Funny China Memory

Last night, Kc went with me to go grocery shopping. It was a massive ordeal, seeing how we didn't have a single food item worth eating in our fridge. He pushed the cart ... and I filled it. Quite the team work.

We had ourselves a laughing fit at one point, in the aisle containing soups and sauces as I scoured the area for Lipton's Onion Soup. They were located right above the Ramen noodles. Kc remarked to me, "Remember in China ... when you'd go to the grocery store ... and there was an ENTIRE AISLE of Ramen noodles and here in the States you get 2 choices?"

I'd forgotten about that, and started laughing, which made him laugh, which made me laugh more, which almost made me pee my pants (which seems to happen frequently these days). :) The image of that huge aisle FULL of ramen noodles was just too much to handle. And, unless you've been there and seen all of the options of ramen noodles, it really isn't that funny.

But, you can pretend, right? Just picture seeing option after option after option of Ramen noodles?!?!? And not being able to determine what's in said Ramen noodles except for the itsy-bitsy picture on the front of the package. So, you'd go for the "green" one rather than the "red" -- I always figured "green" meant "less spicy" and red meant "spicier than you could possibly imagine". And then look for something that possibly resembled chicken as that was a pretty safe bet for strange ramen noodles.

It was funny and we had a good laugh, remembering the trials of grocery shopping in China. Kc decided to share in our amusement with a former team member and sent him this email:

Hey, Mark. When you go to Carrefour today, could you pick up a 24-pack of Ramen noodles for me? It's in the aisle full of ramen noodles, which, I believe is right next to the aisle full of flavored pringles and digestive crackers.
Thanks,
-Kc

And without missing a beat, Mark responded with this:

I can probably pick them up, but I'm not sure about the location. You know Carrefour - they insist on changing the layout of the food section about every other week. I'll see what I can find.

That's what I love about my team from China. We can still email each other these random memories and they know e.x.a.c.t.l.y. what you are talking about. And it's still funny.

Oh, the experiences from living in a foreign country ...

So, my dear team members who read my blog (all 4 of you) ... we are thinking of you today and remembering our fun times in Beijing. This post goes out to all of you. WE LOVE YOU!!!! :)