A Holiday from my Holiday Life

Getting out of the country would have been optimal, but the lack of a travel companion and a body in dire need of rest were driving forces to make me stick around – which came with no regrets. The 5 days I had off were occupied with all the wonderful things that make my time here so wonderful: drinking, beaching, boardgaming, bowling, eating, and countless hours of shopping…

Shopping for me has always been a sort of therapy. Yes, I am a victim of consumerism, but having new “things” always brightens my day. Lucky for me, (unlucky for my bank account) shopping is easy to do here, and I certainly do a lot of it. But, in this country, it comes with a new set of quirks and adjustments for a westerner like myself. (beyond the facts that you can’t try on shirts, most clothes are one generic size small, and shoes for my foot size are a rarity) Take for example the shopping process itself… Upon entering a shop, employees hover around the shopper, often mere inches away, staring, waiting, intimidating. If I take one step forward, they take one step back.. and so we dance throughout my entire time in the store. I’ve left a few stores simply because I couldn’t handle the pressure, and sometimes I feel like it really impedes on my shopping. But that’s just one of those differences I have to accept living here, even if I don’t understand it. And then again it really hasn’t been that harmful given the expansion of my wardrobe over the past 5 months!