Everyday Life: A trip to the grocery store and other thoughts

I realized today that most of my blogs are very simplistic. Not a lot of deep thinking here. I'm just writing about everyday life. This is where I am right now. I am over culture shock, but there is still a certain amount of adjusting that it takes, I believe, to live in a foreign country. Most of the adjusting isn't due to drastic changes in life, but the little differences. I think that sometimes my blogs aren't very exciting on the surface because the day to day stuff in my life just isn't that exciting(blog worthy). My days include: riding the public transportation to and from the Raatz, where I teach the girls, teaching the girls (excitement depends on the day!), eating, cooking, reading, language lessons, church on Sunday, and the occasional trip to the grocery store. I try to go to the grocery store only when it is completely necessary. Just going to the grocery store takes a lot of my energy.

I thought I would fill you in on what an experience at the grocery store is like for me. I try to catch a ride to the grocery store when I know others are going, but this is not always the case.If I am going to the store on foot then I like to go to the grocery store on Saturdays. I have a nice, quiet walk through a park on the way to the magazin(store). This store is more modern and has a lot of things to offer the customers. Just about every time I am there the store is pretty crowded. Thank goodness the baskets are a lot smaller than the ones back home. There would be no where to walk. I usually have a very basic list consisting of the essentials: milk, butter, bread, eggs, cheese, and some kind of meat.

Being in the store is overwhelming for me. 1)There are people everywhere 2)I am the foreigner that stands out 3)I am bombarded with voices speaking Romanian, Russian, and who knows what else....most of which I cannot understand and 4) I am trying to figure out exactly what I am buying(the writing on the package could be in Romanian, Russian, English, Arabic, Dutch, or something else.) I have found certain brands that I really like of certain products, so that makes those purchases easier anyways.
The most exciting part(s) of the experience: 1) sometimes there are songs in English over the speakers. Imagine my excitement at hearing Elvis! 2)I usually get to witness one heated conversation in Russian between two frustrated customers waiting not-so patiently in the forever long line.
Record time from my apartment to the store and back: One hour!

Today was no exception to my usual grocery store experience. Like many of you back home probably experienced on Dec. 23/24, that is what I experienced today. You see, most Moldovans don't celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25th like we do. Christmas is officially Jan. 7th. (they go by their old calendar). New Years is a huge deal though. It was evident today by the fact that there were no available carts. There was an increase in customers and the volume of items in their carts. As I scanned the carts around me, I noticed lots of alcohol, cakes, sausages etc. They are getting ready to celebrate big. In fact, New Year's is so big that most places will be closed on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day! (Nothing was closed on Dec. 25th. It was just a regular, work day here.)

The most stressful part of the grocery store for me is paying. I always hope that I am able to get by with the Romanian I know when asked any questions. It always works out fine, but I don't always know exactly what the cashier has said. The stress is amplified by the fact that I am trying to bag my own groceries, pay, and keep hold of my purse at the same time. Interesting.

So, I am not a frustrated shopper, just an overwhelmed shopper who still needs time to fully adjust to the shopping experience.

I am not bored though with my non-exciting(on the surface)day-to-day life. I take time to find things to laugh about, to ponder life, to try to figure out what other people are saying around me, and I like to analyze situations and guess what people are thinking.

I don't want my time here to fly by without taking time to soak all the differences in culture in. Five months have already come and gone. I still have 5 plus months left. I want to find ways to enjoy the walking, the riding in the public transportation, the fact that I can't understand everything being said, but that I have learned so much, the fact that God has blessed my time here so richly, the fact that God has called me here, and certainly the fact that God cares about and is present in the everyday events of my life.