Southeast Asia Costco

The school week is over and it's the weekend!!! Yay!!! And to celebrate we went to Metro to shop for groceries! I know super exciting. ​

Metro has often been brought up in conversations when we ask other foreigners where they find certain western items. What the heck is Metro? It was often described as the Southeast Asia Costco. So when I think of Costco I think of buying things in bigger sizes, buying in bulk, and having to pay a membership fee. I didn't want to buy things in bulk because we don't have a lot of room and it would be an invitation for our creatures to come for a visit. Also there are only two of us living here we don't really need to buy things in bigger sizes. And then I didn't want to pay a membership fee.​

​We found out that it is free for foreigners to get a Metro card and to shop there. So we decided to venture out and see what all the hype is about. Saturdays are our only free day to go grocery shopping so we decided to go today. Many people told us it would be crowded, but we decided to go anyway.

We got there at about 11:30 and there was no one there. No line to get our bags wrapped or to get a shopping cart. Maybe a couple people here and there, but seriously it was pretty empty. So we decided to meander down every aisle. Since there weren't a lot of people we didn't have to weaver our way around everyone and their carts.​

We looked at the rice cookers. We found out last night from a friend that you can cook cakes and breads in the rice cooker!!! What?!?!?! I am super excited to try to bake something, but first we need a rice cooker. It is going to happen! Soon!!! We also looked at fans to use in our living room because our air conditioner needs help. Lol. We found a fan we wanted, but of course they didn't have any in stock :(.​

We found everything on our grocery list except for meat. They had so many things to choose from and we didn't have to deal with everyone staring at us or bumping into us. We did buy our favorite chocolate snack in bulk! I don't really know what they are called but we call them "panda yummies" and we bought 20 boxes of them for $15 and it is totally worth it!!!

We walked down the cheese aisle and were amazed at all the selections of cheese. We found our favorite laughing cow cheese slices for a little more than $2 for 10 slices. We also found whole blocks of Swiss cheese and Gouda. She's the Man lines were traded for a few minutes and pictures were taken. The Gouda cheese round cost $250!!!

​It was nice to be able to go to the checkout line and not have any lines. Seriously there were 5 lanes open and only 4 had people in them. Compared to other grocery stores here this was amazing!!! We checkout out even though we didn't have a metro card (next time we will get one, all we need is out passports). It was nice to be able to spend $150 and not have people staring at all your groceries and standing intimately close to you while you are getting your money out of your wallet. Basically it was a great experience and we spent less than we thought we would!

We came back to the apartment and put all the groceries away (and household things we bought). We washed the new glasses and water bottles we bought. And the we watched a movie to relax. Shopping here is tiring. LOL. No one around you speaks English so you try to communicate and it takes more energy than you think. Hopefully it will get easier as we learn the language. ​

Out of the City

Today is a national holiday which means.... NO SCHOOL!!! And when you are living Ina foreign country and you don't have to go to work, you go sightseeing. Or in our case, we went hiking but it included sightseeing :).

Our principal and his wife invited us to join them for a morning of hiking and sightseeing outside of the city. Of course we jumped on the opportunity to get out and see some of this beautiful country. So we met them this morning at 7:30 at their apartment. At 7:40 we were on the road heading out of the city!!! 

Sometimes on a really clear day you can see mountains in the distance and that is where we went. About 40 minutes out, there is a national park. It was so amazing to see green trees and leaves, and smell the fresh air! We drove up most of the mountain and then had the choice between two different sets of stairs. 

At the entrance ready to begin the hike/climb to find out what's at the top. 

I don't think any of us were prepared for this climb. We knew it would be stairs, but I don't think we expected steep and eleven steps. But we were champs and made it to the top! It was so pretty! At the top of the mountain is a temple for people to pray to Buddha and their ancestors. So it smells a lot like incense and people where buying fruit and candies for their ancestors. It is very interesting to watch.  

After we rested at the top, it was time to walk back down. The steps were easier to go down but you had to focus on not falling! But we made it!!!  

We did it!!! So proud of us!!! 

We took our time going back down the mountain. I got to practice my Vietnamese with the driver, telling him to stop so that we could take pictures. It was so pretty!!! 

Pretty view! 

The fountain outside a small cafe.  

Town at the bottom of the mountain. 

I love flowers. And the ones here are just so pretty!!! 

I did it!

I did it. I went to the supermarket by myself!  

After church I had lunch with some other young adults at the church. It was so nice to met others living here. I really think I am going to like it here. There is a group of young adults that meet every Thursday. I am hoping to go this Thursday and get plugged in :).

But this post isn't about that. This is about my major accomplishment! I have been here for 10 days and today I successfully went to the supermarket by myself. I hailed a taxi (unfortunately the most expensive one) and asked them to take me to Big C (the supermarket). It's a little far away so I got a little nervous when it took so long and I haven't quite figured my way around (so the streets all look unfamiliar). But when we got close I knew we were in the right place! There was a big sign that said Big C :). 

I went inside and they wrapped my bag (you have to have your purse wrapped to prevent shoplifting but it also prevents pickpockets). Then I went shopping. I bought a new pillow for my bed because I am borrowing my principal's pillow and sheets because I forgot mine in the States. I was going to by sheets but I don't know the diminisions of my bed, so I will get those next weekend!

I also bought my groceries for the week. Lots of chicken, some garlic, and onion. I also bought a six pack of Sprite and some avocados :). They are super cheap here (less than $1 for a kilogram) and they are big :).  

 At the market there is a lot of fish. That is alway how you know you are shopping in Asia!

I steer clear of the fish, but there is a lot of it! 

I know those!!! They have Goldfish here and they are only $3. In China they were like $6. 

After I chose my groceries it was time to stand in line to pay. Well I had 54 lanes (yes you read that right) to choose from. So I stood in line and waited. With 54 lines it only took like 5 minutes but it was kind of slow for a Sunday. The cashier rang up my groceries and I bagged them myself (this is where working at Kroger comes in handy). I paid (350,000 = $16) and I was on my merry way. 

The registers. There are 54 of them!!! 

Then I got a taxi (again an expensive one but one thing at a time). For some reason some taxis don't know how to get back to my apartment. So he started driving and I just kept getting more and more nervous. The streets are still unfamiliar and I don't see any buildings I recognize. But then I see Star Tower which is a building I know! But my driver turns the other direction. Uh Oh! Now we are entering a part of the city I don't know. So I have to tell the driver to turn around and go back to where I can see Star Tower! Thankfully he is really nice and doesn't kick me out of his car! He turns around and we head back. He turns on a street that looks familiar and I see the park! I know the park! I live straight down the street from the park! So he finally gets me home! 

So I accomplished two things today! I went to the supermarket and I got myself home! Even with getting a little lost on the way, it's a pretty big deal since I have only been here 10 days! And what is even better is I didn't feel scared at all. I know the Lord has me here and he is my protector. Everything is just another adventure for us to go on together :).  

**the taxi to the store only cost me $4 and the taxi home cost me $5. Expensive for here, but actually pretty cheap :)