Wednesday, January 17, 2007

US vs. PNG - Produce

Wow! I wish I could keep track of all the things that are so different from one country to another. I was grocery shopping with my mom this afternoon and stood in awe of the produce section. Everything was so clean from the floor to the fruit, and the shelves to the vegetables. Items were stacked neatly, with clear pricing and even a bit of spray at times coming from hidden locations.

It isn't that we don't get good produce in the highlands of PNG but more on how it is presented. In Goroka we buy lovely lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, pineapples, avocados, broccoli, strawberries, and so much more for very reasonable prices, cheap actually. However these items are strewn about on plastic in the muddy ground of the "market". The fruit and vegetables are rinsed with contaminated water from the typhoid infested river near by so that they have a nice, shinny look. This is to appeal to us and encourage us to buy them. Well once you bleach the fruits and veggies at home then they seem very much like the ones you get in your local supermarket.

1 comment:

carol said...

I'm just back from the grocery store. I was dragging my feet and not wanting to go - it seems a very dull chore. Well, with the four kids along, dull might not be the word - but I don't like grocery shopping. Reading your post made me think I maybe shouldn't be quite so grumpy about Fred Meyer - I suppose it's actually a pretty easy way to get food. Sure would like to taste some PNG fruit, though. I bet it's pretty great - sounds especially good in January when the only fresh fruits we have in the house are apples and a lemon.