Is it really THAT different to the US??

I had a couple of supermarket freakouts when I moved to Scotland, and I now I am having them in the US. All that hard work I put in to acclimating myself to UK shops has all been undone and now I have to start all over!

It's a different kind of freakout. When I moved to the UK, it was due to not really knowing what anything was, which items were better than others, etc. Here in the US, it's more like sensory overload. There is so.freaking.much.of.EVERYTHING. 40 different kinds of cheese crackers. 4 billion types of cereal.

I ate differently when I last lived in the US, so I don't really want to buy the stuff that I used to. I can't decide on anything. The first time I went shopping, I quite literally stood in the yoghurt aisle for 20 minutes trying to choose a yoghurt.  The sheer magnitude and variety is just overwhelming. I was in the store for 2 whole hours and left with practically nothing, because I just had to give up! 

I'm amused that everyone gets overwhelmed with supermarkets--for me, going to a supermarket is one of my more favorite tourist things to do in different countries. I can wander up and down aisles of a supermarket for ages, looking at different things and observing how different things are in different countries. It does take awhile to learn to cook with ingredients that are available, etc in each country and know what you'll like but even looking at things that I'll never buy can be interesting. *shrug* I try not to eat a ton of processed food and honestly, vegetables and fruits are pretty much the same everywhere, and things like bread and pasta and rice and tofu and cheese aren't usually too different (and in the case of bread and cheese, pretty much universally better outside of the US). And like I said, I really enjoy the wandering process.

I'm amused that everyone gets overwhelmed with supermarkets--for me, going to a supermarket is one of my more favorite tourist things to do in different countries. I can wander up and down aisles of a supermarket for ages, looking at different things and observing how different things are in different countries. It does take awhile to learn to cook with ingredients that are available, etc in each country and know what you'll like but even looking at things that I'll never buy can be interesting. *shrug* I try not to eat a ton of processed food and honestly, vegetables and fruits are pretty much the same everywhere, and things like bread and pasta and rice and tofu and cheese aren't usually too different (and in the case of bread and cheese, pretty much universally better outside of the US). And like I said, I really enjoy the wandering process.

I agree!  I don't want to be unsympathetic to the issues people have, but I love foreign supermarkets!  And frankly, after living in Japan, anything looks normal.  Imagine when you not only aren't familiar with the products but also can't read the language!  It was a lot of trial and error, but now there is soo much I miss about Japanese food.  Then I moved to Prague, and had similar issues with language but at least more of the food looked familiar, and Czech Tesco isn't that different from a British one.  My first night in Prague I ate beans on toast  .  If you don't worry about making mistakes, then shopping abroad can be a lot of fun. 

The last time I was in the US, I over-bought like mad in the supermarket because I had forgotten about all the things that were available.  It was fun! 

I love doing it on holiday, but when I am on holiday I'm not looking for anything specific.

It is when you have decided you want to make clam chowder and where in God's name is the clam juice that the issue crops up. 

I agree!  I don't want to be unsympathetic to the issues people have, but I love foreign supermarkets!  And frankly, after living in Japan, anything looks normal.  Imagine when you not only aren't familiar with the products but also can't read the language!  It was a lot of trial and error, but now there is soo much I miss about Japanese food.  Then I moved to Prague, and had similar issues with language but at least more of the food looked familiar, and Czech Tesco isn't that different from a British one.  My first night in Prague I ate beans on toast  .  If you don't worry about making mistakes, then shopping abroad can be a lot of fun. 

The last time I was in the US, I over-bought like mad in the supermarket because I had forgotten about all the things that were available.  It was fun! 

Yes! That Czech Tesco was a huge life saver for me my semester in Prague. They had a reasonable "international" foods section and if I peeled off the Czech labels carefully, I could usually read the original ingredients and nutritional information in English. I'm a vegetarian so my biggest problem with foreign supermarkets is hidden meat (beef stock in vegetable soups and such) but cooking from scratch can help eliminate that. In England, at least I can read the labels just fine. I mean, sure, there are times when one really wants a pb&j sandwich but for basics like cereal, I'm happy to figure out a local substitute. It's not like I eat Coco Puffs or whatever even when I'm in the US.

I do get the frustration of needing/wanting something specific and not being able to get it. I guess that my "wander around the supermarket somewhat aimlessly when somewhere new" often comes in handy because I'll discover things in places I might not otherwise look or be able to remember I saw something somewhere if I need it later. (This actually comes in handy for me even with supermarkets in the US. Also, I've lived more of my adult life than not in NYC, so I'm used to the idea that the (usually tiny and often crappy) local grocery store might not have everything I need/want and that I might have to go elsewhere for certain things).

