Leche

As the saying goes ¨There´s no use crying over spilled milk¨. Well what do you do if it happens twice in one day?

One of the interesting things about Argentina is the way they package their foods. In the US we buy our ketchup and mustard in bottles, mayo in jars, laundry detergent and milk in jugs. Here EVERYTHING is in bags. I suppose it is because people simply buy the jar/jug/bottle once and then simply refill it once it runs out. It´s cheaper and it does reduce the amount of space needed for garbage (space being another topic I will elaborate on sometime in the future).

Milk as it turns out is sold in three packages here: jug (1qt sized), box or bag. The cheapest way to buy milk is in the bag. (If you are unsure as to why I buy milk in the bags please read the entry below). Needless to say yesterday when I was at Carrefour (the French Wal-mart) I placed my bags of milk in my shopping basket (although not quite as secure as I should have) and proceeded to the check-out. About 10 steps later one of the bags of milk fell out of my basket and EXPLODED (like a water balloon) all over the floor. I was full of vergüenza (embarassment) becuase this happened right in front of the check-out lanes. That was spilled milk situation #1.

So you get your bag milk home and decide you want a glass. You cut a small part of the corner off and CAREFULLY pour it into a glass. If you are smart, you have a pitcher or some other container to pour the rest of the milk in and return it to the fridge. If you are me, your house has nothing of the sort, you don´t feel like making an investment in a pitcher and delicately place the milk the side door of the fridge, propping it ever so carefully as to prevent it from leaking everywhere. But alas, you come to notice later that the fridge door has been shut perhaps a bit too violently by either you, a roommate or a guest (not accustomed to such a novelty as bag milk) and it has, despite your best efforts, still proceeded to spill all over the floor. This was spilled milk situation #2 yesterday.

I did not proceed to get upset over all of my spilled milk. I just found it amusing that yesterday was obviously not meant for me and my milk.