Arm & Hatchet

When out shopping I'm always on the look out for something familiar. The taste bud's of our family are quite the opposite of the residents of our present city. Here the pallet is in favor of spicy, spicy, spicy. So spicy it can make a grown man cry- ask my husband :) Anyhow, when I'm out shopping if I can find something that is familiar- something from a western culture I get very excited. Any type of food that I can use in my Western recipes is a welcome treat. Anything that is familiar to our pallet is worthy of celebration. Familiar fruits and veggies are pretty easy to find, though surrounded by the unfamiliar. Cuts of meat- a little more of a task but still possible to find. The meat section of the store reminds me of Reading Market- tongue, hooves, snouts, live turtles, toads, snakes... Convenient foods- there is Skippy peanut butter, Heinz ketchup, pasta, canned tuna and Ritz peanut butter crackers. Beyond that- hit or miss. So, when out shopping I put on my bionic English searching eyes. I am in search of a familiar label, packaging or English name. Since my ability to read Chinese Characters is pretty limited, I usually can spot English from a mile away. Well, a few weeks ago we went shopping and Chris found this one: Arm and Hatchet baking soda. He first saw the familiar yellow box with red circle. But when we looked closer- Arm and Hatchet. We both laughed. How funny! For some reason I never really considered the name 'Arm and Hammer' all that silly but when I saw 'Arm and Hatchet' I thought it was a riot. Wonder why? Maybe because it isn't a house hold name?! Anyhow, every shopping experience is like a treasure hunt. You never know what you might find hidden on the shelves amongst the unfamiliar. Though we didn't buy the baking soda, it did bring us some comfort- seeing a familiar package with an, almost familiar, slogan. :) I love Chinglish (not quite Chinese, not quite English)