I figured Dave did a piece on what he knows best…and so will I!
The shopping here is interesting. There are two main places that we go, the Ramstore, which is a grocery store, and the Tsum (pronounced zoom) which is similar to a mall.
The Ramstores are all basically the same. They have a small fresh fruit and vegetable section, which we have not be brave enough to try. There is a deli type section with some prepared foods, meats and cheeses (though nothing like we are used to). The milk is sold in sealed boxes, eggs are sold in packs of 10 – neither are refrigerated. There is no canned soup, which I find odd. There is always a WALL of liquor, 90% of which is vodka. Another odd thing, everything is sold individually – even cans of soda, bottles of beer and packets of oatmeal. The Ramstores are FULL of security guards – they are everywhere lurking behind every aisle and are usually in the way (not that they care).
We did find one Ramstore that offers quite a few American items. They are all generic Shop Rite products – and the funny thing is that at home, I would rather starve before I would shop in a Shop Rite store – but here, it is like gold! We have found cereal, pancake mix & syrup, and even macaroni & cheese. This Ramstore also offers fresh baked wheat bread and they have a slicer!
Let’s talk prices…the fresh, sliced wheat bread is 40 tenge = 35 cents! The imported items, such as cereal is a bit more. The cereal is about $6.00, the syrup is about $10.00 (worth every penny) and they keep it in the refrigerated section! Oh, the vodka is ridiculously cheap – some bottles are about $1.00, most are about $2.50.
The Tsums are interesting, really just a bunch of little shops and almost everything is kept behind the counters, so you have to ask to see each thing. It is kind of like a scavenger hunt. I know I have mentioned the demeanor of everyone here…the shopkeepers are no friendlier. There are almost no chain stores here in Karaganda – except Bennetton and Columbia (both of which are very expensive).
All in all, we have found everything we need to be comfortable. Dave and I will even venture across the street at night to pick up a few Russian beers.
