Grocery Store!

Okay, as promised, a post with pictures about our local grocery store (also known as IGA). It's particularly appropriate because I made my third trip to the grocery store today! Yay for having food to eat :)

Well, I will start by explaining how grocery shopping works. Basically, the shipment comes in once a week on Thursdays. Therefore, the best days to go shopping are Thursday, Friday and maybe the weekend. It all depends on how in demand everything is. Last Friday when we went, the store was packed full of students and locals picking up food for the week. It took as long to pick up food as it did to check out (probably 30 minutes!). Needless to say, if you want to get the good stuff, you had better get there before it all runs out!

Hmm where to start with food...

Produce! There are lots of fresh fruits and veggies here. Last week I came home with the best cantaloupe I have ever eaten. We have lots of things that you wouldn't see in the grocery store in the US or if you would they are in much larger quantities. Also, there aren't really many veggies here that you would get in the US. They do have asparagus, but you only get a very small amount for about $7 US. A little expensive for a student. I'm sure I'll give it a try from time to time though.

Next I'll talk about meats. The fresh chicken here is amazing! Fresh or frozen, it tastes quite good once cooked. The only thing I'm not sure I'll ever get used to seeing is all parts of the chicken packaged for sale. My "favorite" is the chicken feet.

Aren't they something? Ewwww! Haha! They have a limited selection of other meats including pork (lots of different pork items) and some beef. The ground beef is very red and thicker than what I'm used to seeing in the US. I haven't brought myself to buy it yet, but I'll let you know how it tastes when I do!

We have lots of other American products including Kraft macaroni and cheese, cereals, tomato sauces, peanut butter, Tyson's chicken, frozen veggies, Tropicana orange juice, Yoplait yogurt, Lays potato chips, and many others! Oh, how could I forget goldfish! Peanut butter and goldfish, I am set! Also, much to my amusement, they have puff pastries here. Both the cups and the sheets can be found in our frozen foods section. Funny enough, the same cannot be said for Blacksburg, Virginia's grocery stores!

 

The bread is local and tasty, although it is different from mass produced bread. Stiffer and dryer, but it tastes better. And there is only one kind. All of the bread is white so there are no complicated decisions about what will taste good and what won't! I haven't found an expiration date on my loaves yet, but it's not much of a change from loaves that don't ever get moldy!

Milk isn't quite $9 a gallon like I had been told. It's closer to $5-7, which isn't too bad. The one unfortunate thing is that it is usually only good for a week. So far, all 3 containers I have purchased expire one week from the day I bought them. I think this is because it takes a lot of time between when the milk is processed and packaged and when it actually makes it to Grenada.

The only other observations I have when it comes to food is that things go moldy here very quickly and they go stale by about a week after they have been open. I think this is mainly due to the high level of humidity in my room. Although the air feels cool and dry, the thermometer reads that humidity hovers at about 50%, which is 10-15% higher than it was in my apartment.

All in all, the food is great! I am thrilled that I don't have to be too adventurous yet. So many changes to adapt to a little bit at a time. And before you go scolding me and rolling your eyes, several of my classmates have already gotten sick after eating (sketchy) local cuisine. Sometimes having high standards for food preparation and safety aren't a bad thing :-p