Lost in the potato chip aisle. | Photo by Don Buciak, Flickr

It never happens to me, but it did happen. Pushed by an urge for some fat, I decided to brave the storm and walk to a supermarket. That also never happens to me, as I tend to prefer neighborhood-based businesses; however, this time the supermarket was closer and, as already mentioned, it was raining.

Basically, I enter into this supermarket looking for chips. Anybody who has come from Europe and visited their first Canadian supermarket will know what I’m talking about: culture shock.

To start, the word “super” does little justice to the size of these places. The word “ultra” would be more appropriate. One must certainly be willing to sacrifice some time to shop, particularly if they don’t know how the North Americans organize the sections. Why is the baby products aisle beside the one for aperitif cookies? No idea, and certainly no time to think about it. I’m hungry.

I head inside, starting with the fruit and vegetable section. My first shock is that as far as the eye can see are mountains of brilliant, unblemished fruit sorted by colour and available pre-cut. Stupefied, I approach them silently.

How could these be real? How does one have such perfect fruit? I’m almost tempted to buy, but decide to wait. Where on earth are the chips?

Now I find myself in the dairy products aisle. Never mind the price of the cheeses…I’d rather not. Again, I am at a loss to understand the place’s layout.Why is the cheese so far from the yogurt and the butter not with the milk? And, where have they even put the milk?

So there it is. I see it. Let’s pass, if you don’t mind, the pastries section. I didn’t come for that…but have you seen those cinnamon buns, those oven-fresh donuts, those nut tarts, or those blueberry ones? No, no. I have to keep moving. And besides, here’s my aisle – chips!

Two adventurous flavours of chips. | Photo by smaku, Flickr

I’m just going to say that in twenty-five years I have never seen a comparable chip section. It is nothing short of a two-way chip boulevard to indecision. Here you can find chips that are flat, or curved, or spoon-shaped for catching salsa, or gluten-free. You can find “healthy” chips without saturated fat, or chips in flavours capturing the sense of “yolo,” such as “chicken, cheese, and chipotle sauce.”

I was quite famished after my attack on the ultra-market. My brain was enticed by all, but I ultimately decided on the most outrageous flavour that I could find – sour cream and bacon. I’m pretty sure that just seeing the picture of them will make you gain a couple of pounds. Suffice it to say I was satisfied to end my adventure, return home while eating handfuls of chips, and smiling euphorically.

So here I am writing about my quest for chips. It really reveals the wonders I have experienced every day since arriving here in July. There is nothing more ordinary than shopping, but in a new country, even shopping becomes an adventure, a discovery, and another way to lose oneself. I could write about almost anything, since almost everything is new for me – from language to ways of saying hello, todressing styles andways of eating. So that is what I do. I write.

Translation Chris Heron