• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Crushing Krisis

The Newest Oldest Blog In New Zealand

  • Archive
  • DC Guides
    • DC New 52
    • DC Events
    • DC Rebirth
    • Batman Guide
  • Marvel Guides
    • Omnibus & Oversize Hardcover DB
    • Marvel Events
  • Star Wars Guide
    • Expanded Universe Comics (2015 – present)
    • Legends Comics (1977 – 2014)
  • Valiant Guides
  • Contact!

shopping

ripping off the culture shock band-aid (of groceries)

August 23, 2017 by krisis

As I stood in front of a shelf full of unfamiliar jars of pasta sauce, I thought to myself, “What have you done?”

#

That the store we chose was named “New World” was not lost on me, because even after 24 hours of travel I can detect thematic content that has the subtlety of a sledgehammer.

People have been asking me, “So, New Zealand – are you excited?” for a couple of months now. It’s gotten to the point where my answers have become rote, though still entirely genuine. I talk about weather, schools, wind, and driving on the wrong side of the road.

After all, Wellington wasn’t going to be so different from Philadelphia. It was another major city with cars and people and houses. I kept that comforting thought fixed in my mind. Even as we traipsed through airports, customs, and wrestling our rental car, the pure weight of our move hadn’t really struck me.

Not like it did in the grocery store.

In that moment standing in front of the pasta sauce, I like to think that I was transmitting a very specific, very serious distress signal that Douglas Adams described so well in the first chapter of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

This signal simply communicates an exact and almost pathetic sense of how far that being is from the place of his birth. On Earth it is never possible to be further than sixteen thousand miles from your birthplace, which really isn’t very far, so such signals are too minute to be noticed. Ford Prefect was at this moment under great stress, and he was born 600 light years away in the near vicinity of Betelgeuse.

In fact, I am a mere eight thousand, eight hundred, and eighty-two miles from my birthplace. Maybe that’s why no one caught on to my signal. As distressing as it was to me, it was far too minute for anyone else to notice. [Read more…] about ripping off the culture shock band-aid (of groceries)

Filed Under: thoughts Tagged With: brands, expat, groceries, New Zealand, shopping

Primary Sidebar


Support Crushing Krisis on Patreon
Support CK
on Patreon


Follow me on Twitter Contact me Watch me on Youtube Subscribe to the CK RSS Feed

About CK

About Crushing Krisis
About My Music
About Your Author
Blog Archive
Comics Blogs Only
Contact Krisis
Terms & Conditions

Crushing Comics

Marvel Comics

Marvel Events Guide

Marvel Omnibus Guide

Spider-Man Guide

DC Comics

  • Thunderstrike, Eric Masterson & Kevin Masterson – Definitive Collecting Guide & Reading Order
    The definitive issue-by-issue collecting guide and […]
  • Beta Ray Bill – Definitive Collecting Guide and Reading Order
    The definitive issue-by-issue collecting guide and […]
  • New For Patrons: Guide to Thunderstrike, Eric Masterson
    As I built my Thunderstrike Guide I was struck by how the 7yr comics run of Eric Masterson is one of the best examples of the Marvel Universe. […]
  • New For Patrons: Guide to Beta Ray Bill
    Creating my Beta Ray Bill Guide answered all my big questions, chief among them being: why is he a walking horse-person dressed like Thor? […]
  • Drag Race France Season 1 Episode 1 – Bonjour, Bonjour, Bonjour: Review & Power Ranking
    Where do the Drag Race France power rankings stand after a debut episode all about getting to know these 10 French queens and their talents? […]
  • D&D 5e-Compatible Kickstarter Round-Up: Adventuring With Pride, Herbarium, Servants of the Lich King, & more!
    A critical look at every D&D 5e-compatible Kickstart project closing by July 4 based on its sales pitch, pledge levels, and in-game offerings. […]
  • Shanice - I Love Your Smile single coverMusic Monday: “I Love Your Smile” by Shanice
    "I Love Your Smile" is a perfect encapsulation of the pure, twinkling, late-80s R&B birthed by Janet Jackson with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. […]
  • Marvel’s Angela – Definitive Collecting Guide & Reading Order
    The definitive issue-by-issue comic book collecting […]
  • Marvel’s Valkyrie – Definitive Collecting Guide & Reading Order
    The definitive issue-by-issue comic book collecting […]
  • on new (old) holidays
    On Friday I got to experience something for the first time I can recall: celebrating a new public holiday for the first time. […]

Layout copyright © 2017 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress

Links from Crushing Krisis to retailer websites may be in the form of affiliate links. If you purchase through an affiliate link I will receive a minor credit as your referrer. My credit does not affect your purchase price. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to: Amazon Services LLC Associates Program (in the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain), eBay Partner Network, and iTunes Affiliate Program.