The Grocery Store

We aren’t officially in our house yet since our furniture is still not here (we’re hoping this weekend sometime), but there comes a time when you need to buy a few items from the store. The first day we were here we were desperate since we had no luggage. In the land of 100+ and high humidity you cannot live without deodorant and soap!!
We are living in a hotel apartment which is adjacent to a large mall. There seems to be a large mall every 20 feet or so in Abu Dhabi. I’ll post more about them later, but right now I want to talk about the grocery stores. Each mall has a “grocery,” store in it. I’m talking 2-3 story behemoths that are like Super WalMarts on steroids. After arriving without our bags, we needed to do some shopping. We walked next door and went to a LuLus (yes..actually name of a chain of stores). Their logo is, “Where the world comes to shop.” This seems very appropriate since you see someone and something from every continent every time you go into one J
All I really wanted from this first venture into the land of shopping in Abu Dhabi was a toothbrush and some soap, but it took us nearly an hour to do this. The store was so huge, I became disoriented several times. Thank goodness that Steve was with me to point me towards the exit. Otherwise, I might still be wandering around in there (and I thought I had a good sense of direction).
I was happy to see several American products (like the type of deodorant and toothpaste that I usually use), but they all seem to shrink on their way over here and their prize tags grow J I was adventurous and did try a few products that I was not familiar with and so far have been happy with one small exception. I am not a fan of the vegetable soap.
My first real experience with the grocery store on my own was yesterday (OK…I went with my friend Eileen). Eileen and her kids got here the same time we did and they are in the same boat. We decided to try a store that was rumored to be filled with Western products. Now, I’m all about trying new things, but it would be nice to use a familiar product every once in a while. There was also the rumor that this particular store has GASP……pork products.
We entered Spinneys with our 4 children (we both have 2) and immediately started finding things that we thought we weren’t going to get for a couple of years. I was very excited to find Jif peanut butter and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Spray (it’s the little things in life that make you happy J). We also found things we couldn’t identify and for the most part left them alone. This was a comfort trip after all and we needed some stuff that was familiar to us. We’ll be more adventurous another day.
The produce section is always exciting. There are all kinds of interesting fruits and vegetables from around the world. Just today I found that I could buy grapes from 5 out of the 7 continents. I need to find someone who has been here a little longer to give me a tutorial on the different items available and how to eat/use them. I was thrilled to find nice avocadoes that weren’t too expensive. Can you say Guacamole and Margaritas by the pool?
Then, we found the (dramatic pause) Pork room. Since UAE is a Muslim country, all pork products must be housed in a separate room and have non-Muslim staff operating it. There is a large sign on the door warning all Muslims to stay away. Eileen and I immediately went in and looked around. Not only did we find all the items you expect, but in the pork room you find Pop Tarts and Marshmallows (both made from pork lard).
I was able to find all the ingredients to make a cheese tortellini dish that I make all the time back home much to the delight of the girls. I wasn’t able to replicate the taste from back home exactly, but as Caitlin said, “It’s really, really close Mom!” She then went on to have 3 helpings J