Things You Take For Granted...

I don't think it's until you move that you realize how good you had it and the things you took for granted. I bet you're expecting me to talk about my family and friends and how much I miss them...and I do. But, that's not what today's blog is about. Today's blog is about another serious matter.

I'm talking about groceries. (Mainly, because as the stay-at-home mom, I seem to buy a helluva lot of groceries.) So when I moved to Malaysia, I was definitely in for a little shock. I was used to all of the creature comforts of my American grocery stores with their abundance of products. The easy parking. English being spoken by everyone.

And then we moved to Kuala Lumpur. And things changed. What do you mean I need to go to the basement of the wet market to buy my bacon and pork ribs? What? A case of beer is RM120!! (Unless you're buying from Kamal and then you get the Kamal discount plus free delivery.) Really? There's no Pillsbury cinnamon rolls at BIG this week? The horror! And come now? No bagels at the bakery? What ever shall we do?

So I became a little bit of a hoarder. When our favourite items arrived...I picked up several of them and quickly messaged a few friends to let them know that Pillsbury crescent rolls were back in stock or that BIG had Velveeta in the refrigerator section. (Which always made me laugh as that is the most shelf-stable thing ever! If a nuclear disaster ever should happen - we'll still be able to eat Velveeta because no refrigeration is required!) I let Blaine make the trips to the wet market because he liked to chat with Cougar and made friends with the fruit stand lady. And, I got used to hitting all 4 grocery stores in search of hamburger buns or the elusive can of Ro-tel. There was very few things we were lacking. It might have taken us several trips to find them, but we pretty much had everything. And we even had the brands we liked.

And here I am again being reminded never to take things for granted - especially when it comes to groceries.

There are a LOT less of the brands we know and love here in Warsaw. (I'm sorry kids - you won't be seeing any Pillsbury products until our trip home in June.) I spent the first few weeks looking for a can of Pam - you know, the pan release spray? Well, after much searching, the tiny import store had it for 25pln ($6 USD). Yup, my hoarder ways kicked in again. We have a couple of cans now!

And we've been searching for bagels or English muffins for egg sandwiches in the morning. Those we cannot find. Thankfully, I know how to bake - so it looks like yours truly will be making homemade bagels and English muffin bread. (Which I do enjoy baking and my family does seem truly appreciative of these little things!)

And let's not even mention those damn honey soy chips from Australia that I loved!!!

And we cannot forget the shopping experience itself. Every grocery store requires you to slip in a coin in order to get a cart (Think Aldi's my U.S. peeps). And while that's not the end of the world, change in this country is most coveted. The ATMs spit out 100pln bills and nobody wants to make change for them. (Oh, the looks you receive when you hand a cashier a 100pln bill. You would think that I had just insulted someone's mom! Seriously! I just want some change!)

And last, but not least, the labels are all in Polish. I thought I was buying sweetened condensed milk last week, but that's not what I ended up with! And, I'd kill for a can of albacore tuna in water, but I'm yet to figure that one out!

So...this is just your friendly reminder to never take the little things for granted! Be appreciative of what you have wherever you are! And, if anyone wants to send me some albacore tuna in water - I'll get you my address!