Grocery Shopping

Now here is something I never thought I would do (or even considered doing). On Monday, I went grocery shopping in Sweden!!

No, I did not see the sights. No, I did visit my relatives. Yes, I bought fish, cheese, juice, candy, and other grocery items (but no cigarettes or alcohol). As I may have mentioned, Oslo is the most expensive city in the world - more expensive than Tokyo. The cheapest box of cereal is right now around $3. While this isn't too bad for most norwegians who also earn more money on average, it is not great for those of us living on a salary paid in US dollars - which are not doing so well against the Norwegian Kroner.

Anyway, meat, candy, alcohol, and cigarettes are especially expensive in Norway - mostly for tax reasons. So, the norwegian people hop acrosss the border to stock up on these products. Knowing that I am currently in the process of stocking my kitchen, one of the congregation members invited me to go grocery shopping in Sweden. So, away we went! Its about a 45 mn. drive to the border, where a little shopping area has sprung up because of the norwegian shoppers. The area feels kind of like an outlet mall in the US.

If you are worried about my ability to afford food in the future in Norway, don't worry so much. Knowing that I am living on the dollar and being a great, generous, and caring congregation, my internship congregation has been helping me stock my pantry and 2 offerings have been taken to provide me with pantry stocking money. How great is that! I have been so well taken care of - I have even received those precious items that people pack in their suitcases to bring back from the states - peanut butter, cake mix, zip lock bags, etc.

Enjoy that large grocery store with so many food selections, and much subsidized produce and meat. Here, the grocery stores are mostly small with limited selection. I will surely be learning to cook norwegian! and shop at the immigrant groceries, which tend to be cheaper and have more non-norwegian foods. But for now, I am well stocked, thanks to my great congregation and the great country of Sweden!

Happy cooking to you!