"International Tastes"

A couple of weeks ago I went to the University Urban Fresh to pick up some coconut milk for a curry I had simmering in the crockpot all day.  I could not find it anywhere, so I asked a woman shelving granola bars where I might find a can of coconut milk.  She responded with a "oh, wow!  Coconut milk?  Is that like evaporated milk?  Go to the baking section".  I knew it wasn't there, but I went anyway, just in case.  It wasn't there.  It also wasn't with the soups, with the curry, with the dressings, or anywhere else.

While I was looking for it, a kind customer overheard my frustrations (something like, "why the fuck would they not carry effing coconut milk?") and told me that they do not carry coconut milk at any store in the university area.  She said that she ended up going to chinatown for it because the Safeway, Save-on, and the Sobey's I was in, all did not carry cans of coconut milk.  Apparently coconut milk is an exotic ingredient?  Not the last time I checked, but okay.  

I did get the other things I needed, and picked up some plain yogurt to use with the curry instead of the milk.  I was happy to find a new brand of chickpeas there, a type that was free of all weird preservative ingredients so I grabbed a couple of cans.