Episode 109 • At the Store
Produce
Grocery shopping
Poultry
Dairy
The checkout
Story
Wife: I can’t believe you finally got the house. [Phone rings] Oh, sorry, it’s my husband. Hello?
Husband: Sorry to bother you. I know you’re with Carla. It’s just, I am almost done shopping, but I- I can’t find the garlic. I looked all over the place.
Wife: It’s in the produce section, honey, with all the fruit and vegetables.
Husband: Oh, got it. Oh, yeah, I think I see it now.
Wife: Sorry about that. That was my husband. I asked him to go grocery shopping. He never goes so he’s a bit lost. Anyway, you were saying that- [Phone rings] Hello?
Husband: Hey honey! Uhm, so here on the list, it says chicken. But I can only see beef.
Wife: It’s in the poultry section. Look to your left. See it?
Husband: Oh yeah! Awesome! Thanks, bye!
Wife: I mean how hard can it be? Seriously… he’s got the list. So you were telling me about the house-
Friend: Yes so, we bought it a few weeks ago and Ethan was- [Phone rings]
Wife: What?
Husband: Hey sweetie. It’s me again! So I’m in the dairy section, but I can’t find the yogurt I like.
Wife: That’s because they don’t sell it there. I buy it somewhere else. I’ll get you some this week.
Husband: Oh, gotcha. Okay.
Wife: Unbelie- [Phone rings]
Husband: Sorry! Ha, ha, ha. I think they ran out of cinnamon.
Wife: What aisle are you in?
Husband: Uh 10? Where they keep all the flour and stuff.
Wife: Alright, turn the corner. Look up.
Husband: Ah! There it is! Thanks, babe! Alright I’m gonna go pay for all this stuff then.
Wife: Okay. I’ll see you later. Okay. I think we’re going to be fine now. He’s done shopping so there’s nothing else that could go wrong. [Phone rings] Okay this is just getting ridiculous. What could you possibly-?
Husband: Honey, I’m here at the checkout and… I just realized I forgot my wallet at home. Could you come by real quick?
Questions
Just so you know, I am aware that this is a stereotype where the husband goes to the store, he doesn't know where things are, but I just thought it was a good story. Anyway, let's talk about today's vocabulary.
Produce
'It's in the produce section, honey…'
• What do you mean by produce? Fruit and vegetables or snacks and cereal?
When you're talking about produce you mean fruit and vegetables. Really, all the foods and other things that have been grown or produced on a farm to be sold.
• Does the store you go to have a nice selection of fresh produce?
Not really. I go to a store-- I live right above it, so it's really convenient for me. That's why I go there. It's called Mercadona, and it's one of the most popular ones here in Spain, but I got to say, the stuff is really cheap, also because it's Spain, but they don't have a great selection of fresh produce. It's a little bit of a bummer, but when I want to find something special, I know that I can go to a bunch of other stores and find what I like.
• When do you go to the produce section? As soon as you get to the store or before leaving it?
I think in most stores, the produce section is placed, it's located either at the beginning of the store or at the end, to the other side of the store. You usually go either at the beginning or at the end. Usually, I like to go to the produce section as soon as I get to the store because I find that's really the most complicated part. It's not complicated. No, but you got to decide what fruit you want, what vegetables you want. You got to pick the right ones. That's a little bit more complicated than buying cereal, say. The thing about Mercadona, at least the one that I go to, is the produce section is right in the middle. I usually just go right in the middle of my shopping. That's when I go to the produce section.
Grocery shopping
'I asked him to go grocery shopping.'
• If you go grocery shopping, what will you buy? Food or furniture?
If you go grocery shopping, you will buy food because groceries are food.
• What’s the name of the grocery store you go to the most often?
Well, I've already told you it's Mercadona. Again, it's not really a choice, it's not my favorite, but it's the closest one. Literally it takes me two minutes to get there. I'm super thankful for it, because I realize that I ran out of eggs, well, you just take the elevator and a couple of minutes later you're in the store shopping, but, yes, not my favorite chain.
• How often do you go grocery shopping?
Well, first of all, let me just say that I love grocery shopping. I don't know why. My boyfriend thinks that's really weird cause he hates shopping. I find it really relaxing. Well, except maybe for the produce section part. No, I'm kidding. Well, usually, I go once a week. If it's necessary, because the grocery store is so close, I'll just go really whenever I need something. It might be every other day sometimes.
Poultry
'It's in the poultry section.'
• What is considered poultry? Chicken or turkey?
Both. When you are talking about poultry, you're talking about the meat from farm birds. Things like chicken, turkey, geese, these types of things.
• What do you like to buy from the poultry section at your store?
I don't buy a lot from the poultry section or from the meat section in general. My boyfriend and I have been trying to cut down on meat. Sometimes we skip it altogether. I guess maybe, I don't know, like chicken thighs. I'm not really good at cooking chicken. That's the thing you guys. If you're not good at cooking chicken, chicken tastes horrible. It's just the consistency. If you don't get it right is horrible. Maybe that's why I don't eat it.
Dairy
'So I’m in the dairy section, but I can't find the yogurt I like.'
• What products are considered dairy? Products made from milk or products containing sugar?
If you are talking about dairy products, you are talking about products that are made from milk.
• Name some dairy products.
Well, you got obviously milk. You got cheese or yogurt. Anything that contains milk.
• Do you consume a lot of dairy products?
I'm Italian, so obviously, I'm a huge fan of cheese. I think, all in all, not as much as I used to just because I had some issues with my cholesterol level, so I'm trying to cut down on dairy, but if I could eat dairy every day for every single meal, I would, to be honest with you.
The checkout
'Honey, I’m here at the checkout and…'
• What are you supposed to do when you’re at the checkout? Pay for your food or steal it?
When you're at the checkout, you should pay for your food, obviously. The checkout is the place where you put all your food on the belt and then you pay for it.
• Do you get nervous when you’re waiting at the checkout?
I always get super nervous when I'm waiting at the checkout. I feel like there are so many things that are outside of my control like how fast is the line moving? Is the person before me already put their stuff on the belt? Am I going to have enough time to put everything on the belt without the person behind me getting angry? Am I by myself? Am I going to have time to bag all of my groceries and pay at the same time? I don't like to keep people waiting, so it just stresses me out. That moment stresses me out. When I'm by myself and I know that I have to do-- you have to do a lot of things when you're by yourself at the store because you have to put the food on the belt, you have to bag it. If you got a cart, you got to move it out of the way. You got to pay. You got to figure out if you have enough bags. I know. I know. That's a lot of stress. Yes, I definitely get nervous when I'm at the checkout.
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