I've kind of become a doomsday prepper/ hoarder. It's not extreme enough to do a reality show about me. It's pretty subtle, but I am. When I first stepped foot in the Winn Dixie after our move to Florida, I wanted to buy 10 of everything. Danny's birthday is in 6 months, I better get a cake mix and icing. Oh no, we lost one of Benji's pacifiers that we got in America I better get 5 more just in case....Oh, wait...
From my time in Korea and research from various online sources, I knew what China would and would not have available. Some items that are not readily available: tampons and stick deodorant. There are other things, that I can't quite recall. And there are some things that probably are there, but I have no idea where to even look. To save myself the frustration of trying to find specific items, I packed them on our initial journey over. And to this day, this is the list of stuff I would recommend anyone (mostly the ladies) to take to Asia.
- stick deodorant
- tampons
- over the counter meds (not that China doesn't have their own, but the last thing you want to do when you have a cold is try to figure out where to go and what to say to get some equivalent of Dayquil)
- make-up (most women know what they like and what's the point on going on a wild goose chase if you can shove an extra mascara in your bag. And also, American brands are EXPENSIVE in Asia, more on that later...)
- favorite spices, hot sauces, small cooking ingredients that will last (just having Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning made a world of difference on my breakfast eggs)
- an unlocked smartphone (I didn't bring this, and had a heck of a time with a jailbroken iPhone)
I became an expert at packing.
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| Our way back to Shanghai last summer. I think only one suitcase has our clothes! |
Anyone who has actually lived in China (especially Shanghai) knows that you can get anything you want on Taobao, the online marketplace. In the past we've bought all kinds of stuff from pancake syrup to fake ugg boots. I have a friend who actually bought a plecostomus fish for her aquarium! For imported food and goods though, you're going to pay a lot online or in a store (2-5 times what it costs in the States). Near our home in Xujiahui was an import grocery store called City Shop (locations all over the city). It was there you could get most Western comfort foods. They have a deli, bakery, and all the American, European, Asian pantry items you could want. It was the most cost effective to hand carry these items from the States. My first trip back, I was pregnant so I had one bag loaded up with baby stuff. Then I just filled the rest with food: brownie mix, spices, cereal, coffee, baking ingredients, granola bars, Velveeta cheese, you know, stuff that I could ration until my next trip.
This stocking up mentality is just starting to go away. Yeah, I don't need 12 boxes of cereal. Put 11 of them back, Brittany!
I'm also having to adjust my thinking about our little trip up north. They have Costco and Target in Florida, Brittany. You don't need 200 granola bars. Chill out. All I need to do is enjoy regional delicacies like Imo's Pizza and keemao noodles from the Thai House. Oh, and savor all the time with my dearest family and friends, duh.
Another pretty exciting thing about tomorrow's trip: I don't have to do my standard emergency readiness prep for a 14 hour flight across the world and 12 time zones with two babies. Instead, I've got a 3ish hour direct flight with only a one hour time change. I really can't imagine anything easier.
It's so good to be in America. Seriously, there's no place like home.
