Grocery shopping, Nepali style

We went food shopping today. First, we stopped at the bank and exchanged 300USD for nepali rupiah. I walked away with 3 inches of paper rupees. It made me feel very wealthy. First, we went to the vegetable stand. The selection was cauliflower, potatoes, bananas, green leafy tops, onions, peppers, pumpkins, tomatoes, green beans, and ladyfinger(okra). We bought potatoes, green leafy tops, onions, green beans, and bananas for about $3.50. This is the norm for monsoon season. You have to buy what is in season. Because no vegetables are imported, you can only buy what is ripe in this area.

Next we went to the cold store. This is where you buy cheese. You get to decide which animal you want your cheese to have been made from...yak, cow, or water buffalo. You don't get to choose what type of cheese. You just get whatever was made from that animal. So far, I've had gouda, buttercheese, and Swiss.In Nepal, life is like a block of cheese, you never know what you're going to get! Cheese is expensive, about $7 per kilo.

Then we went to the butcher. They had chickens and eggs. I'm talking about live chickens that are looking you in the eye. They butcher them in front of you, and you can observe all of the unsanitary conditions such as flies, blood and guts, and the lack of washing of the cutting implements and counters. I'm glad I'm a vegetarian. The eggs are brown and warm and some still have straw and feathers on them. 30 eggs for about $2.50.

Next, we go to the German bakery to pick up bread. Most nepalis eat homemade roti ( a nepali flatbread/tortilla), therefore it is hard to find bread in a bakery. But, they sell bread and pastries here. I was excited to be able to buy German baked goods. When I tasted them, I realized that my German ancestors would be insulted that this bakery would be associated with their heritage. Such a disappointment. Picture a packaged honey bun at Wal-Mart posing as a cinnamon roll. Sad face. Bread, $3-$6 a loaf.

Next we go to Bhat Bhatini, the Nepal equivalent of a grocery store. It is about the size of a Walgreen's. There are lots of teas and spices and chips and cookies. The produce department is one shelf. The coldbox holds six packages of cheese and even fewer packages of butter. No freezer section because, without electricity, what's the point? Next they have flavored fruit drink boxes, followed by apples. There are lots of apples because they are in season. No meat is available. In the soda aisle there are Coke products only. Coke, Sprite, and Fanta Orange are the choices. The next two aisles contain staples of the nepali diet. Flour comes in 30 pound bags, rice in 50 pound bags and there is a large assortment of lentils and beans. Three aisles of cookies, one aisle of crackers. Half an aisle of candy. Oh..Orange Creme Oreos on the endcap....yes, please! No peanut butter is available. Things only get stocked when they are available. This means it may be two months before peanut butter is available again. When it is there on the shelves, people buy six at a time. Several products are like that, jams, ketchup, milk chocolate mix, tomato paste. Canned goods are hard to find.  Lots of sugared cereal options in the next aisle.   Flavored snacks take up the next aisle with unusual choices such as chicken flavored cheese puffs and India Masala Lays potato chips. The potato chips were delicious, the chicken flavored crunchy cheetoes, not so much. I found a half kilo package of MSG in the spice aisle. The remaining aisles are stocked with shampoo, laundry detergent, soap, lotion (but no sunscreen), and toothpaste (but no floss). Next to the checkout, I find a warm bottle of Pepsi. This is quite a feat in a land overrun with Coke products. I plop down 60 rupees...approximately 60 cents.....for a moment of sweet joy! It's the little things in life that can bring the most joy, isn't it?