Culture Shock over One-Stop Shopping

I experienced my first full-blown culture shock yesterday while shopping for groceries. I always warn those who have just returned to the states to beware of Wal-Mart. The cereal aisle alone will overwhelm even the most traveled person and spur spontaneous tears for no known reason. Having been through that...I never expected it to happen in another country!

(For those of you who have never gone grocery shopping overseas, think opposite of Wal-Mart. Having to go to several shops to get all that you need. And only one or two choices of each type of item. And not even HALF the food luxuries that we've been brought up to love: peanut butter, cheddar cheese, funky cereals, canned soup, fresh milk).

So there I was in Carrefour, the European, Middle Eastern, Central Asian version of a super Wal-Mart. I was trying to figure out which spices I needed (and having to spin each bottle around from the Arabic side to find the English). I finally found all that I needed (and resisted the temptation to buy every Indian spice on the shelf), and turned to pick up the vegetable oil. There before me was a half aisle of sunflower oil. I'd never used sunflower oil, but thought, "Well, that's what they have here, so that's what I'll use." But how does one choose from the myriad of brands? There was no Wesson or Canola. Being a girl, I went with the prettier (and medium priced) bottle. I pushed my cart a little further down the aisle, just past a large display, and OH! Another half aisle of vegetable oil! I put the sunflower oil back and started the whole process over. I was thrilled to discover ONE brand of balsamic vinegar. A double delight, really. First, that they even HAVE balsamic vinegar, and second, that I didn't have to choose from another half aisle of bottles!

The produce section was the topper, though, and almost sent me running for cover. I pulled up to the "citrus aisle." I've never seen so many kinds of oranges and lemons in my life! I looked up, and to my (decision making) horror and (world traveling) delight, saw that they were all from different countries. How does one decide? Pakistani oranges or Lebanese valencias? I got one of several different kinds, and figured I'd work my way through them to see which I like best. I grew even more excited to discover the Asian pear/apple that grew in my backyard when I was living in Korea as a child. Yummy.

So it goes living in a global village. Every kind of people means every kind of food at the grocery store. Albeit more overwhelming than Wal-Mart, my heart is happy! I can buy peanut butter and chicken tikka masala all in one stop shopping!

(And Team India--remember those yellow balls we handed out to lepers for food? They even sell those!)