and you really make it sound far more complicated than it really is. People generaly need to put on clothes, take money and get in the elevator when they go to the store. Oh and about the ammount of money that you spend. you americans have a tendency to buy the more expensive stuff when there's a cheaper option. I know that's because you can't read the labels and all that, maybe have a hard time seeing the cheaper things.. but I thought it was a part of the experience of serving outside the US but making it sound like it's more expensive and totally complicated just to get food in general seems a little wrong.
I have to say something too :) I lived in Miami for 18 months and had no car. Had to walk to the Publix everytime I needed something and it took me 15 minutes to get there and you know how the weather is there. I had a backpack on my back and 4 other bags in my hands on the way back and of course got home totally sweating or wet if the storm started within 20 minutes I spent at the store from totally blue and clear sky:). But I was totally ok with that. Seriously. And you don't have to pay for the cart - you can take the coin after you use it, you just have to connect it to the other cart.
This reminds me of the time when we lived in our 3rd-floor apartment and I decided to go to Aldi when our 2nd was a baby. (I did this often.) It was more to remember - to be sure you had a quarter for the cart, shopping bags, cash or debit card... and then it was a long way to get there, so I wanted to stock up and check out before the kids got cranky, and then figure out how to carry everything up the stairs into the apartment... I finally decided I could give the children a snack for the short time I ran back down the stairs for another load, so didn't have to be carrying heavy bags while carrying or walking with slow children up the stairs. (At least it wasn't a high rise apartment!) So yes, we are really spoiled, but I can sympathize! :)
Weird, I didn't get notification of y'all leaving these comments. Anyway, let me just clarify something... I'm annoyed by going grocery shopping wherever I am in the world- it's something I don't really enjoy very much- call it a universal annoyance. Shopping in the States is a pain in the butt too for different reasons!
But I had actually written this a few months ago. Honestly this post was probably born from a really frustrating day anyway which is why my tone might be a bit dramatic.
I will say though, that food IS more expensive here- yeah I might be getting jipped into buying the more expensive stuff and not know it--but that's part of what can be frustrating, ya know? The cross cultural experience can be fun but on a day to day basis of a normal routine, it can be more frustrating for me than those that live here permanently. Though I made it sound really complicated with all the little details, I wanted to just share with my American friends what I personally have to do every few days or once a week. It's like, those little things like emptying my backpack or buying a cart may seem like stupid little things, but on an already frustrating day these little things add up to make it a bigger deal. (Just like in the States where I hated going shopping b/c I never had enough money or time to go).
I'm fortunate to live close to Tesco (I said how thankful I was for that) and I know people have it worse--but from what I'm used to it's just very different.
Anyway I don't want to paint Slovakia and my experiences in a bad light at all- sorry if I did!- I love this place- it's just one of those things I wanted to vent about that day to my friends.
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