My boss isn't being as crazy anymore (well, I'm keeping my head down and trying not to talk to anyone).... my tight rope is holding, and I'm juggling things the best I can, hoping not to slip. Wish me luck.
I wanted to take a moment to say how weird my grocery shopping experience was this weekend. I'm pretty acclimated to the shopping experience here, I know what to expect... or so I thought! Typically when you walk into the big grocery store (it's actually a department store) there is produce near the entry. It's a lot of familiar fruits and veggies, with a lot that are asian style which I don't mess with. After you venture through the ever crowded produce department you are thrust into the meat department.
The meat department is absolutely huge. There are 20-40 employees giving out samples, cutting meat, chopping at giant frozen tunas in the middle of the aisle, and stocking big cases full of meat. Not to mention the expansive seafood section which includes big tanks full of crabs, lobster, octopi, and other creatures. I typically buy some chicken breast, salmon, and ground pork at this point in the trip. I would prefer ground beef, but it's over 20 dollars a pound. Ouch. American beef is illegal here, they say the quality is too bad. So we eat Australian and Korean beef.... tastes the same to me! Actually, the korean beef is noticeably more delicious now that I think about it. Enough about meat.... let's head to the "foreign" section! The foreign sections is mostly comprised of sauces, some canned goods (I bought Healthy Choice soup and baked beans), pasta, pasta sauce, and random other things. It used to be the most exciting part of the store (things in English!!)... but that is not the case anymore! Ill get to that in a minute. After I scour for something familiar, it's time to hit up the dairy cooler! I don't like Korean milk, it's too sweet and thick for me, but Nick likes it so we buy it. The yogurt is thin and watery, so I don't buy that either. I did find cheese though! Only velveeta singles, but that is fine to make grilled cheese with in a bind. They carried some cheddar when I got here (which was kept behind lock and key) but that has since disappeared. I will keep an eye out for cheese!
Once I have my milk, produce, and meat it's time to head to the freezer section. This is where my big surprise came this week.... Korea officially has frozen meals now. WTF? My boyfriend calls this "Mission D cup" meaning, America is exporting unhealthy packaged meals to make asians fat (hence D cup) like Americans. Not only did I find frozen meals (which is really odd, considering Koreans don't typically have microwaves) but I found frozen pizza, frozen tortillas, chicken patties, cheese sticks, corn dogs... and an array of other familiar yet unhealthy food. I felt, if only momentarily, that I was back in the states. I did buy the tortillas because i was to make fajitas when I get my hands on the other ingredients, but I left everything else in it's rightful frozen place and meandered to the bakery. The bakery held some magical new discoveries for me as well. I found hamburger buns (which is awesome for when I make pulled BBQ chicken) and a big tray of fresh baked muffins! Blueberry! Banana! Chocolate chip! I was so excited. The bakery here is not superb but its sufficient. They have sliced bread, rolls, bagels in many flavors, some unfamiliar baked thingys, donuts, cakes, and random cookies that aren't real cookies. I live on egg sandwiches in the morning, so I'm very grateful for standard sliced bread.
I pick up odds and ends (tuna in the pouch, mayo, ketchup, pasta, dried fruit, peanut butter, and munchies) in the aisles and then my shopping for the week is done.
We walk to the store (the department store is actually in the basement of the mall), shop, check out the animals (hedgehogs!) and housewares, and take the bus back home in under 2 hours typically. It's a big change from hopping in my car and running to Safeway when I needed something, but it's manageable. There is a smaller grocery store across from my work that I shop at for a lot of produce and drinks (they have Minute Maid orange juice, yum) which cuts down on how much we have to carry on the bus.
So... there you have it, a typical trip to the grocery store and my new found Americanized purchases! I will have to cover free-samples and "freebies" another day. The things they give away here with purchases are so bizarre. I got some anti-wrinkle hand cream with my Philadelphia cream cheese the other day. I scored some hand sanitizer with my batteries, and even lucked into some household cleaner with my wine!
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