Trading Places

 Originally posted to MySpace, April 7, 2009



After spending the past 18 years living in Germany, I have returned home to the States. To my amazement—and sometimes my dismay—I have noticed some things about my native land that remind me of my former country of residence.

At German grocery stores in the early 90's, you generally took your own cloth bag to put groceries in and you bagged the items yourself. Now, major supermarkets offer you a choice of paper or plastic bags, and they occasionally have baggers on hand who will offer their services to you.

Here in the States, stores are only just now discovering how to cut costs and help the environment by offering their customers bags made of cloth. What a novel idea: the customer brings their own reusable bags with them! I won't even try to recall the last time I saw a grocery store employee whose sole task was to bag items and carry the sacks to your car for you.

I can't wait to see what other things the U.S. and Europe have copied from one another.

 

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