Our LOVE/HATE Relationship with Costco

One thing we are really excited to have in Korea is Costco.  The same mega-warehouse store that we have in the US.  Here we can shop once a month and stock up on juice boxes, lunch meat, snacks, macaroni and cheese, cereal and more.  We love that we can find a few of our favorite brands from back home without having to shop the "black market" downtown.  

However...there is a small price to pay for such familiarity and comfort, and I'm not talking about the membership fee.  Getting to Costco is not easy.  It's at least a 40 minute drive on a good day, in traffic.  Mark and I try to go on an early Saturday morning to be there right when they open.  Even then we are waiting for parking and elbowing our way through the big box store.  Its anything but retail therapy.  

Well, we made a huge mistake this past Saturday.  We knew we were in trouble from the beginning, because we didn't even leave for Costco until after soccer.  Well after the store opened.  We knew we would have to wait in line to find parking.  We knew we would be packed in the store like sardines.  But what we forgot was that this is the weekend before the Chuseok holiday.  American Expats compare this Korean holiday to our Thanksgiving.  Imagine shopping at Wal-Mart the weekend before a HUGE American holiday.  Then triple the anxiety of that!!!  

It took us at least 30 minutes just to get off of the exit from the highway.  I finally decided to get out and walk to the store just one block away.  I was able to get in, fight my way through the store and checkout before Mark was able to get near the parking garage.  He finally circled around and picked me and our groceries up at the side of the road.  

I hate shopping at Costco, but I will be back.  Just not the weekend before a major holiday.  AAahh!!!