Page 3
7/5/2023
Shopping tip:
After my breakfast of bột yến mạch (oatmeal) and cà phê đen (black coffee), I decided to beat the heat and walk the five-minutes to the BRG Mart (my local grocery store). Having carefully planned my departure to coincide with the 0900 opening time, I hydrated and set off. After carefully negotiating the traffic, and walking slowly in the shade at every opportunity, I arrived safely at the BRG around 0905-ish. Despite my best efforts to stay cool, however, I entered the BRG overheated. By the way, I have learned it's beneficial to carry a small microfibre cloth to dab away at beads of sweat that glisten on the ol' forehead. Although the BRG is air conditioned, the ambient temperature is around the standard 80-85 degrees F. If you are a foreigner who has yet to acclimate (yay…pick me), this my friends, does little to cool you down. So here's the shopping tip: Whenever you can, buy some kind of fruit that is kept in the cooler section and some item from the freezer section. I recommend oranges (fruit section) and a piece of fish (freezer section). The secret is to avoid the temptation to pick up the hand-held shopping basket at the front door when you enter. You'll want to carry everything you need in your arms. First, go get two oranges. While cradling them in you arm, hook your hand palm up so the first cold orange rolls down and becomes nestled against the veins/arteries in your wrist. Next, go to the freezer, get the fish, and clamp it between your other wrist and stomach as you walk around deciding what else to buy. Within a few minutes, you actually begin to appreciate the AC. But alas, all good things must come to an end, so, you pay and go along your merry way. Now it's a race against time. You have to make it back home before your frozen item thaws out too much.
p.2, p.2 photos, p4