I've had some recent requests for a refresher on the state of grocery shopping in Moscow. I have, during phone conversations, referred to the big box store Auchan as Wal-mart on crack, until I realized, I have no idea the effects of crack and if that parallel even applies. Well anyway. Here's the long and short of it.
My favorite day to grocery shop is Tuesday. This is not something new, I've always had favorite days. When I was a waitress it was Thursday. When I was in college it was Monday. Now that I'm a homeschooling, June Cleaver, it's Tuesday. I have my reasons. Traffic is less on that day (usually) and the store shelves are stocked better.
Anyway, I load up the kids at 9am into our van-mobile. We recently discovered there is a plug that comes out of the engine and if this is plugged into the garage wall, the heat takes about 60 seconds to blow hot into the interior. Russian winter has been very disappointing this year and has barely dropped below 30. I can't even believe I wrote that...
So we're in the van and we drive 19 kilometers which could take anywhere from 25 minutes to 1 1/2 hours. I pack snacks. When we arrive at the store, we have to pull two carts, both with four swivel wheels, and brave the jam packed aisles of food stuffs, pallets, and zambonis. There is no respect for rush hour and entire aisles are closed for forklift restocking. The air smells of fish. Not the good kind. We push, shove, grab, and forge our way to one of the 120 checkouts, each staffed, each with about 3 people in line. Whenever I check out--anywhere--the security guard comes over to stand at the end of the lane and observe. I'm so used to it, I don't even notice anymore. Now I just nod my head at him and load my stuff.
After loading, bagging, and reloading my monthly groceries on a belt the size of a yardstick and paying thousands of rubles, I sweat my way back to the van to load it some more. Sometimes the exit security guards search my kids. We return home, 4 hours later, after losing a whole day of school, and try to calm our frazzled, overstimulated nerves.
Obviously the title of this entry implies something exciting. There's a new grocery store in town. It's called O'KEY. I timed the trip. It takes 5 and a half minutes to get there, with only one stop light. There is ample parking, well lit, wide aisles, a children's play area, 60 cashiers, and all the products I prefer. To me, it is the difference of being at a private spa compared to a public squatty-potty.
When we used to shop at Auchan, we would lose a whole day of school and precocious Number 3 would moan and whine the whole trip. Today she said, "Can we go back to the store again tomorrow?" Today as I headed to my filthy mode of transportation, a cart guy helped me load my groceries into the trunk and then closed the hatch. I may have bat my eyelashes. I'm not sure if my life in Russia will ever be the same.
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