sHopPinG..........WHAT AN ADVENTURE!

There are so many adventures here.  Actually everyday there is an adventure.  It can happen anywhere, anytime, at any moment...but it IS an adventure!  I'm learning and reminding myself each time I experience one of these adventures to make it a memory!

Many of you have asked about how we live.
Where do we live?  Do you cook?  Grocery shopping?  Haircut?  Do you have a bank?
I will attempt to answer some of these questions throughout the year.
Today's questions and answer...Yes, we cook for ourselves and this is how we shop!

We have an apartment here in the Jerusalem Center that is equipped with a small oven (still learning to adapt from fahrenheit to celsius), 4 burner stove top, small microwave and pots and pans enough to cook just about anything.
WELL...no WOK, BlendTec, 9x13 pan or ice cream maker but what I don't have I borrow, if they don't have it I do without.
So on to the actual shopping adventure............................................................
  The first thing I had to do upon arrival to the Holy Land was to get in my head which day which stores are open.  Friday is the Muslim Holy Day, Saturday is the Jewish Sabbath and Sunday is the Christian Holy Day.
Then I have to remember which days commemorate Succot and Passover (Jewish-stores closed or have different hours),Ramadan and Eid-UI-Adha (Muslim-stores closed or different hours). On more than one occasion I have ventured off to the store only to find the road barricaded, store fronts closed or doors just closing because the hours are changed.
THEN.......I have had to memorize which stores I have to pay for the use of a cart, which parking is free and which I have to pay by the minute!  After those few details I'm ready to go with my trusty shopping list in hand.

First stop...spices for cooking. Sometimes writing is in Arabic only, some times Arabic and Hebrew, and sometimes even Arabic, Hebrew and tiny little English letters.  Hmmmm is that garlic salt, regular salt, or onion salt?  Buy it and try it!

Next aisle is dairy.  I was going to try  my hand at some White Chili.  I need sour cream and regular cream.  Then we were out of yogurt.  Most dairy products have a cow on it, a white barn with a red roof or a picture of a spoon with white substance on it.  Buy it and try it!

   Now when we need milk we discovered it is relatively easy to recognize but took us a few trial and error cartons to figure out that the 3% is more whole than usual, 2% is close to the whole we are used to, 1% is like 2% in America and their is no such thing as skim...that would be water! 

 At about $5.00 a liter we don't buy much anyway.

Next is the bakery.  Doesn't this look like a wonderful place to spend some shekels?  Most bakery items are out in the open, uncovered, unprotected etc.  The bread and roll section is often surrounded by many hands touching and feeling each item to ensure maximum freshness.  

What the heck buy it and try it!  We're on an adventure remember!

This is a Kim Chadwick, a fellow faculty wife.  More often that not we shop with someone not by ourselves.  Kim is standing in the middle of one of the aisles.  Can you truly see the narrowness of it?  We got laughing so hard one day as there was a gentleman trying to stock the shelves, us with a shopping cart headed towards someone else coming the other way with their shopping cart  

We never win the battle in the aisles but we always get a good chuckle out of it!

Now there are usually a meat and cheese section but I'm still working on the names in Arabic and Hebrew to know what to order...

and there is even meat in a can........never bought it and never will!

We turn down an aisle and lo and behold a small piece of home! Sometimes a box can cost $12-15 so we usually stick to oatmeal,l but on this day...

What the heck I better buy it and try it!  Just to make sure they got the taste right!

Yes...we have plenty to eat.

Yes...it is expensive.

Yes...it is an adventure.

and YES I'm so happy, fortunate and blessed to be here!