Everybody's Got to Eat!

I have always enjoyed shopping for groceries. Many of my friends think that is completely insane. But for me the feeling of putting aside provisions, having a well stocked pantry, is very satisfying. I remember taking Paul and Cait with me when they were very little kids, and chatting with them as we walked up and down the grocery aisles looking for what was on our list. My habit at home was to shop only one day a week. If I ran out of something in between, or if I forgot something, then I made myself wait until the next week. Our little "Save Easy" store in Perth-Andover doesn't have the widest selection of goods, but it was always good enough for me. Besides the owners, Bev and Paul, are just about the nicest people that the Good Lord ever created and I looked forward to visiting with them every week.
I still enjoy buying food, but my habits here in Doha are a bit different. There are lots of big beautiful supermarkets here with a great variety of goods, produce from all around the world, and ethnic foods to suit a multicultural society. Carrefour is a company from France that is frequented by many western expats. There is a new LuLu Hypermarked just around the corner from Al Zahour. We watched it being built most of last winter, and it finally opened sometime in the summer. LuLu is a fun place to shop, great bread, fresh fish, and lots of lovely fresh fruits and vegetables. It is also the newest landmark for expats who are still finding their way around the city. It is lit at night with a million lights flashing and swirling and twinkling over the massive walls. Talk about your carbon footprint! I'm sure that the scientists in the space station use LuLu to orient themselves in orbit.
But I am drawn to Al Meera, the little neighbourhood store frequented by locals. Though I haven't become acquainted with the owners, I am becoming familiar with the regular staff. Not everything is available there, so a trip to LuLu may still be in order, but for the most part it meets my needs. It is only 5 minutes from home (I can even walk there if I like), and is an easy stop after work.
I'm finding that in Doha one stop once a week just doesn't work. First of all, you probably won't find everything you want at one store. For instance, LuLu has the best fresh fish, and bread. Al Meera has good produce at the lowest price. And since bread and bananas seem to reach their full potential, so to speak, so quickly, I find that I'm running into the store more than once a week to pick up bread, and my ubiquitous bananas.
And then I have to regularly visit my friends at the local fruit and vegetable stand. It is a pleasure to go there for the friendly smiles, and the beautiful colors of produce from around the world. The boys there can give you the natural history of every piece of fruit you pick up--bananas from the Phillipines, strawberries from Egypt, tomatoes from Syria. Where are the grapes from this week? And the pomegranates? They always seem to know, or at least they make up a good story.
My good friend Loralie, gone but not forgotten, introduced me to the Automatic Bakery in Gharrafa last winter. I've been there a couple of times this fall, but going there frequently can be hazardous to your health. There are practically miles of counters filled with all kinds of Arabic sweets-marmouls, baclava, sesame bisquits. I've become familiar with one of the workers there. When he found out that I am from Canada, he began to speak French to me. One of the best parts of grocery shopping in Doha is the friendly people that you meet. Surprisingly, they never forget who you are, and are glad to see you when you return.
So my shopping habits have changed some, but in many ways they are still the same. Grocery shopping is a bit of a social event in Doha just as it was for me in Perth-Andover. I enjoy seeing the same faces on a regular basis and feeling like part of a community. Just the same, I have to shop around, not for the best prices, but because I know that the only place that has ground chicken is Family Food at Al Rayyan. (They also have the best smoked turkey cold cuts.) And because the salmon is consistently the best at LuLu.