MoldovAnn

The funny thing this week was at the little store. We needed a few things at home, including toilet paper, which is something I’m very happy to take care of purchasing. I finally explained to Alyona that I have a spoiled, wimpy American butt, and I just can’t handle the sandpaper they call toilet paper around here. The “good stuff” is available, but of course more expensive, so I’ve taken responsibility for keeping the toilet paper in stock. This way, my sensitive tush is happy, and my family doesn’t have to foot the bill for my absurd luxury. Anyway, Tamara Ivanovna had shown me one time a little store in a place that really has no place being a store, and she said things are cheaper there (I later found out it is a wholesale store; Matt now calls it “CostCo). You would never find the place on your own, it’s totally unmarked, along the side of some building, set back from the street. But, people seem to know about it, as it has a steady stream of customers. You walk down a driveway, and enter a door into an empty room with cement floor and dim light. To the left are heavy double doors into the warehouse. To the right is the door into the “shop.” Inside are two tall bookshelves with items on display: 2-3 varieties of tea, boxes of candy and cookies, cans of olives, bottles of juice, packets of spices, toilet paper, soap, detergent, rice, pasta, flour, etc. A hodge podge of items, with one of each on display. Across from the shelves is a desk, where a woman sits and takes your order. She meticulously writes down what you ask for, the quantity, and price on a tablet, full of that day’s purchases. The “cash register” is the top desk drawer. She then goes across the hall, to the warehouse, and collects your items. Sometimes there is someone else working with her who gets the items while she writes them down and collects the money. This time it was just her, so every transaction took a long time as we waited for her to “shop” for each customer in the warehouse. Most people buy just a few items at a time, but nonetheless, it’s a time consuming process. You can also buy some items in bulk, by weight (a kilo of rice, for example, or 1/2 kilo of cookies), and this adds time to the transaction. So, today I “ordered” a pack of toilet paper and a bar of soap. She wrote it down, tallied it up, went to get it all, and came back to collect my money. 12 lei 75 bann; I handed her a 20. She fumbled in the drawer but couldn’t find any coins, so my change was 7 lei and 2 boxes of matches! You gotta love a system like that.

By the way, the matches are totally useful. The stoves and ovens don’t have pilot lights, so every time you want to cook, you have to light the burner with a match. Many people also light the water heater before each use, rather than leaving it on all the time, and that also requires a regular supply of matches.