Grocery Shopping on a Rainy Day

Today marks our second day in a row of rain, as well as "Random Korean Experience #984" for me. I can now say that I have bicycled in the rain down narrow streets with a heavy bag of groceries dangling from one side of my handlebars, a large purse also containing groceries dangling from the other side, and a bag of bread clenched firmly in my teeth. Apparently God has called me to a life of making other people laugh at me. I certainly amused several Korean drivers, who were all nice enough not to hit me as I sped towards home.

I am now happily slurping my lunch: a bowl of Korea's version of ramen noodle soup and a glass of ginseng cider (one of my favorite beverages - it tastes similar to Sprite). The Korean version of ramen noodle soup is quite different from America's version. This soup is much spicier (clears your sinuses with every tasty spoonful) and contains the obligatory seaweed and herbs that adorn every soup here. When I first got here I thought seaweed was creepy, but now I've discovered that it actually adds good flavor to things. Plus, it's a great source of nutrients. I'm eating my soup the Korean way - using chopsticks for the noodles and a spoon for the broth. This actually works out a lot easier than trying to capture the elusive long noodles onto a spoon.

I am getting quite dexterous with chopsticks, to the point of having about 95% accuracy in getting food into my mouth. When I first got here, every meal was like a battle between the chopsticks and I. But now, we've finally reached an understanding. In fact, I have found chopsticks to work better than a fork for things like noodles and kimbap. I'm still no match for Koreans, though. Cate told me that Koreans' hand and finger muscles actually develop differently from Americans, owing to their use of chopsticks. She said that's why Korean kids are better with using scissors than American kids, which I actually have observed in my classes. The kids here have a dexterity with their hands that kids in the US do not develop until much later, if at all. Interesting.

Some American friends have asked me questions about grocery shopping over here, so I thought I'd write a little about it here in my blog, in case anyone else is interested. The big grocery stores are actually very similar to those in the US. HomePlus and Lotte Mart are like smaller versions of Meijer or Wal-Mart. Incidentally, there are no Wal-Marts in Korea. They apparently tried to have one in Korea once, but it failed because Wal-Mart did not understand Korean consumers (they don't like to buy in bulk, for example). HomePlus and Lotte both sell pretty much everything from groceries, to clothes, to school supplies. Some small stores, like Seven-Eleven (which is everywhere) will put your purchases in a complementary bag, but most grocery stores charge for the bag (about 50 cents), and you do your own bagging.

Prices are generally comparable with the US, with some notable differences. Water is way cheaper over here. I pay the equivalent of about 40 cents for a two liter bottle of water. A 1.5 liter bottle of ginseng cider is about 90 cents, and Coca-Cola and Pepsi are about $1.50 for a 1.5 liter bottle (haven't seen any two liter bottles). Cheese is outrageously expensive. A pack of sandwich singles will run you about $5.00. Meat is also quite expensive, so I only have it when I go out to eat. I fulfill my protein needs by eating lots of eggs, which are about the same price here as at home. They sell the brown eggs here - I don't recall white ones ever. Cereal is pricey - about $5.oo-6.00 per box - and the selection is limited to corn flakes and healthy cereals (I seldom see any sugary ones).

There are quite a few things here that I haven't seen at home. Roasted seaweed, for one thing, and kimchi galore. There are more varieties of cooking oil, soy sauce, and chili paste than I ever knew existed. Persimmons and little yellow melons are a common sight, although I have not yet tried either of them. Every disgusting sea creature imaginable is prominently displayed. The selection of treats is my favorite - from puffed rice and honey treats, to cookies filled with glutinous rice cake, to chips made from rice and sweet potatoes. Yogurt is popular here, so you can find the traditional strawberry and peach yogurt right next to sweet potato, hazelnut, apple, pineapple, kiwi, and pear yogurt.

Their juices are fantastic. Back home, I seldom see more than apple, orange, tomato, or grape juice for sale, but here they sell all those as well as peach, pear, plum, mango, pineapple, corn, and pea juice. Corn juice I have yet to try, but pea is so-so, and peach, pear, and plum juice are delicious. Often there are tiny pieces of the fruit in the juice, which makes it even better. The fruit selection here is excellent as well. Back home they usually sell fruit long before it is ripe, but here it is amazingly fresh and ripe. The best place to buy fruit is not at the grocery store, though. The best fruit is sold either at the markets or off the backs of trucks that drive around advertising their wares over loudspeakers.

Sour cream, cream cheese, and baking mixes are nowhere to be seen, although I have been told that Cosco sells them (the nearest one is in Daegu, which is about an hour away). Most Koreans don't have ovens, so there is no such thing as a baking supply aisle. Sweet potatoes are beloved over here, so in addition to using them in chips and yogurt, you can can also find them used in bread, soups, candy, gum, or even as a pizza topping. Ice cream is expensive, but worth it. The selection is much smaller than at home, but they do have such novelties as green tea or corn ice cream, both of which are good. Koreans love coffee, so there is coffee-flavored ice cream, coffee-flavored gum, and coffee-flavored candies. I very seldom see coffee beans for sale, but they do sell very good instant coffee, mocha, and cappuccino.

Generally, I have a pretty easy time grocery shopping in Korea. The cooking directions are all in Hangeul (Korean script), but they are usually accompanied by pictures, so I can figure out how to prepare things. Some products have a little bit of English on them, which helps. I can read enough Hangeul now to decipher nutrition information. Store employees are very friendly and helpful, although none that I have run across have spoken any English. This made buying meat a bit challenging the one time I did it. The poor fellow trying to assist me had a hard time understanding my hand motions, so I wound up buying a bit more beef than I wanted, just because I didn't have the heart to make him put it back. It was excellent beef, so I really didn't mind.

Paying for purchases isn't as challenging as one might think. All the cash registers have screens that face the customer, on which the price is displayed. At the tiny stores downtown, they just type the amount into a calculator and show it to us foreigners. Every cashier I have ever dealt with here has been very polite and friendly, quite a contrast from back home. Sometimes they like to try out their English on me, which I am always eager to help them with. Overall, shopping here is quite enjoyable. American stores could certainly take a lesson in good service from Korean stores.