Land of Plenty

Hotel life can be fun. Today two girls from Brazil arrived just as I was getting ready to leave work. They asked how to get to the grocery store. They had no car, knew nobody, had been traveling for twenty or so hours. So since I was heading that way anyway, I took them on the bus to the grocery store. They had never seen such a sight! I had to explain about the salad bar and yogurt, bread and cookies. They got side tracked by a blow dryer for $15. I told them it was better to buy that at Wal-Mart, it would be less expensive. This they couldn't believe.

We walked over to Wal-Mart and there was a $10 winter coat. When we asked at Wal-Mart if they had pre-paid phone cards, the woman who helped us was from Costa Rica and she directed us down the street to a cigarette shop where the girls were able to get 1000 min for $10. There was a pay phone outside the grocery store and they were able to call their mothers. I felt very excited for them.

We headed back to Wal-Mart to buy batteries, and I had to inform them that they had to stand in a line with a "lit" number above it. Something that I'd never thought about, ever. Even my kids know that means the cashier is open. At the grocery store I signed them up for a frequent shopper card. They asked why they were getting a discount with the card? Just because. I did skip the whole marketing concept thing, too hard to translate.

For a few hours I saw things in a differnt light. The United States of America may not have all the answers, but we do have lots of cheap stuff!