Replenishing the Stores

So far we are still in the grand opening phase of the vacation. This means a lot of cleaning, rearranging,    And oh the lists... So. Many. Lists.

The lists in hand, we made our way for the first serious shopping excursion. My mother was along to supervise this time and make sure we didnt just buy junk food and meat.

On the way home the other day, one of the car brakes locked up, spewing fumes into the car. Our first stop was to get an appointment to have it seen by a mechanic. Tuesday is a holiday in The Netherlands, and therefore on the island, so no one is working. My dad decided to tough it out with the car until Wednesday. 

First stop was the store the natives shop, called Bon-di-Gro. It was my first visit here. This is the entrance. Its not a pretty place. 

Inside is a lot like a post-apocalyptic Costco, with birds and no ac.

It is hard to find a building without birds of some kind in residence here. Most have open areas for air to come in, which also let in birds.

Next stop was the Lucky Mega Store, which like an increasing number of stores on the island is run by Chinese. These seem to be singularly referred to as "chinese store", despite the name of the store. There is currently one under construction near our place. They are pretty much what youd expect, except with dogs in the parking lot.

Dogs in the parking lot doesnt necessarily have a correlation with quality. We next went to Van den Tweel, the super-dutch supermarket, which also has resident rovers, just under the sign saying not to feed the dogs.

The atmosphere here is slightly different from Bon-di-Gro, in that you feel less like there might be a zombie around any corner lying in wait. It is well-lit, air-conditioned, and nicer than most American stores.

Since most of the product here is Dutch, you can spot Americans pretty quickly, as theyre the ones struggling to guess what stuff is.

My dad speaks German, and I have enough language background that we can usually figure out what stuff is without too much consternation. My mother reads the pictures and pokes stuff to see if its crunchy.

When we checked out, they gave us free eggs. We arent exactly sure why, a lady just came up and said "you want egg?" Her accent was strong enough i thought she asked if we wanted ads. My mother said yes as soon as she heard it "want", and we got eggs. Who knows what they will hatch into!

By the time we left, the pup had made his way inside. It is probably cooler here. 

Daktari, my parents car here, only really fits two people. so my mother rides in the back on a lawn chair when we all go out.

My favourite score from the trip is some kind of treat that can only be described (by me) as go-gurt for cats. i Cant wait to bring it home.