Some more thoughts about shopping.

I got really excited today (well, not that excited, but about as excited as I get when I shop) because they had frozen chicken breasts at the store. So, why is this a big deal? Well, I have this thing I cook over here. It is pretty easy, just chicken and rice. I put the rice in, then the water, and then the frozen chicken in on top. Put it in the oven at around 175 (C) and let it cook for a couple of hours. once the rice is done, the chicken is done, and then I mix in a vegitable sauce with the rice.

So, on to the issue of the frozen chicken breasts. If you notice in this picture, those arn't chicken breasts, they are legs, the whole leg. Two to a pack, which means I can get two servings of meat to a pack, so basically I can get two full meals out of one of these things. Now, today I found frozen chicken breasts at the corner store, three to a pack. That means that I can get three meals out of one of these chicken things.

>

So, how does that relate to my work here. Well, as I noted yesterday, there was an issue in the 70s over how people were choosing to shop. People were going to the main market (which happens to be right behind the main square) rather than shopping at their local stores. The reason was simple, the local stores are small. They have what they have. You had (and still don't have) any guarantee that they will have what you want on any given day. The two corner stores that I shop at are just that, corner stores. They don't practice "just in time" inventory. They get their stock in for the week, and when it sells out, it is gone. Last time I was here, they had a thing called a "Pik Burger" but not any more. No idea why, but they just don't have them. These corner stores are way down on the distribution chain.

So, people go to Dolac to shop because odds are, you can find what you want there. Dolac is just like an American mall, only for food. I'd always been amazed that a mall can support half a dozen shops all selling the same thing, and usually right across from each other. Dolac is the same way. There are at least 10 different butchers shops there. So, Dolac is about choice and about getting what you want when you want it. The opposite of village life.