Tuesday, July 8, 2014

A Few Choice Fruits and Vegetables

by Shelley Hepler 
When I'm in a new place with a group of people I know, I tend to focus on conversation and familiar things. Knowing this about myself, I have intentionally headed out on my own to explore and experience Cagli. I thought shopping at the Coal grocery store would be a good opportunity to casually observe the culture, as well as tend to the practicalities of getting food. I grabbed my little shopping bag and made sure I had plenty of euros before I left my apartment.

The cool temperature of the store was a welcome relief from the hot afternoon sun. As I looked round, getting my bearings, I was pleased to see a lovely produce section. I squeezed a few luscious red tomatoes. The huge lemons smelled heavenly. And, what about the different kinds of eggplants? After selecting a few choice fruits and vegetables, putting them in the plastic produce bags, a young girl scurried into to get a few zucchinis. She glanced at me a few times, trying not to meet my eyes. She had a funny face.

It wasn't until another shopper came in did I realize that there are plastic gloves one wears when picking out produce. The women slipped on one and selected her fruit. Once done, she peeled it off and threw it in a trash container. Oh, goodness, I felt that I did something dirty. I actually touched fruit and vegetables with my bear hands. That's what we do at home, right? Apparently, when in Italy we don't.

I wandered through the store, making my way to first the butcher section, then to the wines, and on to the rest of the store. As I wondered, a clerk came running up to me saying something I couldn't understand. But, I could understand her waiving a pear at me. Apparently, it had slipped through a hole in my bag and dropped to the floor somewhere in the store isles. Well, that was ok. She was nice about it.

When I finished exploring I made my way to the checkout stand. I placed two plastic bags with produce and my little shopping bag on the conveyer belt. The clerk looked at me and shook her head. It was then that I realized that I didn't weigh and label my produce. Nor, did I use the shopping basket to bring my groceries to the counter. Gosh!

Well, I learned a few things about shopping in Italian grocery stores. Then next time I went, I think I did all of these things correctly. I think....

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