Credit or Debit?

Anyone who knows Chicago knows that though it is a highly diverse city this diversity comes in the form of concentrated pockets around the city. There are places in Chicago where you can go and hear no English. It's kind of a cool thing, I don't have problems with it. I personally live in what used to be a predominately African-American neighborhood and it is now changing and becoming a more mixed neighborhood. It's great for me since intermixing means that the city gives more benefits and allows new business to grow. Gone are the days of having only liquor and corner stores! Head a little further south from my neighborhood and you run into a predominantly Mexican neighborhood. I go there a lot since they have the nearest grocery store (more on that in another blog) plus I'm a foodie and the store inspires me.

So I head to the grocery store because I'm in serious need of Szechuan sauce and yogurt. What fascinates me about this store is that a lot of Asians come there. I think it's because the store contains such a variety of products that you can't really get at the local Jewel or Dominick's. So it's check out time and I'm waiting behind a Chinese woman (yes I know she's Chinese because I heard her speak and I know she was speaking Mandarin!) and chatting with the woman behind me as we wait. The cashier is a Hispanic woman with a seriously thick accent and she's trying to talk to the Chinese woman who also has a seriously thick accent. Both women are trying to figure out how to use the credit/debit machine but they can't really communicate well because neither understands the other. After some struggle the friend of the customer takes notice that it's taking a while for her friend to complete her check out and comes to see what the problem is. She proceeds to explain how the machine works and the rest of the checkout process runs smoothly.

I was so amused by this interaction because it was so odd yet natural. I want to have some insightful political thought about what happened at the store. The truth is...I've seen it before. What happened between the two women didn't make me stop and think, really I just went on and paid for my stuff and went home. It wasn't remarkable but for some reason it stuck with me.

I said before that this grocery store inspires me and this trip was no exception. This particular one didn't inspire me to cook but it did inspire me to break my 9 month writers block. Really it was just what I needed.

-L