O.K. So I made my first foray to the grocery store the other day. As I expected it was an interesting experience. The first thing one notices is the definite lack of the huge variety of products we are accustomed to seing in the U.S. Instead of the usual full length aisle (or more) of breakfast cereals, the Pick n Pay has only a couple of shelves dedicated to this product. Of course there are not dozens of boxes of each kind either, only a few of each selection. There were a couple of recognizable brands which I saw, the first of these being an official box of Grape Nuts. Well I kinda like these, seems harmless enough, theres one box left on the shelf, must be my lucky day. Then I looked at the price, E85.45. Thats around 10 dollars U.S. at the current exchange rate. Those went back on the shelf real quick. Somebody here must eat them although I’m not sure who at that price! So I settled on some “Swazi brand” Raisin Bran. E28.95  About $3.50 in the terms i am used to.

Think I need to take a calculator with me to the grocery store next time. I suppose I will learn to think in terms of the Emalangeni (Swaziland unit of currency, its exchange rate is the same as the Rand of South Africa) but for now it keeps my math skills sharp changing prices back to dollars. Thats only the beginning. Nothing is in pounds and ounces, its all in kilograms. 1kg=2.2 pounds. Lucky for me I have a background in engineering. Some of these conversions I actually remember, others I have to look up.

Heres one I had to look up. Instead of calories everything is listed in kilojoules (kj) NICE!!! I have no idea what that one is. Looked it up when got home. 1calorie is equal to  about 4 kj. (4.18 if you wanna be exact, 4 to 1 is going to work just fine for me). Heres another fun fact if you’re interested, if you’re not I’m gonna tell you anyways. The calorie unit we commonly see in the U.S. is really just another American “shortcut” The actual unit of measure being reported is a kilocalorie. (1000 calories) 1 calorie is actually a very small unit of heat energy. How they determine calorie (oops i mean kilocalorie) content of food is an interesting process, they simply burn it and measure how much heat energy it puts off. O.K. There’s your science lesson for today. Sorry I had to chase that rabbit for a moment, back to the grocery store adventure.

Here’s some other highlights:

milk-E10.59 is sold by the liter(of course) and sits on the shelf with all the other stuff. It’s “long life” milk. Keeps for like a year  as long as its not opened. Then you have to refrigerate and use like regular milk. I did see some fresh milk in the dairy section though, made me feel a little better.   

tuna fish-E9.45 Theres something i recognize. In water too. They do add a lot of extra salt though. Tasted pretty good but probably not the greatest for sodium intake.

Escargot in a can- Snails in a can. Yummy. I didn’t even look at the price on these, figured I would pass. The picture on the can was priceless though, reminded me of the big snails I had in my aquarium.

Fresh bread-E7.95  Good stuff. I got a loaf or cheese and onion bread. Still warm!!

Shampoo- E33.95- Pretty darn expensive. I need to find a Dollar Store!!

Goat meatballs- in a can. I passed on these too. I may try some one day. Who knows?

Animal part of ALL kinds were available in the meat department. I didn’t spend a whole lot of time here, it was not the most pleasant display I have ever seen.  

Apples, banannas and all kinds of fresh fruits were in good supply and reasonably priced. Some of the fruits I had never seen before. Thats an adventure for another day!!!