Carrefour is several long blocks away but I find it without too much trouble. At first, when I get to the corner of the building where I expect it to be, there’s an entrance that looks like it goes into a little shop. After standing and observing for a while I realize a lot of people are going in and out, so I decide to go in and explore. Inside is a small lobby where vendors sell things, but there’s an up and down escalator leading to the basement. The down escalator is broken and has been converted into a ramp leading down into the store. I follow the crowd down and discover Carrefour. I find a basket near the entrance and buy Crest toothpaste, Tide laundry soap, a twelve-pack of bottled water, some cheap scissors, a refillable eraser, three notebooks, two sponges (to clean the room) , a pair of plastic chopsticks in a box in case I might need my own, pencil lead, toilet paper (six-pack), a small porcelain dish to put shaving soap in, and a drinking mug for use in brushing my teeth. The mug has a stick figure of a girl with the words “I love daughter.” I plan to give it to my daughter when I get home. By now my basket is full and heavy so I get in line at one of the check-out counters. I watch the shoppers in front of me to see how things are done—pretty much the same way as at home. Most people have brought their own bags to carry things home in but I find, hanging from the check-out counter, tote bags for sale that say Carrefour on the sides. I buy one of these, bag my own purchases, and pay ($19.26). When I get back upstairs the rain has stopped so I stuff my raincoat into the tote bag in one hand and carry the case of water in the other. It’s a long walk back with my heavy load. And I had already learned, the first night in town, that jaywalking is a way of life here and played, it seems, as a competitive sport—cars, buses, bikes, and scooters against pedestrians.