Why Walmart Always Wins

I grew up in suburbia. Although it was not Main Street America it did have everything I needed within shouting distance. There is the pharmacy where we picked up candy on our way home from school. There is the local market perfect for picking up the last minute items for dinner or my favorite chicken salad.

In the 20 years my parents and I lived in Bethlehem progress made it its way in, slowly but surely. Now the main street is choked with traffic, and the surrounding neighborhood overflowing with transplants from the city. Big box stores and chain restaurants have popped up along what used to be an endless stretch of cornfields.

My parents, my friends and I continue to support small businesses: our favorite restaurant, the local farm. But no matter how hard we try, we cannot stay away from the big box stores.

In Bethlehem, the big box stores were an option. In Charleston, they are a necessity. In this town of 21,000 there are not many options. Walmart is king. No matter how far I drive, or how many stores I visit, I always find myself back at the big W.

courtesy of walmartmovie.com

Emails have been circulating about how we, as Americans, need to purchase items made in United States, forever preserving jobs, pride and our place as the #1 superpower. If you have tried even once to find something that says Made in USA, you know how difficult this can be. At the end of the day, especially in these economic times, we find ourselves reaching for whatever is the cheapest and that usually comes from China.

Curtains, sheets, area rug. Drying rack, end table, garbage can. It is amazing to be so thrilled and so defeated at the same time. What a great deal! What a shame. But in a town like this, that’s all there is.

Stores like Walmart thrive on college communities and areas that boast a lower socioeconomic status. Some diehards refuse to shop there based on principle, but I refuse to drive 45 minutes to find the mom and pop shop that has a handmade end table for twice the price. Watching my budget and watching the sticker of origin can rarely happen at the same time.

Martha Stewart saved my butt yesterday, on a pilgrimage to Home Depot. Finally, a dresser. But what HD could not provide in other affordable home furnishings, Walmart did. My house is furnished, but I’m not happy about it!

the madness of multitasking

This is never something I thought I would say out loud, never mind broadcast it to the wide world via my blog. But here it is, folks, write it down: I have discovered that I don’t like multitasking.

Bogus, right? Let’s think about this. Where is the #1 place you see the words “ability to multitask,” “must be able to multitask“? Job posts, that’s where. All of those potential employers work long and hard on their wish lists for the almighty position description and each one wants you to be able to juggle projects, people and paperclips like a street performer. Here’s the funny thing – this used to reign supreme in my cover letters and job applications. I worked in a fast-paced, higher education institution for four years and multitasked with the best of them. I had to, if I wanted to survive.

In fact, in my former life I used to THRIVE on fast-paced, highly charged situations. Out of necessity? Yes. Did I want to live this way? I think so. I have always said I prefer being busy, rather than idle. This is still true today, I haven’t totally shed my American ways. But here are some of the ways that multitasking is really flipping me out:

1. driving. I love driving. I love my car. I don’t love traffic. I don’t love other drivers. I have had some moments in the last few weeks where I have been in complete disbelief about the drivers around me. Everyone is in a big, fat hurry and they’re all on their cell phones. For the love of the road people, focus. I don’t care who you are, you’re probably not that important. If you are, get a damn chauffeur. See #2.

photo credit: davesblogcentral.com

2. cell phones. A new addition to my automotive world is the big red stop sign car magnet that reads: STOP TEXTING. Here’s what I recently discovered and confirmed: talking on your cell phone is NOT illegal in Pennsylvania. Fact! A year ago I would absolutely be guilty of this, but now that I am not using a cell phone I am fully conscious of how often I used to reach for my phone while driving. What an idiot!  I’ll be the car driving in between the painted lines, at the prescribed speed, without my phone in my ear, dodging everyone else.

On a local note, I’d like to applaud the Lehigh Valley Health Network for their recent collaboration with Coca-Cola to get the Stop Texting sign on 20 of our local trucks in the area. Do I think it will solve the problem? No, but I thank you for efforts. Now build us a railway system!

3. eating. The average duration of a meal in the country of Spain is approximately 3 to 4 hours (or 12, if it’s a first communion). How many times have I watched tourists freak out about their waiter ignoring them or having to wait an extra 30 minutes for their check? Where’s the fire? This is Spain – we don’t rush anywhere unless it’s to 100 Montaditos on a Wednesday or to the stadium for a fútbol match. And our waiters don’t work for tips. Sabes? Once you get over the initial panic you might realize there IS no rush. Enjoy your glass of wine, eat a bit slower and actually taste your food. Just don’t try it in America. I have no problem with the To Go culture, but I’ve learned to say no to To Go. Coffee tastes so much better when you’re standing still.

I appear to be a bit more patient, more conscious of my surroundings and a lot happier when I can focus on one thing at a time. Don’t all of these things deserve my undivided attention? Don’t you?

