The Grocery Store

Ahh, it's always an experience going to the grocery store. There's always a good story to tell after coming home. From not being able to read whether the can of tomatoes is chopped or whole to being disappointed the oh so small selection of cereal (or museli as they call it over here, which is basically granola. No word for cereal!), it's always an adventure.

Most recently though, I have been having to practice my anger management skills when walking through the store. This happens everywhere but I notice it the most at the grocery store, probably because I'm there so often. People have no common courtesy.  I'm sure I've written about this before but it's taking on a whole new level. No one says excuse me or sorry when they push right past you, ramming their cart into your elbow. They do not hesitate to push your cart right out of their way, with no regards to your shins that they are pushing it right into. But the most blatant example happened the other day and had it gone on 10 seconds longer, you might have seen my face splashed across CNN's breaking news headlines, reading "American woman goes ballistic in the grocery store in Holland. Dutch authorities have detained her for further questioning." Then you all would have to raise money to bribe the authorities to let me out of jail to come back home. But luckily for all involved, that didn't happen.

What did happen was this. I was walking into the store, behind a cart pusher. Now I'm not even really sure where he came from because they don't have carts outside but nonetheless, there he was in front of me, trying to push the carts back into their place on the other side of the store. He was sandwiched between the check out lanes, which obviously weren't going anywhere and people on the other side of him, who were trying to put their groceries into bags. ( There are no baggers here, you bag you own stuff so sometimes when people have a lot, to get out of the checkout line, they put all their things back in their basket and go to a little counter area, designed for bagging your things, this is where those people were). So clearly, this poor kid of all of 16 is trying to push about 15 carts through a small space but is being blocked by not one but TWO people's carts, who are trying to bag their groceries. What do the people do who are blocking part of the way? Move their carts over 6 inches and let the kid pass by with all of his carts? No way! That would be too nice and display too much common courtesy. Instead, they BOTH look up at the kid, who is pleading with them with his eyes to scoot their cart over, and then they keep grabbing things out of their cart, not bothering to move it out of his way. He is gently trying to bump their cart out of the way and STILL, they do nothing!!! I was furious and about to go over and "gently" (see CNN breaking news) bump their carts out of the way but he finally managed to make it through, with no help from them. It was ridiculous.

I went about my shopping and came home in a bit of fury, telling Dan all about the situation. He understands because he's close to boycotting the store because he can't stand the rudeness. It all adds to our adventures here, that's what I keep telling myself.

But it might be good if everyone can start a savings fund now to help get me out of the country if I snap one day. I'm just saying.  .  .