So under normal circumstances I actually enjoy going to the supermarket. Once I got to college and was required to shop for myself, I found it to be a pretty enjoyable experience. I make a nice, organized list, I plan out meals for the week, I get free samples if I'm really lucky. Overall, I like food and I like finding yummy stuff to cook for myself.
However, since coming to the UK, I have found grocery shopping to be a hellish experience nearly every time I have to do it. This probably has to do with the fact that the supermarket near my flat is an enormous 24-hour monstrosity--like a SuperWal-Mart in the US. I made the terrible mistake of going there on a Saturday afternoon a couple of weeks ago and nearly lost my life multiple times. There are so many people, but that's not the issue. At the risk of making a cultural generalization here, when I've shopped in the US, even when it's really busy people are usually (usually being the key word) relatively calm and (again usually) not overly rude in any way. At the Tesco, where I shop here, however, a large proportion of people seem pretty willing to plow you down in pursuit of their produce. There are no rules of the road, so to speak.
God forbid you stop on the side of the aisle to pick a cheese--you will have people on all sides swerving around you trying to be the first one's to reach the yoghurt section. I do my best to stay zen, but by the end of my trip I'm usually working hard to control the urge to ram my cart into the next person to cut me off or give me a dirty look for taking too long to choose a type of jam.
In conclusion, for my own sanity and the safety of the fine people at the Tesco I have decided that I should commit to online grocery shopping from now on. Small delivery fee, no carrying of groceries on the bus, and I don't have to experience homicidal tendencies? Sounds good to me.
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