Do You Know The Muffin Girl, the Muffin Girl...?

Well, I did today what I had only heard stories of other ex-pat women doing! For those that are new to the term "ex-pat", that isn't a reference to a SNL skit, but rather short for ex-patriate. A label for those living not in their home or native country. So, here in Kenya, all Americans or westerners are call themselves ex-pats. When at the grocery store, it is natural to look for the labels and items you used to buy going to the store in your home country. For example, you love Cheerios, so you just instinctively look for Cheerios. Even if they never have it, you still keep looking in the hopes that one day it may appear. Well, I am noticing around here that a shipment may come in from the states of American food items and they hit the shelves in several stores on the same week. One item in particular that is not found in Kenyan grocery stores are muffin, cookie, and cake mixes. I never realized how much I depended on these mixes. Someone would say "Did you make those muffins?" And the answer would be "Why, yes!" But, really that means that I opened the box and baked them in my own oven and not bought ready-made from the bakery section, that is it the new modern definition of baking. True baking muffins from scratch is nearly unheard of among my friends back in Austin (Am I right girls?).

So, to get to my story of today...I saw muffin mixes back in August when we arrived and nothing since then. And then today, on a speedy trip to the store with my daughter I saw them. I saw on the tip-top shelf a box of Betty Crocker muffins, even better, they were blueberry muffins with the little can of blueberries inside. (You know the ones I am talking about!). So, I quickly grabbed a box and tossed it into my cart. Then, grabbed another, and another, and another. I did it! I bought all 4 of the only blueberry muffin mixes on the shelf at the Chandarana Supermarket. Whew, I said it for all to hear! I cleared the shelf of muffin mixes. The simple reason why is that I may not see any muffin mixes until June. So, I figured that is about 1 box per month for our family. What a treat! 

Now, here is my fear. I fear that when I am back in the states, will I hoard the muffin mix section when I go to the grocery store? I have heard of ex-pat women seeing something in the states that would be rare in her overseas home and feeling the urge to buy several of them. Then some little voice speaks up in her head "Anna, there are always muffin mixes here, you only have to buy one, there will be more here when you come back next week."