When I first moved to America I was overwhelmed by the sheer size of the supermarkets....the aisle just dedicated to cereals involved stretching exercises & a good pair of sneakers! The whole event of filling my trolley or cart took me hours, partly due to the fact that I needed a map to find my way around but mostly due to having to learn new products and brands. Which laundry detergent to choose? I had always used the one my mum used but now I had to make a "blind" choice...when you meet the new locals you don't automatically say, "So nice to meet you and, what detergent do you use?" Which teabags...very important to a Brit? What on earth is cheese in a can? What is cilantro? Which of the 200 types of chips/crisps? All these things seem so small yet on that first visit I felt close to tears. The moment that turned it from being an overpowering experience to one of humor was when I found a small amount of British items stacked on a shelf; some Cadbury's chocolate, Irish teabags and a packet of digestive biscuits. My first reaction was quickly tempered from joy to a chilling sense of reality, here were "my" foods next to the Mexican & Jewish sections...I was a minority!
Of course I was soon indoctrinated and the amount of favorite British goods that were shipped over in suitcases became less and less (other than teabags and chocolate....America really can't fill those shoes!). I felt at home wandering the aisles of Shaws or Stop'n'Shop and soon could dispense with the GPS completely. The irony of all this is that now, as I live in the Netherlands, I occasionally long for those vast supermarkets and the immense selection of goods....life experiences change us!
Now in the Netherlands my challenges are different, caused primarily by the language. The first time my daughter and I went shopping it took us hours...not because of the vastness of the stores (believe me Dutch supermarkets are tiny!) but because we were trying to work out what wasverzachter was! It's fabric softener! After three years I am able to read, and find, most things on the shelves, although occasionally the translator app comes in very useful. Foods are different and interesting when ever you travel. The Dutch love...hagelslag- sprinkles, every Dutch child has these on bread for breakfast before school; Drops - licorice, salty and sweet; stroopwafels - caramel cookies; pap -ready made porridge and lots of bread and cheese just to name a few basics. The Dutch system is, admirably, anchored in the idea of keeping the small independent stores thriving and so the supermarkets remain small (read that as cramped!) and locals shop at the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker with the weekly visit to the wonderful markets. I do still miss the brightly lit, colorful, familiar US supermarkets but can visit Sainsburys in the UK for the taste of home.... or Carrefore in Belgium or Leclerc in France (how European!)
Ask me what I totally detest about shopping in a Dutch supermarket....the lack of packing help! In the UK the smiling cashier will help you pack your groceries, or find someone to help and in the US there is always someone at the end of the checkout packing your purchases away. In the Netherlands there is no help, no matter how much you have spent or how big the supermarket is. Picture this....the cashier scans and moves your goods down to the bagging area while you start to pack your stuff in your reusable (of course!) bags. When the area becomes too full does she/he stop to help or slow down? No! They just force everything down, forcing, jamming, cramming until the pile threatens to spill over the sides and she smiles and says, very nicely in Dutch, "That's €80 and would you like the receipt?" You pay whilst looking frantically at the pile of goods yet to be packed, now comes the time where you break out in a sweat, as the next person's shopping is scanned the cashier rams the divider onto your section causing your goods to be crushed sideways as well, and you are sharing the area with another shopper. Obviously the Dutch expect nothing different and seem to take this calmly and in their stride. I'm the one who is by this time stressed, frantic and sweating!
So, after you've wandered around your familiar cheery grocery store, and as you watch your shopping being packed into bags and loaded into your cart by someone, spare a thought for me and thank those kind folk profusely for helping make what is a boring chore just a little less stressful. Me, I'm the one leaving Albert Hein with a red face, sweat stains on the back of my t-shirt, struggling with a cart full of overloaded, badly packed bags...heading to the nearest bar for a calming glass of something reassuring!
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