The Price of Home

I have had several posts where I have commented on how inexpensive things can be in China. While that is true for many things, that is not the case for some of our favorite things from home. I don't know if you remember but when I packed up our big ocean shipment, I included baking powder and cinnamon (huge things of them). Not necessarily because we can't find it here, but because it is so expensive to buy here. Syrup for example. We love to have pancakes or french toast one day on the weekend. In the States, you could buy syrup for a couple of dollars ($2-3), right? (Now just for clarification, I am not talking real maple syrup but the cheap imitation stuff.) I just bought a bottle of syrup today for about $5 (and we are still talking about the cheap imitation stuff). And I was excited just to find it because at the other grocery store, there is NO syrup! Last week, we had honey on our pancakes (which was actually quite good). I was also excited to find paper towels today. Ahh, it's the little things, isn't it? Tortillas are another thing that are very difficult to find. I have heard rumors that you can buy them here, but every time I go they are out of them. And this is going to Metro, the store that has lots more Western-type things. So, in just 2 weeks of being here, I have made several batches of tortillas myself. That is right, I MADE THEM! Are you impressed (or a little scared)? I have also come to the conclusion that if we want multigrain bread I will need to bake it myself. But this requires an oven, so I will need to wait until we are in the house before I have an oven. Our apartment is more Chinese-style: no oven, no dishwasher, and I have already described the laundry situation. But in all honesty, right now these things are just adding to the feeling of adventure. I am sure that at some point they might annoy me, butI am currently more amused than anything.