A Few "Oh Well" Moments (Deborah)

One day when we were in the supermarket, we decided to pick up some prepared pizzas. We got what we were pretty sure looked like pepperoni, and then we saw bacon, something, something, etc. (They have the same word for bacon as we do--the other words we didn't recognize, but probably something about cheese or sauce, right?). Well the next day we heated the pizzas, and 2 or 3 of the children made a comment that they weren't crazy about the bacon one. Jim said it tasted really weird, maybe like fish. I said, no way. Can't remember what I was having that day, but I took a bite of their pizza, and thought it was strange too. We go back and look at the label, and it said in small letters among other words, "al tun", which we looked up and it means tuna fish, which we all hate. Oh well, the pepperoni one was good.

Another day I bought some fish from a fresh market, and then picked up what I thought was cornmeal to bread it in before cooking. It said something about "Maiz", and I know that means corn, so how could I go wrong? When I opened the package to pour some on a plate, I realized I had corn starch instead. Oh well, I had flour and the flour breading worked just fine. The fish was wonderful, by the way.

Then I was in line to check out at a supermarket, and I set my produce on the counter, and the cashier started telling me something that none of us understood. (Some people talk really fast here, and even when they find out you speak only a little Spanish, they don't slow down). Guess I gave her that American "huh?" look but tried to say that I didn't understand, then off she went somewhere. Meanwhile, 2 young men over in another lane kindly said "You're supposed to weigh your produce and price it back in the produce department." They said it slowly and in English, which I so appreciated. Asked where we were from, they were from Belgium. Then she came back with nice little labels on the produce items. Oh well, now we know. So the next time in the produce dept., I watch someone else do this, and I've got it. Actually, it is pretty cool. You pick up an item of produce, a sign below it shows you how much it costs per kg, and gives a code number. You take your produce, put it on the scale, push the code number, and out prints your label, which you stick on the produce or bag, and all your produce is priced before you get to the checkout. I like it.