I'm trying not to be unsympathetic too, but... meltdowns and freak-outs?  Surely you guys are exaggerating this to make it humorous, right?!

One of the first times I went to the supermarket on my own in the UK, I was told to get 'orange squash'.  I spent ages wandering the produce section, looking for a squash-like vegetable that was orangey in colour.  I went home without it, only to be told that it's a drink... diluting juice!    Live and learn!

I can see being frustrated to the point of a meltdown in a supermarket but when that happens it's probably *not* about not being able to find a can of Libby's Pumpkin but it's likely about something else, that's manifesting itself in that moment. Being an expat is hard and it's hard to adjust and different things affect different people well, differently.

I'm trying not to be unsympathetic too, but... meltdowns and freak-outs?  Surely you guys are exaggerating this to make it humorous, right?!

One of the first times I went to the supermarket on my own in the UK, I was told to get 'orange squash'.  I spent ages wandering the produce section, looking for a squash-like vegetable that was orangey in colour.  I went home without it, only to be told that it's a drink... diluting juice!    Live and learn!

Remember it has little to do with actually being in the supermarket,  it's an outlet for homesickness, it's a little thing which you;ve done a 1000 times before that you think would be so familiar but actually it's different so it brings it all to the surface that you're not in Kansas anymore Toto.

Remember it has little to do with actually being in the supermarket,  it's an outlet for homesickness, it's a little thing which you;ve done a 1000 times before that you think would be so familiar but actually it's different so it brings it all to the surface that you're not in Kansas anymore Toto.

But we've all been "new" at some point and not all of us have reacted in the same way. So it's not unreasonable for someone to just not understand how a supermarket meltdown might occur!

I'm trying not to be unsympathetic too, but... meltdowns and freak-outs?  Surely you guys are exaggerating this to make it humorous, right?!

No not exaggerating and not trying to make it humorous. It's not the supermarket itself, but the fact that something that used to be second nature to you isn't anymore. It's beyond frustrating when you're trying to get the ingredients to cook a meal and you can't find half of them, so you abandon the search and decide to cook something else, but then you can't find the ingredients for that either. This coupled with the fact that everyone is in each other's way and there is someone always on your back who is waiting for you to pick up what you want and move, makes for an unpleasant and stressful experience.

I think you'll find if you do a search on these boards that getting upset in the grocery store is a very common experience. I'm feeling better about it these days though because DF who is the UK citizen doesn't seem to know know where things like Soy Sauce are either.  

I wouldn't classify my freakouts as meltdowns, but certainly moments of pure, unadulterated frustration that ultimately leads to me thinking things like, "Who would even do this?! How does putting that there make any logical sense?! Why put out 32 different kinds of salad cream when you could put the fracking white vinegar that I'm looking for there!! STUPID STUPID STUPID!! I hate everyone, I'm going home"

Or, in the case of the aforementioned yoghurt day in my previous post "I seriously can't even f&$ing deal with America right now, I'm going home." 

different things affect different people well, differently.

I suppose you're right!

There is so.freaking.much.of.EVERYTHING. 40 different kinds of cheese crackers. 4 billion types of cereal.

I noticed this last time I went to visit my parents.  Completely, stupidly ridiculous.

Why is it stupid?  There is a market for it, or they wouldn't be selling it. 

I hate the fact that every time I go to store here I find something that I like that is then pulled from the shelves about 2 months later because there isn't room or demand.  In the past 5 1/2 years it has happened about 25 times and I could probably list each product. 

Why put out 32 different kinds of salad cream when you could put the fracking white vinegar that I'm looking for there!!

Gosh how I miss all the varieties of salad cream salad dressing!!!  There are hardly any (one!) that I have found that I really like here - although more often than not, we'll just do oil & vinegar for simplicity/low cost.

Isn't your vinegar in its own vinegar section, with 32 or more varieties of it? 

And breakfast cereals & ZOMG so many amazing choices of crackers - my beloved Triscuits & Cheezits!!!  Here (ok & I know this is exaggerating but maybe there are examples?!) sometimes it seems/feels like you get a choice of only one, or maybe two - that's no choice!    (Except for digestive biscuits - which I hate - blech!)

I know it's overwhelming & I too have been overwhelmed when I go back sometimes, but usually I just stand there in complete awe of it all (sort of like that Simpsons moment, where the clouds part & the sun shines down on Homer & the heavenly music plays, that sort of thing!) - plus having all that amazing space that I just took for granted (at least the places that I lived), elbow room & all.  One Thanksgiving shortly after I moved over, I went back to see my family & SIL took me to Kohls (department store) on the eve before Thanksgiving & the great big barn of a store was all but empty - I nearly cried because there was just soooooo much space!