Our Day

I was talking to my mom about my day and decided that this needed to be on the blog. It's funny how now that we have been here a little while (4 months!) things just don't seem all that strange anymore ... but they SO are!!!

So today we decide that my husband is going to go out on his own to explore a new area that we've not really been too before. Since it's a little unknown about what he could/would get into I keep the kids with me to go grocery shopping.

I after a 10 minute conversation at our lunch spot to get a large coke instead of a small (this is one of the very few places that have fountain cokes and I drove 45 minutes to get there, so I want my large!) I head to the grocery store that's in the same building.

Right outside the entrance to the store is a stand set up that is selling hand made items from another part of the country. Beautiful stuff and cheap! I get a couple things and one thing I am able to get is a small chess set for our oldest son. Great, we go on into the grocery store.

As I am walking in, I am prepared and have my purse opened and ready for the security guard to check. This happens everywhere we go. As I am walking away, the security guard says, "ma'am, do you have any cosmetics in your purse?" I looked at the guard and say, "like lipstick or lotion?" and the guard says "yes ma'am." So I say I do and then the guard tells me that I had to get a gate pass for them! Then the next question was if I had a camera in my purse, I said that I did, and the guard then tells me that I have to get a gate pass for that too.

When they say 'gate pass' they mean I have to walk around to the exit door and check these things at like a baggage counter.

I explain that I am not going to get a gate pass for my camera ... knowing that things are not handled properly when you check them and I am almost certain to either a) not get my camera back or b) get my camera back broken. And the cosmetics, I didn't even respond too ... that's just ridiculous!

So I just proceed towards the area about 10 ft away where they have some carts.

The guard is saying, "ma'am, ma'am" and I just keep walking. I felt bad for not complying, but I've been to this store many times and never had a problem. It wasn't like they asked if I had a knife or pistol in my purse ... cosmetics and camera ... ok!

So I continue into the store and start going down an aisle. I realize that they must really be caught up on everything b/c there are TWO employees in every single aisle just standing there waiting to tell you what things you should purchase and trying to put things in my cart. NO THANK YOU! Then, if I pick up something to look at it and then put it back down ... they hover over me until they can put it right back in the exact place that it was. Goodness.

I appreciate tidiness and order ... especially when it happens in the dirtiest city in the world. So this complaining is totally unjustified, but it does help to vent!

I continue to try to get the things I need and I look up and at a glance, count SIX people staring at me. All employees of the store.



Now, understand that this store is a store that specializes in international (western) food ... that's why I was there!!!! There are many people that look like me that come into this store, why do they continue to stare? And it's not like a glance at me and then look away and then glance back ... no ... it's gawking, like staring without even blinking at me.

Then I wonder if they are watching me b/c I didn't check my camera and cosmetics. I realize that this isn't the case since they are obviously assigned to this area to work. They are just there to help customers, or stare at them!

So I look at the person closest to me who is staring and ask him if there is something I can help him with. He says 'no' and so then I say in their language that I don't mean to trouble them, but PLEASE STOP STARING AT ME!!! He was a little surprised. HA good!

So then I move on to come to the next person staring at me. I can't get my cart around him. I move to the side that has the most room, but not enough to get around him without bumping him. He doesn't move. He literally just continues to stare at me.

So I keep moving. He didn't even move when the cart went over his foot!!! I didn't see that this was going to happen or else I would've not let it, but I couldn't believe it when I realized that the cart actually just ran over the man's foot and he still DIDN'T MOVE!!!! Ok, now that I don't understand.

So finally I am done, I go to the checkout. Everything goes great until they come to one of my prized 'finds' in the store.

Hormel Real Bacon Bacon Bits!!!!!



I couldn't believe they had them. I can't even find good bacon, let alone good bacon bits. There were 3 jars, I bought 2 thinking I would leave 1 for the next foreigner that comes and is overjoyed to find them just like I was!

When they try to ring up the bacon bits, the price doesn't come up. So he searches in the system for them to no avail.

Then he goes under the counter and pulls out one of those infamous huge, very old, books and begins to turn through it page by page looking for this item.

Ok, this book has to have at least 300 pages. Are you kidding me?

Normally, I would say it's ok and just put the item back and get it next time. But these are my bacon bits!!!!

I tell them that I need to go and I really can't wait for him to leaf through that entire book. So he says ok, and brings out yet another book that has pages in it that look like blank invoice pages and proceeds to write out the item # and description manually.

I finally get to pay and get out of there.

We are on the way home and my oldest asks to look at the chess set we found.

As I am taking it out of the bag to give to him, I think, "hmmmmm, I wonder if it's got all the pieces."

Yep.

You guessed it.

It doesn't!!!!!!!!!!!!! UGH.

It's missing a queen.

I instantly get so mad at myself because I KNOW BETTER!!! I know better than to buy something like that and not check it!!!

We are already a ways away from the store and decide that we will have to try to take it back another day and see if we can convince them that we didn't loose the piece, but that it, in fact, was missing. That'll be another blog, I'm sure. ;-)

We get home to find out that while we were dealing with all of this, my dear husband was getting a personal tour of the oldest Cali Temple here by a Braham priest and jumping on moving trains.

Ok ... wow ... glad the kids were with me, but an amazing experience for him!

Then the doorbell rings and it's time for language study.

After 3 hours of language study, I decide that some good 'ol homemade macaroni and cheese will save the day.

I boil the water for the noodles and pour the elbow macaroni in.

I notice that something 'floats' to the top.

It's bugs.

No joke!!!!

I look closely and realize that all the macaroni that is boiling in the pan has bugs in it.

Ok, pitch that, boil another pan of water, pour the 2nd (and last) box of elbow macaroni in that I have.

Yep, bugs again. I don't know how many times I can say are you kidding me ... but ... ARE YOU KIDDING ME?????

So I have a box of penne pasta and decide that could work. I boil the 3rd pan of water, and decide to pour the dry noodles into a strainer before I put them in the pan this time!

I sift through and determine that they are clean.

Thank goodness. The macaroni and cheese finally gets made!

That's our day today.

You just can't make this stuff up ... it's certainly an adventure!