News from the East: A taste of the West, just South of the North city.

I FOUND IT! I can Do the Dew, Dude! I found Mountain Dew!

It's a wonder of wonders, but it turns out that underground market I mentioned in my last post has a better selection of soda than I thought, and I picked up a small bottle of Mountain Dew to make sure it's as good as it is in the states. Also, 500 ml is the only size of Mountain Dew they sell, so I'll have to buy several next time I go back there, which will be tomorrow. Anyway, that's not really a problem, since it's a healthy reduction from the amount I consumed back in the States. I won't disclose how much I used to drink, but I'll admit it was an 'American' portion. For now though, it's a bit too late in the evening to be drinking caffeinated soda, so I'll hold off on my Dew until tomorrow.

That Sweet Green Dew isn't the only Western beverage I picked up today; I picked up some Blue Sprite as an experiment. It caught my eye, sitting next to the Mountain Dew, and I figured I should sample something exotic; it looked like some kind of Sprite of version Baja Blast with a bright blue shade. Mind you, all the labels are in Chinese, or so I thought, so I really had no idea what it was when I bought it. When I got home, I discovered that the back of the label was in English, and that English told me the flavor was "Icy Mint." Remember when I said they cater to different (Very) non-western tastes? I have little interest in trying Chinese, Minty Sprite, so I'll wait to try that one tomorrow too.

I also got some milk! You know, some nice, healthy calcium to balance that sugar. The Chinese take on milk is very different than I, as an American, am used to. Evidently, they treat milk as a high-end commodity, selling it at a premium in 1 Liter cartons that cost about $5 a pop. Surprisingly, they don't keep these liters in refrigerated displays; either they have a lot of faith in pasteurization or they don't have much invested in the cow product, which is not reflected in the price. And the milk is imported from Germany. For some reason. Finally, they sell it with 1.5% "Fett" which I think is similar to the American 2% I'm used to, and they also sell 3.5% and Whole Milk. Is that 1.5% supposed to be Skim Milk?

That's about enough of my little shopping story, but there is one more thing that I want to mention; prices. Aside from the soda, which was fairly normal, almost all the other western foods I've purchased have stood out above 'normal' food. Bread can be pretty steep, and they like to sell it in half-size loaves, Peanut Butter is about $3 for 340 grams, and (Imported!) Corn flakes were pricey, even at Walmart. So, I need to start adapting a more Chinese diet if I want to save some money to bring back home. Maybe I'll start frequenting that place that sold those good dumplings. But what do I eat for breakfast?