Friday, 26 June 2009

a hypermarket has opened..

Mum and I were going to go to the markets as it is my day off but the rain was so heavy so we decided to join the teachers on their trip to check out the new hypermarket that has opened. Apart from the men who came to meet us at the car with umbrellas it was just like walking into Tesco or Walmart. The store had an incredible selection of things not to be found in the tiny supermarkets here and it was useful to see they sold the odd thing like childrens toilet seats at a comparable price to home (for when the day comes that I feel brave enough to think about potty training on a ship!). On the whole the things we might have been interested in were too expensive (boxes of cereal $7, a litre of UHT cream $7, 4 basic yoghurts $6 and the exact box of washing powder that is $2 in the ship shop was almost $20!!!) but we did find a big pot of chocolate spread for disguising the boys malaria tablets, a packet of dates and some apple juice for a change!! It will be interesting to see how the store does over the months we are here, there were staff everywhere - with the umbrellas, packing bags, on the checkouts, stacking shelves - I mean everywhere, and only the odd customer in every few aisles. Thankfully we don't need to do much shopping while we are here but it is pretty interesting seeing what is available to the wealthy people or the foreigners here. I can't say it was as much fun as the markets with the hussle and bustle, trying to communicate what you want or negotiate prices, but its certainly stress free and reminds us of home - do you think tesco would like to start an umbrella to your car service?

Sarah

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