I go shopping at the local [sic]Safestway food market. Besides the lack of produce varieties and the endlesss throngs of tan, gay men in bicycle shorts chatting each other up in the aisles, the store is almost identical to my old neighborhood S'way food market in San Francisco. Even the layout for the natural food section is in the exact same spot. I practically jump for joy when I see that they sell lemongrass. (The closet big town with aThai restaurant is a two hour drive into another state)
Most of the grocery shoppers seem to be truckdrivers or dudes on their lunch break from the lumber mill. I feel a bit uncomfortable from the unsolicited attention in the bread isle. I look down at my casual California style summer clothes--a brightly colored bare shouldered t-shirt, clam diggers and sandals. In retrospect I realize that I am probably showing a lot more than they are used to seeing from the average local woman in El Big.
Click on above image to see lack of anything green.
***
Later that night, Que and I try to decide to try Mountain Bear's Pizza for dinner.The mushrooms are canned but the pizza is delicious. The place fills up with lumber mill workers with their enormous families. The men wear filthy overalls and caps and the women wear toe-to-ankle tent dresses. Que comments on how young they seem. We play a guessing game and try to figure out which families belongs to which church...
After dinner, we drive 10 minutes north to the sprawling part of town. I have my first mega superstore Val*mart shopping experience. It's much trashier than I expect. We shop for curtains, clothes hangers and an air conditioner. Everything is shockingly inexpensive. I beg Que to buy me the Val*mart emerald...
Again, I take note on how the local folk seem to enjoy staring at us...
A talking/ singing deer head.
Decorations on the wall above the Hunting/ Fishing License counter. This deer cannot sing "I Heard It Through The Grape Vine".
I feel my culture shock taking root.
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