It’s funny how something as simple as going to the grocery store can be a humbling experience when you are in a foreign country. It doesn’t take much to make one feel like a complete idiot! It took Rick and I 15 minutes to pick out yogurt and coffee cream. We know a few words in French and many items have pictures on the labels that are helpful, but it becomes more difficult when you have to read the labels to look for certain ingredients that you do or do not want.
I like to use half and half in my coffee. I didn’t see anything that resembled half and half, but I stumbled upon something in the coffee section that looked like non-dairy creamer. It had a picture of a coffee cup on the front and as far as I could tell it looked like it was a real, dairy product and not non-dairy creamer. I wasn’t sure, though, because it wasn’t refrigerated. It was called Nutrema and I found out later that it was, in fact, a dairy product. It tastes pretty good.
We have a big grocery store right next to our flat. The window to our living room (if you could call it that) literally looks over the parking lot to the store. It’s great because refrigerators in Europe are very small (especially in Le Box) and one must make frequent trips to the grocery store.
We have been very satisfied with the products so far. We’ve only found a few U.S. brands, but everything we have tried has been delicious--especially the bread, butter, cheese and coffee. We found some yummy veggie burgers, hummus, falafel, pita and pasta. The produce is also pretty good. I’m afraid we may put on the "freshman 15" as we are eating well, but are not yet members of a gym. The bread, cheese, and beer alone will do it! At least we are doing a lot of walking.
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3 comments:
From experience I've learned that Half and Half does not exist in the world outside of the States. I use evaporated milk in recipes that would normally call for half and half. It works pretty well, and it's packaged by Nestle, so you should be able to find it there.
Grocery shopping gets easier after the first few trips. And finally after four years abroad, we don't miss much from home (but it took about three years to adjust). I imagine the butter and bread you can get there is so much better than anything you'll find at home.
This is Marjorie, BTW.
Marjorie again:
Happy belated birthday to Stephanie, and thanks for your birthday wishes.
Groceries become more of a focal point in the life of an expat. Little items, that were easily obtained at home, become treasures when found abroad.
Still, there are many things we'd miss in reverse if we moved back to the States.
Jay, if you're not inspired you may want to assign your next silent lunch by saying "silencieux de`jeuner!" Things always sound better in French.
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