Yesterday, I got tapped to do the monthly store run to
Ankara, which has a commissary. Oh, man, it was fabulous.
We have a little association that runs a store of American
foods, like mint Oreos, Tabasco sauce, Hidden Valley salad dressing and so on.
There’s cereal, bacon, wine and stuff, too. Honestly, I don’t go into it
because for the most part, I’m fine with the local economy. I can get Oreos
(though not mint) I brought Tabasco with me and I am a naked salad person
anyway. The prices in our little store in Istanbul are incredibly marked up,
too, so to me, an Oreo is an Oreo. I can go local. (Actually, I haven’t bought
Oreos here because here exists this fabulous Turkish cookie that is basically a
round Twix bar, which is the bomb. But I digress.)
Once a month, our little store restocks from the commissary
that’s on the military base in Ankara. As an employee in Mission Turkey, I have
the right to go down there at any time, but it’s five hours away. That’s a long
way to go for a few items if you’re just you. If you’re shopping for the store,
though, it’s a great time to do your own.
I had no idea what it was like, but it was basically your
regular American grocery store. Our store manager put in the bulk order before,
so it was already crated but I have a few orders for other people I needed to
track down, so I got to do my own shopping while I was at it.
In Istanbul, I don’t buy many groceries at the store. I
basically get chips, cookies, milk (in a box) and juice, then, when I need to
reload on rice, pasta, sugar or flour, that. But the veggies come from the
street market and I have a ton of spices already. Essentially, I don’t dwell in
the grocery stores.
But I dwelled in this one. They had stuff I can’t get in
Istanbul, like Breyer’s mint chocolate chip ice cream. That is the absolute
best ice cream ever and I was so happy for it. I got a half-gallon, or liter,
or whatever it is they come in. I got root beer, something that is truly
American. I’ve had A&W in Jakarta and that’s the real thing, but something
I had called “root beer” in Jerusalem was awful. American root beer is the real
deal and I got a 12-pack of it, plus a single one for the road home.
Someone gifted me a cake mix awhile ago and I was going to
make it for the Marines, so I bought some Betty Crocker icing. (I love my
Marines, but I’m not using my powdered sugar for their icing!) Also got some
Nestle Quik, which I realize now I can get locally but whatever, and some hot
chocolate mix. And Cheetoes, which are fabulous. There are also Cheetoes in
Istanbul, but there were also Cheetoes in Guangzhou and those were not only not
the same but were awful, therefore I have been scared to try the Istanbul ones.
And WintOGreen Lifesavers and Whoppers! (Both those were kind of stale, but an
awesome kind of stale.)
They also had some good-to-know stuff: alfredo sauce, moon
pies, grits. I don’t need any of that now, but knowing I can get some in the
future is good.
And there will be a future. I now on the board of the association
that runs the store, and I’m the one in charge of the monthly runs. I don’t
necessarily have to go, but I have to find someone to do it. The runner and the
driver get $150 each for the day, so it’s not bad, really. It is a 12-hour day,
though. We left at 5 a.m., a crime in itself, and it was wet and snowy. Quite a
long day, but when you’re throwing back Barq’s root beer and eating WintOgreen
LifeSavers on the ride home, it’s not bad.
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