It's pretty easy to spot us foreigners at the grocery store. We buy the foods that we "recognize" like fresh salmon instead of dried little fishes, Dole bananas instead of the local red ones, Philadelphia Cream cheese instead of the rolled logs of white squishy stuff that say "cheese" in several languages on the package.
In fact, the woman standing in front of me, dressed in yoga pants, an exercise top, and flip flops could have shopped from the exact same grocery list as me. She was buying mostly nutritious, healthy "American style" food although my competitive side quickly scanned my basket to make sure it lived up to the same high standards as her. (Yes, we both had splurged on the organic Japanese cucumbers..) When she placed the bag of "real" oatmeal on the conveyor belt rather than powdery instant stuff that is sitting unopened in my kitchen cabinet, I had my opening....
"Excuse, me, but where did you find the "real" oatmeal?"
I mentally patted myself on the back for the great "lead-in. Besides, 1) I really wanted to know and 2) I really wanted to speak English to a stranger. I'm always curious how people end up living here in Lumut. To top things off, she was buying a yoga mat and I had just bought a new yoga mat from a nearby mall store and it was slung over my shoulder. So we already had the makings of a great friendship: we both like oatmeal and we both have yoga mats.
Sure enough, she turned, smiled, and replied "Hello, where are you from?" and gave directions to the bottom shelf of the cereal aisle. (Apparently, the Malaysian grocery stores keep the healthy food away from eye level, too.)
Our conversation was off and running at a pace that only women can comprehend. In fact, we held up the rest of the line while we sorted out phone numbers, exercise information and problems with jogging (cat calls, profanity, etc.), and "Insanity" workout plans plus the accompanying diets to go with it which was her reason for the oatmeal purchase in the first place, rock climbing (oh, my son loves that!) blah, blah, blah.....
So, my "conversation" in the check-out line yielded another interesting person who has figured out how to be a "life coach" and a "business consultant" while living in interesting places throughout the world. Here's a link to her website that tells her life/business better than I can...
http://www.businessbackpacker.com
So today's afternoon just goes to show you...You should always talk to strangers in the check-out line!
In fact, the woman standing in front of me, dressed in yoga pants, an exercise top, and flip flops could have shopped from the exact same grocery list as me. She was buying mostly nutritious, healthy "American style" food although my competitive side quickly scanned my basket to make sure it lived up to the same high standards as her. (Yes, we both had splurged on the organic Japanese cucumbers..) When she placed the bag of "real" oatmeal on the conveyor belt rather than powdery instant stuff that is sitting unopened in my kitchen cabinet, I had my opening....
"Excuse, me, but where did you find the "real" oatmeal?"
I mentally patted myself on the back for the great "lead-in. Besides, 1) I really wanted to know and 2) I really wanted to speak English to a stranger. I'm always curious how people end up living here in Lumut. To top things off, she was buying a yoga mat and I had just bought a new yoga mat from a nearby mall store and it was slung over my shoulder. So we already had the makings of a great friendship: we both like oatmeal and we both have yoga mats.
Sure enough, she turned, smiled, and replied "Hello, where are you from?" and gave directions to the bottom shelf of the cereal aisle. (Apparently, the Malaysian grocery stores keep the healthy food away from eye level, too.)
Our conversation was off and running at a pace that only women can comprehend. In fact, we held up the rest of the line while we sorted out phone numbers, exercise information and problems with jogging (cat calls, profanity, etc.), and "Insanity" workout plans plus the accompanying diets to go with it which was her reason for the oatmeal purchase in the first place, rock climbing (oh, my son loves that!) blah, blah, blah.....
So, my "conversation" in the check-out line yielded another interesting person who has figured out how to be a "life coach" and a "business consultant" while living in interesting places throughout the world. Here's a link to her website that tells her life/business better than I can...
http://www.businessbackpacker.com
So today's afternoon just goes to show you...You should always talk to strangers in the check-out line!
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