Grocery Shopping

I've written before how grocery shopping here takes longer than it does in the states.  You cannot find everything you need for one meal here in one store.  There is no fancy Kroger with everything you can imagine.    You go to the butcher for your meat, the market for your fruits and vegetables, and the grocery store for the rest.   Often, you find produce in the grocery store, but it is frequently limited and you may have to search several places to find what you need.  I really don't mind it that much because it is what it is.   It's not like I have SO much to do that I cannot go to a few places.   One cool thing about shopping here is everything you buy is in season.   You know you are eating fresh produce, because so little produce is imported.  If it is imported, it is imported from Australia or New Zealand.   The downside is you only get the produce that is in season.  Too bad if you want pineapple for your salsa or mango for that smoothie, because they are not in season.  Tough if your kids have been downing oranges like crazy when you got here, because now they are no longer in season.  But, really.... I guess that is how we should all eat anyway.

Another different thing about shopping here is everything is sold by the kilogram.  I've no mental image of what a kilogram looks like.   There are no scales that the customers can use to see how much they are buying.  You only find out when you go to the person in the produce section and they weigh and price it for you.   For example, if I see that pears are $8.99 a kilo I've no idea how much I am going to spend when I put 4 pears in a bag.  Will it be $8.99 or more?    In time, I am sure I'll figure it out though.

One more thing....Fiji water is really from here!  People ask me all of the time if everyone drinks Fiji water here.  Yes.... they do.  It's cheaper than it is in the states, but just as delicious!