Let's go shopping!

Tuesday afternoon is the worst time to go shopping.  This is the second or third time that we've gone at this time and realized what a mistake it was -- the shelves are not stocked, the produce is old, and there is definitely not an abundance of cashiers.  Shea and I try and plan out four days of meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) for each shopping trip.  But when half the items you are looking for aren't there, it is extremely frustrating for planning!!!  For example, today these items were not available:  chicken broth, eggplant, broccoli, lemons, refried beans, and monterrey jack cheese.  How can a store run out of refried beans in MEXICO?  Boggles my mind.  What makes this extremely frustrating is that the last time we were at the store, eggplant and broccoli were stocked in multitudes and there were blocks of monterrey jack cheese (it had been missing for over one month prior to that trip.  We bought two blocks.).  Going to the grocery store here is like going on a scavenger hunt that hasn't been pre-planned.  You never know what will be there and what will suddenly be discontinued.  The limited product selection in Mexico is already frustrating, but teasing customers with good products for two weeks and then taking them away is awful!!  The dissapointment of failed shopping trips sticks with me for several hours and always leaves me aching for the United States. 

While shopping today I also managed to take several photographs of the store.  Apparently this is forbidden in most stores?  Shea was freaking out the whole time and then somebody (another customer) approached me and asked if I had permission from the store to take photos.  I said "no" and she went on to say that I couldn't do that and then immediately went over to the deli meat counter and told them "some muchacha" was taking photos.  I had no clue that there was anything wrong with taking photos.  I googled this when I got home and realized that it really is a problem, especially in the United States.  Huh!?!!!  Anybody know about this?  I've been wanting to show you my readers what shopping is like in Mexico.  Here are the few photos I managed to snap.  (In case you haven't figured it out yet, you can move the mouse cursor over each picture and click to get a closer view).

The selection of body soap is limited to two shelves, both women's and men's.  Everything to the right of this photo is bar soap.

Supplies for pets??? Practically nonexistent.  This is the setion for cats.

The row for dogs is an entire aisle. 

An example of the fish department.  There are fresh markets around town, but if you're in a hurry, the Walmart selection isn't too bad. 

Salsa and hot sauces.  All mexican brands.

Literally HALF of one aisle is Ramen noodle soups, primarily the shrimp kind.  Another aisle is composed of vegetable oil, bags of "Crisco" type stuff, and rice.  The entire aisle.  Unbelievable. 

The tiniest section of the entire store: brownie and cake mixes.

Today there were no boxes of brownies.  <sad face>

The previously mentioned fresh herbs. 

Sigh.  The cheese.  There are tons of blocks of cheap, not-so-good mexican brands of gouda, chihuahua, and manchego, but this is all there is when it comes to cheddar, mozzarella, and colby jack (it's represented by the fiesta blend of cheeses).  This picture GREATLY saddens Shea. 

While we are standing here, I snagged a picture of the bacon selection.  It is the bottom shelf.  These are not good brands.

This is where I got told to put away the camera.  But I hope from these few pictures you can get a sense of what shopping here is like.  One of the biggest reasons I have been so proud of my accomplishments in the kitchen is because our resources here are so little.  It is challenging.