The mall was very much like an American mall, except it was only one floor. In fact, it had a Footlocker, Sephora, Old Navy, Calvin Klein, Pandora, H&M, and Timberland. They love Timberlands here. Seriously, if you want to make some dough while traveling, fill your suitcase with Levi 501s and Timberlands bought in American and sell them here, you'll make a killing. Besides those stores there were some more clothing stores,a purse store, some jewlery stores, a furniture/deco store, a store for kitchen appliances, and a couple food joints.
Oh and lingerie stores. There are tons here. I don't know about other parts of America but at least where I live all lingerie stores are these tiny little stores hidden in a run-down strip with overly sexual names, neon signs galore, and purple or red sheer curtains. The mannequins in the front have boas wrapped around their necks. The kind of place that makes you feel like you shouldn't talk about the fact you went there. That's not the case here. Lingerie not only have their own stores (that looks just like any other store and you feel comfortable walking in), they are also found everywhere from the mall to the high-end strip on the street.
So after we walked around the mall for a bit, we went into the supermarket. The supermarket was the real reason for the visit, as it has things our local grocery store just doesn't carry. I was astounded by the size. Considering most stores are the size of an American convenience store, I was taken aback when I entered something as large as a Walmart! And a Walmart is exactly what I would compare it to, except less furniture and more fresh produce. And much more disorderly. You know how you can walk into any Walmart, Target, or large supermarket and generally know where everything is? There's a over-the-counter drug section, bath and beauty, home and office, entertainment, fresh produce, bagged dry goods, canned dry goods, you get the idea. The items practically flow in a sensible order from one row to the next, with signs saying what is in each isle.
In this supermarket, not so much. It's like they pulled items out of a hat when determining what isles would have what in them. "Okay, this aisle will be . . ." and the manager rustles his hand around inside a top hat "bouillon cubes and . . . spices and . . . mops! Okay, next!" We spent a long time in there and I couldn't find everything I needed, but I did manage to get a few things on my list that our local grocery store didn't have.
Speaking of mops! There is no such thing as a sponge-head mop here. In the four stores we've gone so far, not a one has been found. They use rag mops or flat mops that kind of look like a Swiffer dust mop, with no built in wringer. The bucket will have either a round wringer for a rag mop or a slot type press for a flat mop. I loved having a wringer on my mop, to me it's so easy and then you don't have to clean all the grit out of the wringer in the bucket.
I can't wait to vacuum and mop! Since we've gotten our stuff, I haven't been able to vacuum, there are just too many boxes. If you know how furry our dog is, you can imagine what our apartment looks like right now. I think I mentioned before that our apartment doesn't have closets, which means we have to buy wardrobes which we haven't done yet. We also need a few bookcases. So all the boxes with our clothes, books, movies, and video games are still lying about taking up space. Between my love of books and our love of video games and the fact that we knew clothing in France is ridiculously expensive so we bought a bunch ahead of time, that's a lot of boxes. I just can't find a bookcase I like! I want a wooden book case and the French do not like wooden furniture. I don't know why, they just don't. So it's either cheap particle board that would collapse under the weight of three textbooks, or made well but super expensive because it's so rare they can charge more. I need to make a decision soon, or I will drown in dog fur.
Tomorrow is my first tutoring appointment with my second tutor. It sounds weird, so let me explain. I have one tutor on Mondays and another on Thursdays. Since I've been so sick, I've only seen the Monday tutor so far. Hopefully this one is better, because so far I don't like my Monday tutor. Wish me well, I have to take the tram!