Robertson Tribe Updates

With the help of your questions, I now have the potential for many, many blog updates. You guys are great! (By the way, feel free to keep asking questions while I attack the current list).

Since I feel like telling a “funny/life here is strange and different” story, I will address one of many questions my lovely cousin asked. And yes Tracy, you are still my favorite cousin. (That money better show up this time! Last time I said you were my favorite, the promised payment was supposedly in the mail and I never got it. Family. Sheesh!)

It is a common occurrance here in HKG to see western things in the grocery store like canned pumpkin, granola bars or marshmallows and then the next time you are there, the items are no longer being carried. The motto is buy it when you see it. It might not be there again. I often buy as much of an item as I can carry home, hoping it will hold me over until I find it again. You also tell all your friends what you are looking for and they are under moral obligation to purchase it for you should they see it somewhere, regardless of how heavy it will make their bag, or how far they must schlep it home.

I was being trained in this art of scavenging, also known as grocery shopping, when a friend told me of her experience with Kraft Marshmallows.

Let me pause here to explain that “saving face” is of the utmost importance to the Asian people, specifically the Chinese. They will lie to your face if necessary to keep from looking stupid. (Yes, I see the issue there, but that’s not a discussion for today.)

My friend had been buying marshmallows often and using them in her holiday baking. As is often the case, they disappeared abruptly from the shelves. She couldn’t find them in any store. She wasn’t surprised, and just waited for them to return. Products do often return after a short absence (again, I have no idea why) so it’s wise to check often and use your friends to scout other stores. After months and months of not finding any more marshmallows, she finally found a manager and asked him about it. “Why don’t you carry the Kraft marshmallows any more?” He looked her straight in the eye and said, “I’m sorry lady. (A common term here…lady…drives me NUTS!!) We no carry. Kraft no longer make marshmallows. “

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 23rd, 2008 at 10:29 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.