A slice of Life in Yaounde - I

They say that all politics is local. And I think that how you experience a new country comes down to your neighborhood and the things that happen to be around you - like grocery stores.

In the country I just moved from, all the good grocery stores were way on the other side of town. Then about 6 years ago, they built a big one a few kilometers away and then finally someone opened one just 2 blocks down the street  - fondly known as the "Yellow store" until they put up a sign with a name no one could pronounce. The new store didn't have much at first but expanded and eventually had a small meat counter and cheese and most everything I ever needed. Most of the workers were from the people group I had worked with and so they loved to try and talk to me in that language. I could be in and out in a short time and usually felt good about the experience.

When I moved to Cameroon, I was happy to find a supermarket about 2 km away.  It is quite a bit bigger than the "Yellow Store" but I always leave feeling frustrated.

It is close enough that I can get there in a matter of minutes. I walk a block out to the paved road and then catch one of the yellow taxis that streams past. It is hard to get a taxi to other places but this store is close enough that any taxi going by in that direction HAS to go past it. If there is room, then I squeeze in next to 2 others in the back seat or in the front seat. We each pay 100 CFA (20 cents) to go anywhere in the direction he is going. In less than 5 minutes, the taxi has puttered up the second big hill and I get out near the store.
Once I opted to get out a bit earlier because the pickup truck in front of us was overloaded with bananas and apparently had bad brakes. As we inched up the hill, there was a teen running along placing a big rock behind the truck's back tire each time it advanced a ways up the hill and stopped. I decided I'd rather NOT stay sitting behind that truck any longer than I had to and so got out sooner and walked the rest of the way up the hill. 

This particular grocery store is considerably busier than the Yellow Store. It has better selection, and generally better prices. In the 2 months since I first frequented the store, they have even opened up the 2nd floor with housewares and toiletries. Herein lies the first frustration. Anything you buy upstairs needs to be paid for upstairs and put back into your cart - not in a sack, just kept aside and you'd better not lose the receipt. Occasionally they will let you take the stuff downstairs to buy there. But the second time I tried that they told me I had to buy it upstairs to save me time at the cash register downstairs. (Not sure how that works).

The other weird thing upstairs is that the shampoo and deodorant is back behind a counter that you can't get to. You have to wait for someone to come and then you tell them which of the 50 shampoos you want from 8 feet away. No chance of looking at them to figure out if you need one for dry hair or with cherry extract that smells like the rainforest. Or even to compare prices.  I can not figure out WHY these items are singled out for this extra protection, but I have seen this in other Cameroonian grocery stores. It's not like these items are any pricier than the toothpaste and bar soap which are freely accessible meters away.

Back downstairs, I fill my cart and make my way to the deli area. This is my major complaint. This store has everything I need except fresh meat or cheese, which means I have to go 30 minutes away to their competitors just to get cheese.

Okay, they do have 2 kinds of cheese but buying it is a nightmare experience. They have it marked to sell at 400 CFA (80 cents) per 50 grams. You MUST buy it in 50 gram quantities. That's 1/20 of a kilo or1.8 ounces. Just enough for 2 crackers .
I tell the lady I want 300 grams. She is unable to comprehend that request and begins slicing off bits roughly 50 grams in size. I end up with 6 very irregular slices of cheese. These are wrapped up in wax paper and put in a plastic bag and for some reason unknown to me, put in a little wicker basket that I must take to the checkout. On my second attempt at cheese buying, I insisted the man cut off a piece "this thick" rather than slices that would each go moldy in my fridge. He managed to get one slice was 160 grams and another that was 130 and then he had to add a little bit to make it 300 grams. (They have proper digital scales that could be programed to do the math for 290 grams of cheese but that would be too much like any cheese-buying experience anywhere else).

Now we proceed to checkout. Most stores have a little shelving area near the checkout with candy and other impulse purchase items. However, they have decided to just stack all of this ON the counter where you would normally put your groceries as you wait. Consequently, there is no real space for the cashier to work. Nevertheless, you have to take everything out of your basket because it is needed it at the foot of the counter for you to put everything back into. Make sure to keep aside the things you bought upstairs so you don't pay for them twice. The cashier gives you your receipt. BUT YOU ARE NOT FINISHED.

You walk ten feet to the second counter near the door. Sometimes someone even carries your basket for you. For reasons unknown to me, they take everything out of your basket and check it meticulously against your receipt(s). I'm not sure how you are supposed to have stolen anything in the walk between the first and the second counter. 
I guess the receipt check is to prevent shoplifting sneaky cashiers or maybe people trying to do a switcheroo with the shampoo. But surely employing three extra people takes away from the money that might have been saved.

Once you have your things paid for and taped up inside of cardboard box, you could go home - unless you want bread, in which case you circle back around through the second entrance to an area near the deli. I have to say there is an impressive selection of bread and also patisseries at Santa Lucia. But PLEASE do not try to buy a croissant from the people selling baguettes. That is why there are three metal railings to separate the bread buyers from the patisserie shoppers, even though everything is back behind the same counter. Everything that is JUST bread is paid for at the bread counter.  They have no cash register but make change.
On the other side of the railing, you have the patisseries: croissants, nems, pizzas, pain au chocolat, meat pies, cookies. These you order and someone puts them in a sack and you walk around to the patisserie register and pay there.

Free at last, you walk outside, having potentially paid at 4 different counters. You then walk around the corner and across a stream of taxis to the ones going back down the hill to "Tropicana" which is the name of our quartier.
I find the process exhausting, even though there are items I can get much easier here than at the smaller "Yellow Store".

I should add here that not everything is frustrating in Cameroon. I'll try to share some of the good things, too!