realstory: Tips When You Shop for Groceries in a Foreign Country

wow, wani bagi tips macamni?? biar betul der, takkan wani yang drama queen, ratu air mata pergi travel outside malaysia? hehe sounds unbelievable? believe it or not, yes i am invited by the project manager in Germany (gi europe bai...kau mampu?? hahah)

to complete the big dmr (design modification request) and frr (field requisition request) bop from customer. yes, from now on you will find a lot of engineering terms used in this blog. saja je ngada2 tulis engineering terms bagai sebab in future mungkin dah tak masuk line engineering dah, so mesti tulis dalam blog untuk kenangan pada masa hadapan.

since customers are requesting to upgrade the power plant from open cycle to combined cyle , therefore a lot of modifications needed (hardware and software), thousands of wiring documentations involved, ordering new DCS cabinets are planned.

back to my Germany story, today is my 11th day in Germany and alhamdulillah i survived. haha! and one way to survive is to make sure you have a lot of food in your fridge. dok la merapu meraban, mana tipsnya?

ok..presenting...my tips and tricks that you can apply when you are in a foreign country, and you are alone, and your fridge is empty, your stok makanan are running out, and you don't speak german, and the worst part, the cashier at the supermarket refuses to speak english.dia sedap je cakap german dia dengan harapan ada perkataan german yang sama maksud dengan perkataan english. ha acane tu acane tu? susahkan?

1- first and foremost is...to have sufficient cash. you don't want to be charged rm12 to withdraw cash from atm in the country you visit, doncha? and you will not be able pun to withdraw cash using your local atm card if you have not instructed the bank to activate your top plus. activating top plus means your local atm card can be used at any atm machine in entire world. (cuba baca perenggan ke-2, "you will not be able pun". bahasa sanskrit apakah itu? ish3...)

2- secondly, (mesti ke tulis secondly? bukan dah ada nombor 2 ke kat belah kiri tu?) is to have small notes and small coins. i used to be a cashier at carrefour supermarket, wangsa maju during my semester break. dan saya rasa nak bagi makan maki sahaja kepada manusia yang beli bawang singgit dan bayar guna rm100. ha bengang tak,bengang tak?

so, to avoid being cursed by the cashier (in german pulak tu), please bring small notes. dan lagi satu, small coin if you would like to use the trolley. in germany, u need to put 1euro.

3- when you are entering the fruits alley and you wish to buy fruits, salads or any veges, please choose any fruits that comes in a package, with a price tag. do not take anything that has no bar code. yela takde barcode nak scan guane? and another thing, please imagine this situation in your head: you in your most stunning outfit (eh apa kena mengena), grab 2 tomatoes (beli 2 je, nak jimat punya pasal,) walking to the weighing counter (dengan penuh konfiden sekali) alih2 you find the weighing scale instructions are in german.dang! please note that it is different in germany , there is no one sitting at the weighing counter to help you ye. you need to do it yourself. kalau salah tekan macamana?

sebenarnya motif yang saya hendak sampaikan di point no.3 is kita seboleh2 kena buat benda yang akan mengurangkan komunikasi dengan cashier. just pay and leave. kalau dah salah tekan, kang macam2 pulak soalan arise from the cashier. kalau cakap english, takpe. ini stok bangsa cakap jerman dan tak pedulik orang faham ke tak.

4- next tip is to do some research/google translate of things you want to purchase before making a move to the kaufland/aldi/arcaden (nama2 supermaket di erlangen,germany). contoh: salz=salt, kurkuma=kunyit, zucker=sugar.

5-finally, aim products which has lowest price (ofcross darling, duit euro 4kali ganda duit rm kottt).

semua ni berharga 24 euro sahaja ye! (sile jangan convert ke rm) bayangkan beli banyak macam ni kat Malaysia dapat tak rm20?

shampoo and lip balm is a must item to have when you are in Germany! cuaca sangat sejuk dan kering menyebabkan dry lips yang so-not-sexy and hair yang macam ranting kayu