One day I was trawling the chilly meat section of Metro Cash & Carry. As I picked over the boneless, skinless chicken breasts, I heard a hilarious exchange between a well-dressed woman who sounded like she hailed from Australia and her leather dublyenka-clad driver.
Woman: Sergei, this meat…it’s what?
Driver: Eto zhe barashka. (That’s lamb)
Woman: But what kind of meat is it, Sergei..is it beef or pork or…?
Driver: Nu, eto zhe barashka (Well…it’s lamb.)
Woman: Sergei, is it…well is it moo moo moo?
Driver: (with emphasis) Nyet nyet…eto zhe barashka!!
Woman: Is it pork? Is it oink oink oink
Driver: Eto zhe —
The Moscovore: No no…its baaaaahh baaaahh baaaahh!!!!
No one should have to go through that kind of agony in public, I thought to myself. This may well have been the moment that The Moscovore was conceived. So I invented a whole bunch of bi-lingual shopping lists, which are available for download here.
oh dear and bliss! where were you last year when I first landed in Moscow to spend hours in the supermarket trying to figure out the differences between сливки, сгущёнка and ряженка ! on and on, at every product section 🙂
Ozgur:
I know…I know. Why I didn’t start this six years ago is a source of constant amazement to me. I hope you find everything useful! I’m off with my lists today!
It was just a year ago that I stood in Auchan trying to pantomime ‘chicken breast’ without drawing too much attention to myself… and I’ve been waiting for a site like yours ever since!
Dear Jen –
I am so pleased you’ve found your way to The Moscovore! I’m sure you have Auchan mastered by now! And chicken breast is a tough one to pantomime as well!
Thanks for stopping by!
That’s quite surprising. I wonder how would I pantomime the shopkeeper that way when asking what’s that all about.