Trix!: Overpriced, but worth it, comforts from home

When you move overseas you are going to end up not having access to a lot of things that are simply available everywhere back in your home country. This is part of joining a new country and a new culture. Certain things just aren't part of their lives and if you do find something that you consider to be special, you are going to have to pay a lot for it.

A big part of my childhood was boxed cereal and most notably, the kind that has a ton of sugar in it. I suppose you could consider them kids cereal, but this is something that I have always enjoyed and likely always will regardless of how old I get.

When I found this in my local minimart I was surprised. I have been here for years and never seen a box of Trix anywhere. I wasn't necessarily looking for them but since they are double this size of a normal box of cereal in this country, they kind of stand out. Although the price of this box was quite shocking at $10, I knew that I was going to have to indulge and get it anyway. I was happy to see that they have still stuck with the slogan that I remember so well from the commercials I saw as a child.

There are a couple of reasons why cereal isn't all that popular in Vietnam. For one thing, breakfast isn't noticeably different than other meals of the day here, or really anywhere else I have been in Asia. The notion of having something sweet or having type of foods like fried eggs and bacon only during a specific time of the day isn't really something that is traditionally done here. Breakfast is the same as every other meal for the most part, and there is nothing wrong with that.

There is also a couple of other problems that makes keeping cereals, especially ones with added sugar, almost impossible to keep. The ants are everywhere and they will find this box very quickly. Even if you live in a high rise condo the way that I do the ants will get to it and this seems to happen regardless of where you put it. I have found that only the microwave or the freezer are areas that the little buggers don't want to go and for most people, these are pretty impractical locations to store something like this.

Another problem is the omnipresent humidity. It is brutal here especially this time of year. Once you open the bag inside this box, you have 2-3 days maximum before the crunch is going to be totally gone. Mushy cereal is no fun so you better be quick. I am currently looking at the remnants of my day 3 Trix and can tell that there are a few ants in there and almost all of the crunch is gone. I'm still going to eat it though. I didn't pay $10 for 4 bowls of cereal to not eat it even if I do have to swallow a few ants in the process. Extra protein!