On leaving Spain

a belated farewell from 1 June

I’m sitting in the Sevilla airport all alone. It’s 7:40 in the morning, and possibly my favorite time to fly. Watching planes take off the runway from wide windows, it is peaceful and quiet. Although I woke up in my apartment this morning, I will fall asleep in Prague, Czech Republic. This is the beginning of a 2 week trip in Eastern Europe that I have been planning for months. Fifteen days from now I’ll be back in the United States having breakfast with my dad, reading with my mom, playing with my friend’s new babies and eating as much American food as I can handle.

Monday was my last day at school and it was a good one. I stopped by to see my 1ESO students and they were beside themselves. What do you do when 32 eleven year olds chant your name like a soccer cheer and bang on their desks with their little palms? Me – I laugh. I have enjoyed that class so much this year, and laughing is what we do best. Several days ago they locked me out of the classroom so they could set up a surprise inside. Every student had made a letter or painted one on a shirt and they lined up to spell out: “Kelly We Will Never Forget You <3 !!” How awesome is that?

I had my last official class with 2ESO and when I came down the hall one of my students was loitering outside the door. I’m thinking no way did he get kicked out already when he sees me and bolts back inside, slamming the door behind him. Suspicious! Sure enough when I open the door the room is dark – until someone turns on the lights and my students leap out from under their desks yelling “SURPRISE!” A Sponge Bob piñata hangs from the ceiling and the board is covered with “no te vaya” and “We <3 Kelly.” They are beside themselves about the surprise and the enormous basket of candy they have to give me – the ultimate gift from 12 year olds!

In most of my goodbyes I’ve said “see you soon” – which will be true if I come to Madrid in the fall. So no tears and no sadness, just a sense of .. I’ll be back in a little while. The same goes for friends here from the US – some of us are taking the same end of term trip and will cross paths in foreign cities. Some of us will meet up in the States over the summer, and a few more will reunite in Spain in the coming year.

Walking through the city last night on my way home from the final Final despedida, I take a look around and realize that I love Sevilla. The orange trees and the cobblestones, the Cathedral and my barrio. This comes as no surprise given my long term love affair with Spain and particularly, the South (ya sabes, soy del sur). They have finally opened the garden in Puerta de Jerez and I wonder what it will look like when everything is in bloom. Is that when you know you are truly part of a place – when you consider its future?

It doesn’t feel like goodbye when I shut my apartment door and haul my belongings out into the elevator. It still doesn’t feel like goodbye when my friend drops me off at the airport. Here in the waiting area I’m more concerned with the cute guy a few rows away than I am with the fact that my year in Spain has come to an end. For this reason I am certain that it is “see you soon” and not “goodbye forever.” Spain could not get rid of me if it tried.

Un beso desde Sevilla International,
Kelly

now that’s a care package.

Well, it has arrived. The package that has been through all sorts of postal hell. My mom shipped it BACK to Spain. Why didn’t they just bring it with them, you ask? Because 1) receiving mail is awesome, 2) to make a point about the Spanish post.

Needless to say after 120+ days in circulation, it is nothing short of miraculous. It is America in a box.

There are Grape Nuts and Pop Tarts and Quaker oatmeal. There are York peppermint patties and Butterfingers and Halls coughdrops. There is Skippy peanut butter and Airborne and Cadbury Creme Eggs. There are almonds and Cup of Soup and Barnum & Bailey’s animal crackers. There is Trident gum and hot chocolate. There is Bigelow Earl Grey tea and Stash English Breakfast. There is my metal water bottle, and my allergy meds. There are books for my students, a puzzle map of the United States and playing cards. There are magnets and glue sticks and a potato masher (thanks, Dad).

The only thing missing is my parents themselves… but they’ll be here on Thursday

 

holler atcha hometown

Turns out Readers Digest giving away over $5 million in funds and promotional support to improve towns across America. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania is currently in the top 10 and people are making some interesting requests (you can give a shout out for what you think the town should do / would do / could do with the money). The most popular one for our town seems to be a light rail or some variety of train transportation to New York and Philadelphia. Well said, citizens. We are right in the middle of the two but have a helluva time getting to either (options are driving yourself or taking a bus).

I gave a plug for the recently closed South Bethlehem Neighborhood Center. I used to do ESL tutoring here for adults, and my parents and I (along with Lehigh University) used to participate at Christmastime with hope chests (shoeboxes filled with age appropriate gifts) and the Adopt-a-Family program (creating a Christmas for a local family who cannot provide their own). Due to lack of funding this small but mighty organization closed its doors, and its something I would love to see reopened.

So if you get a minute, give a “cheer” for my hometown, or your own at this website.